Except, as a job hunter on the market, you're not going to be dealing with "MBAs." You're going to be dealing with recruiters, HR employees, and their various filters. Gaps in your resume don't agree with these filters. At the very least, they need to be explained -- and the first two or three times anyone at any company looks at your resume, you won't be there to explain it.

It's never a great idea to quit a job without another one lined up. I realize the job market for developers right now is white hot, and sure, you can always land another job without too much difficulty. But landing a good job is another matter altogether.

(At this point, someone usually chimes in with a comment to this effect: "Any company worth working for / any job that's truly good / doesn't have some crappy HR filter and process guarding the way!" That's naive. Wishful thinking. Engage with the world as it actually is, not as you'd like it to be.)

That's like... your opinion man.

But really lets take it easy on saying never. I hope my post didn't come across as saying you should always quit your job with nothing lined up, but I hope we can see that the attitude of never quitting unless you have a job lined up is... unhealthy.

I suppose "MBAs" was a confusing catch all I was using to capture such departments as recruiting and HR, however my point stands, that is a narrative pushed by our keepers that doesn't bear out.

And I'm not sure why landing a good job is another matter altogether. Typically the best places to work have a respect for sabbaticals, leaving toxic work environments, focusing on personal growth etc and that certainly has been the case in my experience, and I'm nobody special.

Not as unhealthy as an extended bout of unemployment.

> And I'm not sure why landing a good job is another matter altogether. Typically the best places to work have a respect for sabbaticals, leaving toxic work environments, focusing on personal growth etc and that certainly has been the case in my experience, and I'm nobody special.

For software engineers who are not in a particular subset (Subset here is defined by skillset and personality type.) and in particular geographical areas, these places are unicorns. I have yet to encounter one from Dallas. Note that I said "from", not "in"; my experience is that many companies that are probably in the "great places to work" category are painfully myopic with regards to talent pools.

I appreciate a good Lebowski quote, so props on that one. :)

Is my use of "never" a bit much? Ok, fine. Let's dial that back to "rarely." It's rarely a good idea to quit a job without another one lined up. That is true for precisely the reasons you articulate here:

"a narrative pushed by our keepers that doesn't bear out."

So you admit the presence of "keepers," i.e., HR folks and their processes. These keepers exercise a lot of power in the job market, and they stand guard over many (most?) jobs out there. Bad ones and good ones. Most job-seekers will have to deal with their processes when looking for jobs.

"Typically the best places to work have a respect for sabbaticals, leaving toxic work environments, focusing on personal growth etc and that certainly has been the case in my experience, and I'm nobody special."

Sure, but getting into those companies in the first place often involves a resume screen by an HR type. Companies can be amazing, progressive, intellectually stimulating places to work, and still be guarded by a gatekeeper who either isn't equipped for, doesn't care to, or doesn't have the time to mentally process any abnormalities on a resume.

My point isn't so much that gaps on a resume are absolutely and necessarily career-killing. Far from it. Rather, my point is that it's generally a good idea to minimize them. Such as lining up something else before leaving one's current job. Again, this is because the world works a certain way. It's not a "narrative" being "pushed" by anyone. It's the unfortunate reality of the job market. (The effect is magnified at least tenfold for non-developers, too. But that's a different story.)

I realize there are exceptions here. Developers are in incredible demand right now, and can thus afford to do things (such as quitting without a gig lined up) that non-developers usually can't. And then there are the folks who are connected enough to land a job whenever, wherever. I would advise anyone at a job he hates, thinking about quitting, to consider where he falls on these dimensions. Are you the kind of job-seeker who draws a lot of water in this town? If so, great. If not, stay sharp. Look before you leap; that's all I'm saying.