I’ve quit many jobs. Sometimes the departure was premeditated and other times I decided to quit more spontaneously, though I can’t say I’d recommend quitting without having a next step planned. Regardless of how I quit, the main reason was the same in all these instances – I wasn’t learning anymore. When every day starts to feel the same, I start to get antsy. The pay at these jobs weren’t usually good enough to stick around if I wasn’t also learning.

What excites me about my industry is you can never know everything about food and cooking – I will always be the student. As a recipe developer, it’s my job to continually come up with concepts for recipes and the only way to do that is to constantly be learning, so if a job isn’t helping me with that and it’s taking up time I could devote to exploring and learning, it’s likely time to move on. This might not be the case for other industries. So another way to look at it is to discern what you want to get out of a job, whether a certain quality of life, something to add to your resumé, or something more holistic. If you’re putting more into a job than you’re receiving, then perhaps it’s time to move on.

Ali Slagle –
Recipe Developer

Ali Slagle is the author of I Dream of Dinner (so You Don’t Have To). She’s a frequent contributor to the New York Times and Washington Post, where she’s published hundreds of weeknight-ready recipes. Previously, she cut her teeth on the editorial and creative teams at Food52 and Ten Speed Press. You’ll find her in Brooklyn, without a dishwasher, food processor, or stand mixer.

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