[DSB335d]

A friend of mine is a timid Korean girl (26yrs old), has been working at her job for over 3yrs, and wants to go back to school.

She already has a BA from UF,
not sure what her degree is in.

I should also add that in these past 3yrs she has not requested or received any sort of raise in pay.

Her employer is on vacation and out of the country. She apparently has been thinking about this for a while, and now that her boss is gone for the time being wants to email him her resignation.

I personally find this very unprofessional.

Thoughts?

[MisterSkiMask]

Very unprofessional, shows a lack of character.

She should do it in person, it will be better for her, and how mad can an employer be if somebody is trying to better themselves by going back to school.

[954Stealth]

I also find that unprofessional and a guaranteed way to "burn the bridge". 3 years is a long time to work for someone and then not be able to use them as a reference.

Is there really no one else to whom she could speak in the boss's absense?

[Billup]

I highly suggest against this. She needs to learn how to be an adult and leave the company in a respectful manner. She's worked there 3 years, I don't see why she can't just...., say she wants to move on in life?


Sounds like she wants to easy way out of things and has trouble speaking up for herself, actually. Let her do it, ultimately its her decision, but I'd let her know it will not work in her favor.

[upstatedoc]

If you really want to be a prick about it..

[jlstyle]

You must like her so bad to ask this question for her.

Either way, that's a terrible way to quit the job. It doesn't matter how long, how she behaved during the employment, you need to knot the tie right when quitting.
You can say things in email before hand and meet up in face afterward if she's timid.

If she wants a good network, tell her to not vanish.

[2011CrazE89]

I had an employee do this to me a few years ago. Till this day I'm pissed off about it. Needless to say she was put on a "Do not hire" list.

[Uber V8]

What kind of work does your friend do? If you don't mind me asking.

[P1]

Of course it's not...

[DSB335d]

She is in sales, works for an insurance company.

I'm not against school, I have several degrees myself. I just don't get how some people think that going back to school, getting yourself further in debt is going to help you become more successful...

As it is now she lives at home still, even helps her parents out financially.

[NickyC]

Originally Posted by DSB335d

I'm not against school, I have several degrees myself. I just don't get how some people think that going back to school, getting yourself further in debt is going to help you become more successful...

Ring the damned bell, then ring that damned bell again. Education (in other words, DEBT) is way overrated compared to what it once was. This economy sucks horribly, there are relatively few high paying jobs to the number of people looking for them, and advanced degrees are a dime a dozen now. If you think your life sucks now and it's hard to make ends meet, just imagine what it will be like when you add another $600+ per month payment for the NEXT TWENTY YEARS to that equation.

Ring the damned bell again one more time.

[MiddleAgedAl]

Depends on the situation, but generally its not a great idea.

I worked at a place where the boss of a certain dept travelled internationally a LOT, so he was rarely in the office. When people did leave, it was not unheard of for them to give their notice via email, because the boss wouldnt be back in the office for 2-3 weeks, which would have meant they couldnt start the new job for at least a month if they gave adequate notice. Sometimes the opportunity would have vanished if they couldnt start sooner (or so they claimed; lots left because he was very abrasive to deal with when he was there)

If she was starting a new job, she could try and say they need her to start ASAP so she has to drop the bomb by email, and if she waited till he returns the window would close on the fantastic opportunity. But, going back to school that ain't gonna fly....

[DSB335d]

Originally Posted by NickyC

Ring the damned bell, then ring that damned bell again. Education (in other words, DEBT) is way overrated compared to what it once was. This economy sucks horribly, there are relatively few high paying jobs to the number of people looking for them, and advanced degrees are a dime a dozen now. If you think your life sucks now and it's hard to make ends meet, just imagine what it will be like when you add another $600+ per month payment for the NEXT TWENTY YEARS to that equation.

Ring the damned bell again one more time.

Totally agree.

[DSB335d]

Originally Posted by MiddleAgedAl

Depends on the situation, but generally its not a great idea.

I worked at a place where the boss of a certain dept travelled internationally a LOT, so he was rarely in the office. When people did leave, it was not unheard of for them to give their notice via email, because the boss wouldnt be back in the office for 2-3 weeks, which would have meant they couldnt start the new job for at least a month if they gave adequate notice. Sometimes the opportunity would have vanished if they couldnt start sooner (or so they claimed; lots left because he was very abrasive to deal with when he was there)

If she was starting a new job, she could try and say they need her to start ASAP so she has to drop the bomb by email, and if she waited till he returns the window would close on the fantastic opportunity. But, going back to school that ain't gonna fly....

It's a small office. She see's the guy everyday and his wife sometimes helps out there.
He has even taken her and his other employees on vacation with his family for meeting office goals etc...

Classes start soon and if she doesn't give him her "2 weeks" now via email; she doesn't want to wait till he gets back.

[MiddleAgedAl]

Originally Posted by DSB335d

Classes start soon and if she doesn't give him her "2 weeks" now via email; she doesn't want to wait till he gets back.

Moving to a new job, you can plausibly argue that the opportunity just suddenly popped up, so you couldn't give more notice if you wanted to. It's not unusual for business opportunities to arise quickly, requiring a fast decision.

Everybody has known for years that school starts back up in the fall, so anyone seriously thinking about going back should have probably already begun the registration process for the fall semester weeks or even months ago, depending on the program. It depends on the institution and the discipline, but usually you can't count on getting the classes you need if you dont commit more than a couple weeks before classes start.

That's where her boss will have a legitimate reason to be upset, she would have known before he left and should have told him then.

[Uber V8]

Originally Posted by DSB335d

She is in sales, works for an insurance company.

I'm not against school, I have several degrees myself. I just don't get how some people think that going back to school, getting yourself further in debt is going to help you become more successful...

As it is now she lives at home still, even helps her parents out financially.

This statement pretty much sums up my entire thought process about higher education.

All of this random degree searching and hoping you land a higher paying job makes me sick. Set a goal, make a plan to achieve that goal, and execute.

I have coworkers right now that got their master's degree 2 years ago (with no plan what will happen next) and still have the same job. But you know what they did gain? debt. Roughly $30k of extra debt and higher monthly payments on their existing student loan debt.

I make more than both of them with just a measly old B.A. and no loan debt.

[Joekerr]

Nope, not appropriate at all in her circumstances. Hard pressed to think of appropriate circumstances unless the boss is always away maybe, but definitely not in her circumstances.

Why can't she register now? Ok, so she misses some classes in the first two weeks say (max), is she really going to miss out on everything. Plus, has she truly considered whether this will make her more valuable? I think having real life work experience is better for her than more education...plus, a lot harder to get another job from school than it is to get another job while already employed - shows that you are employable and someone else likes you.

Employers are like women - IMO women like men who are attached / married more than single men because they think there must be something there...another female sees something worth their time so they are attracted more to that guy.

Employers are more attracted to someone who is currently employed (and is able to present him/herself well).

[stimpy]

Some very long unnecessary responses here. Only one word applies...

No.

[ncarter124]

I agree with the rest. As it was stated, she was thinking about it for awhile, everyone knows school starts in the fall, and she waits until now to do this? Nope, sorry, it's a bad move.

[davis449]

I think it depends on the situation as to whether it's professional or unprofessional. Based on what you've said here, I believe it to be unprofessional. Two previous jobs to the last one I held, I handed in my letter of resignation in person. The last one (last month) that I resigned from, my boss was not local to me in any way. I typed up the letter, signed it, scanned it, sent it via email to him in PDF, and waited for his phone call. He didn't find it unprofessional at all and, after the way he (and the org., overall) treated me, I'd say it was a more than fair way to exit. He and I had a decent, short, and friendly conversation afterward parting ways amiably. The BIG boss who was in the office 15 ft. from me was not offended in the least bit either. We had a wonderful conversation and I left with a future job reference from him (I worked my ass off for these people and they knew it). So, it all depends on the situation and how good you are at reading it. That said, most of the time I highly recommend having a pair and doing it in person.

[NEFARIOUS]

Not a great idea, but it depends on the situation. If it's a good company, I'd show up and give a 2 week notice. If it's the type of company where if they are underpaying your wages by 50-65%, they micromanaged you before you even got the job (e.g. quizzing you 3 times on how to answer a phone with 2 lines) and things got much worse when you got hired, and if you PURPOSELY drink Kombucha tea and add a shot of vodka to it to mask the fact that you have to drink through the job to keep your sanity , you not only have the right to follow in my footsteps and email the damned resignation letter, viciously insult your boss while you're at it (see attachment). LOL I was half drunk when I came up with the idea and drank a bit before sending it, and was already too drunk to drive the 25 mile commute to drop it off

[NemesisX]

It's unprofessional, but it's a somewhat arbitrary and nonsensical rule of social and professional etiquette.

What's more unprofessional:

1) Telling your boss via e-mail that you're resigning in 6 months
2) Telling your boss in person that you're resigning in 6 days

I'd say "2" is far more unprofessional than "1," even if you're technically within the bounds of your company's protocol. I think giving more than due notice is much more important and consequential for the company.

Whether you tell your boss via e-mail or via letter or in person shouldn't matter, but it does.