I just resigned from my job, ask me anything

[OzarkDem]

I've been running a health care related advocacy and assistance group for the last 7 years. Its been an uphill stuggle, working full time and not getting paid for the first 4 yrs, trying to convince Congress and our state to provide health care for all, etc.

Recent events have convinced me that there isn't going to be any real progress for the next 10 to 12 yrs.

So I'm leaving sometime next year (ASAP). I feel great! Liberated! Happier than I've felt in years!

[wain]

1. Good luck and congrats on making a tough decision

I'll bet you've learned a lot that can now be applied somewhere else.

You've got real commitment and dedication - something very valuable to your next (appreciative) employer.

[OzarkDem]

2. Thanks

I'm being realistic about the prospects for any real change in health care reform. Its not going to happen any time soon, and states, more than any group, are going to fight it.

There are too many people and organizations that make billions of dollars by receiving public funds to cover very narrow sections of the population, much like defense contractors. They are (and have been) fighting like crazy to protect their slice of the federal funding pie and they see federally subsidized universal health care as a threat to their existence. They're incredibly powerful organizations, the 800 lb gorillas of the federal health and human services world. When they fight, they always win and right now, their battle is against health care reform.

I'd like to get into a completely different field. I'm tired of Democratic party politics and health care advocacy.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

3. You worked for 4 years without a paycheck?

:wow:

[OzarkDem]

4. Yes, I did

and you really don't want to know what my income is now. I often don't pay myself so we have enough money to help uninsured women.

I've been passionate about it. Its a breast cancer advocacy group and I'm a breast cancer survivor, so it meant a lot. But it doesn't mean much to anyone else. The focus is always on research, research, research. There's nearly $2 billion (mostly federal funds) spent on research every year. Universities and hospitals build gleaming palaces for research, yet there's little progress and they completely ignore the need to provide treatment to the uninsured and low income women. Most of those women whose taxes have paid for all the research can't even get an appointment at the hospitals who get the research grants.

Cancer advocacy has gotten really effed up.

[ThomCat]

5. I'm very sorry that there is such a need to do what you're doing

and I'm even more sorry that it's so frustrating and so poorly paid that you have to stop. :(

[Maestro]

6. Like others have said, congratulations on making

what I know was a tough decision. At the same time, sometimes you just have to let go of something you have done for years because you see no growth in it. People need to grow. You will find something good in the near future.

[OzarkDem]

7. I feel very good about it

Its nice to look forward to having my life back again and to be moving in a new direction. The world has changed a lot since I first began working in this field. Sometimes advocacy requires a different direction - doing nothing until opportunities improve.

Thanks for your kind words!

[Liberal Veteran]

8. I am stepping down from a leadership position at my job tomorrow.

The stress isn't worth it anymore and I stopped enjoying myself a long time ago. I look forward to just doing my damn job without the extra hassles.

I know exactly how you feel. When I made the decision today, I felt like a weight had been lifted.