I had been a banker for 26 years and reached a mid-management,vice president level. I had survived one takeover, a merger, a receivership, down-sizing, right-sizing, etc. Work and morale had been on a downward slide for the past two years as the bank became more and more bottom line driven. As our stock price went up, overall morale went down. I knew in January 2007 that I was unhappy enough to start thinking about other career opportunities. With that in mind, I sat down and went over my finances in detail and determined how long I could survive without working and what opportunities I wanted to pursue. When my "back up" plan was outlined, it removed a great deal of pressure. As work and morale continued to deteriorate, and my boss and I went head to head in September 2007, I knew that I was turning in a resignation that day. As I verbally gave my resignation and walked back to my office, I could literally feel layers of pressure being removed from my shoulders. By the time I got back to my office, I knew that it was the right decision. I was re-employed within about 3 months, a different industry, but basically the same type of work. I'm not so sure if I'm happy here, but I am willing to give it a one year commitment and 110% effort. Oh and by the way, I'm developing another back up plan. I'm 48, divorced and the sole income earner in my household for 13 years. It can work out. The back up plan helps to take some of the pain and worry out of the process...then you only have to deal with fear and doubt. But that's manageable and just part of the life process.

Terese