moving on

Is it a good sign when, every few days, you feel like you want to quit your current job?

My bosses don't give me much trouble and my co-workers are fairly easy to work with. I never had to work overtime and the pay is pretty good for a starter position. I also get ample opportunities to travel abroad for conferences. Things seem rosy on the surface.

Today was one of those days when the world grew silent and I retreated into my introspective shell. I was peeved at how my math major co-worker wrote what seemed like needless abstraction in our joint paper, turning what I understood quite intuitively into mathematical goobledygook. I was frustrated again with my boss' inability to teach concepts in clear, grammatical English. I'm displeased with the self-serving work my lab is doing, which seems to me unnecessary, inconsequential and mundane. I began to see truth in what some people outside the lab has been saying about us. I'm disappointed with the weak leadership and the lack of breadth and depth in my superiors' perspective on staff development. I'm worried about my future prospects in the lab. I'm not sure if I'm doing a good job or not and I'm a little disheartened by the rewards I'm getting. I'm wondering if I compromised a large part of my soul by choosing to work in a field where people of my academic background probably don't find themselves joining. I'm wondering if I should have been more assertive with the HR people right from the start. I don't think I'm well stretched and contributing to a worthy cause.

My job has no connection with the subject I've loved since middle school. If I seem passionate about my job, it comes from a sense of responsibility and not love.

Perhaps it's time to seriously consider moving on.