Part of me wondered momentarily if you should stick around until ASA and then move. After about ten seconds, the answer is a clear NO.
Start looking now.
However in about a year you hope to have credentials so you are looking for a company that recognizes you will soon be an ASA and hopefully they will have room for your career to develop and you won’t hate your role again 2 years from now.
Although if you leave again after ASA that would be understandable too.
A good 60% of the reason to look now is that it can take a while to find positions, get interviews, get offers, etc.
And another 50% because you hate your job now.
So, you need to exert 110% effort to find a new job.
.
…
.
You can check the math. It’s correct.
I was having an extremely bad day and wrote this in a panic lol. I’ve gone back and forth with this for a little while, and I think I’m going to hold on until I get my ASA. First, I want to have a little bit more negotiating power with my salary when I do decide to leave. Second, I’m also looking for a promotion. I think I’ll have an easier time that way, and can even employ the help of a recruiter. After all the crap I’ve been through I also kind of want the generous ASA bonus and paid unused vacation days my company gives.
To clarify, I completely hated my last role, and wasn’t treated very well there. I’m treated well in my new role, but 1) get stressed and anxious about going to work and seeing former coworkers (I actually had to start therapy because of my previous role) and 2) I’m not happy with my current job responsibilities and workload. Right now my current work situation allows me a lot of down time that I use in addition to study time, and once my company goes back to the office, I can still work from home on a regular basis. So I think if I’m away from the office environment, and really just focus on my exam progress and maintaining my current responsibilities, I can peace out in October 2021.
Good luck!
In everything, I guess. Hope you improve your life and situation. We’ll be here to support you whatever happens.
So, how did things go? Did you get your ASA? Have you switched jobs?
Yes I did get my ASA! No, I haven’t left my current employer, yet, but I am planning on leaving after year end bonuses are paid out in a couple of months. So just holding on for a little while longer.
The last year has been a ride. In some ways my experience improved, and in even more ways the situation worsened. In the end, I have come to conclusion that I cannot grow my career at this company.
I tried really hard to turn things around. I opened the lines of communication with senior management, I tried to get more involved. Without getting into too many details, on one side of things I’ve been lied to, ignored, and made a token for diversity. On the other side of things I’ve been told “we see what happened with George Floyd, we acknowledge BLM, we hear our bipoc employees, stick around since we’ve got plans to promote our diverse hires”. That was pretty much it for me. I’ve finally gotten over feeling like I should just shut up and be grateful the company hired me. I’ve started to heal from trauma, take care of my mental health, and view this job as just a means to an end. Getting my ASA was 99% of the battle and I remain focused on regaining my happiness and getting the hell away at the first opportunity.
I will keep you updated!!
Congrats on the ASA, that’s a big deal!
For year end bonuses, check to see who qualifies for them. At my prior company, anyone who was employed through the prior December 31 qualified. So I left a new job on Jan 2, started a new one a couple of weeks later, and still got the bonus come March.
Thank you! I’m sooo relieved to finally crossed the finish line for ASA. I’m studying for FSA exams now so I still need to get around to celebrating properly.
I’ll definitely keep your advice in the back of my mind if a good opportunity comes up. I’m not sure where I would find that info and I don’t want to give it away that I’m thinking about leaving if I end up not being able to collect my pay lol.
FSA exams suck. I’m waiting results on my last one.
I found it on our company’s internal website after some searching. I think I looked in the employee handbook, and in the HR area of our website. Anything that talked about year end bonuses. I didn’t want to talk to anyone about it either! I had someone who used to work for the company tell me, but I wanted to verify on my own before going through with it.
Yeah I just checked our handbook and I have to be employed on the day the bonus is paid. boooooooooooo
Darn. Worth a shot I guess, sorry.
For what it’s worth, I checked and my new company is the same way. Looks like the last company was just generous.
So when is the bonus paid? My “year-end” bonus isn’t paid out until mid-March and my salary bump takes effect in April. I’m not sure if it would be worth waiting a long time for a pre-ASA year-end bonus. If you were going to wait 4 months to collect a $5K bonus you may as well just take a $15K raise today instead. No idea what the reality of the numbers should be, but you get the point. What is the opportunity cost in salary in exchange for bonus? Obviously not expecting an explicit number here.
Also everything you have said makes it sounds like you plan to move for very good reasons, best wishes on hunting down that next opportunity that will give you more room to grow.
And, hopefully the next company doesn’t require you to be employed at the start of the year to be eligible for year-end bonuses.
You’re right, I won’t see my money until March. I totally understand where you’re coming from, but I am paid way more than a 5k as I make more than 100k, am in a higher job band, and am still owed an ASA bonus since I made the list after HR stopped processing raises/bonuses for the year. I’ve also already rolled over vacation days, so it’s enough that I’m not willing to pass any of that money up. If I can put up with this job for 4 years, then I can stand to hold on for 4 more months. I really appreciate the support, though. I’m ready to go at the first moment possible!!!
It wouldn’t be the end of the world! I say that now but I would probably be irritated later on lol
My current employer only requires 90 days of employment to be eligible so I imagine other places might have similar rules.
I’ll go on record to say that a company that requires its employees to be working on the day of bonuses, three months after the end of bonus period, sucks as an employer.
Something to ask about when negotiating the next offer.
Data point, I had exactly this decision at my last job. A decent bonus had been announced in March, but I had to still be there in may to receive it.
I didn’t stay, no bonus, but no regrets.
I would really like to use the money for a nice wedding dress and to put whatever is left over towards our new home and honeymoon 
If I could I would walk away immediately after year end, but there’s lot of big life things happening for me right now and having a little extra in my pocket would certainly make it easier and less stressful.
Remember, a year end bonus you’re missing out on is negotiable as part of a sign on with your future employer.