Quit his job that is. He's been unhappy with it for a while, and especially at the moment, he has loads of tedious tasks lined up and he's fed up. Says he'll quit in January. It's a relatively safe job with a decent pay and it's what he studied for. But he's unhappy with the organization, workload and the lack of support. He feels he's not where he should be at this point.

I've been suggesting he invests into education more. He should attend seminars and workshops and start connecting with people in the industry. Because he's not doing any of that. And for a designer, networking and staying on trend are essential.

He said he's not that kind of person, that he's introverted and doesn't know how to mingle or put himself about.
He'll have to get over it somehow. He has the skills and the talent, and he actually enjoys it. But doing something because you like it and doing it because it's your job are two different things. It's the reality of the job that he often finds hard to deal with. He complains about the structure and the workload, the responsibilities he doesn't feel should be his. But I don't really think the situation would be any different in another company. He is a bit naive to think a designer should just design, and he gets bitter when managers interfere in his work, when he is expected to manage his projects or has to negotiate with clients.

It's no wonder he feels stuck. He doesn't socialise with the professional circles and doesn't upgrade on his knowledge, all of which would help him get a better perspective on the reality of the job, and empower him to realise and upgrade his own market value.

But then, who am I to say anything? At least he has a profession to call his own. I don't even know what to do with myself. How can I tell him to do something I can't even do myself?

Anyway, I'm fairly sure he won't quit. He's not the kind of person who changes things, unless things change by themselves. But say he does surprise me in January and quits... I wonder how it would reflect on us and our future plans. The more I'm thinking about it, the more I believe it would be easier in every way if he should move here. He has the experience and the know-how that not many people here do, and his market value here is much bigger than back where he is. I am also in a better position here job wise than I would be over there. Costs of living are much lower. It would be easier for both of us to find jobs with a perspective, also all the legal jumble about closing the distance would be much less complicated. We wouldn't even have to marry so soon.

But I know it would be hard to get him to warm up to the idea. Not because he thinks there's something wrong with the reasoning behind it. But because he's afraid to change. Afraid to take a leap into the unknown, even when he's unhappy with the familiar.

However... if he does quit his job, maybe he would be in a position to be more open to the idea of trying something new.

Ah well. At the end of the day, I can only support him in what he decides to do, regardless of what I think is better for him.