It’s always hard to give up a steady source of income. Experienced career counselors will caution, “Hang on to your job until you’ve got another opportunity lined up.” And you’ve heard the advice, “Don’t quit your job till you’ve got another one.”

Mostly that’s good advice. I say the same thingi when clients ask.

But sometimes you just don’t have a choice. Sometimes your job makes you sick. Or you find yourself doing things to sabotage yourself so you’ll get fired.

I caught myself doing that a few months ago. Back when I left academia, I began working with a university’s distance education programs. The work was pretty easy and fun.

But one day the university — literally thousands of miles from where I lived — decided to make some changes. First they were bought by a bigger, more bureaucratic corporation. Then they started adding time-consuming procedures and layers of administration. It wasn’t fun anymore.

One day I realized I was not following the advice I gave my own clients. I dreaded signing on to the system. I kept forgetting things. And to be honest, I didn’t need them: I’d stuck around from habit. I didn’t really need the money and I could use the time to build my business instead of treading water.

Walking away was tough and I knew I would miss some of the fun parts of the job. I have always liked. But it was time.

I would not advise someone, “This is the time.” But I can say, “Here are some signs that it’s time to let go of a job, client or city.” Family? I don’t go there.