... how quickly your boss will probably get over it. And, if he's really that cool, will understand.

Two times I have left a company where I was a major contributor and REALLY STRESSED about telling them I was going. I gave two months notice in one instance. Doesn't make a difference. The company keeps going under a new set of circumstances and most people will not spend too much time being angry with you, they'll just move on. Especially if the place you are leaving for demonstrably improves your life. Only the most miserable rats will resent you for going.

If your current company is sinking, maybe you can do your boss a favor by leaving and helping the new company to grow to the point that they can offer your soon-to-be-unemployed ex-boss a job?

If the new job didn't feel quite right, then you shouldn't jump ship until you've done more due dilligence. But it's not the new opp that doesn't feel right - in your own words, it's the act of leaving a boss and job you like that doesn't feel right. This is just emotion. Recognize it, honor it...and leave.

You can show your boss your loyalty in the way that you leave: give him the news in person. Tell him how much the job has meant to you, and what you've learned from him, and how this learning has made the new opportunity possible. Give him four week's notice and offer to train your replacement. Within reason, answer questions by phone or email from the boss or replacement for the first couple of months of transition.

If your boss is as good as you say, he recognizes that it's the nature of business to lose good employees. It will strengthen him/his business to meet this challenge; and if he can't, well, it might be time for the business to fold.

I think another poster said this but it bears repeating; if you are truly irreplaceable, your boss has really mismanaged his business. Any operation should be able to withstand the loss of an employee, even a good/key one. Succession planning is critical to the survival of a business at any stage, not just the beginning.

Exit with consideration and grace. And try to remember this moment; some day YOU will be sitting on the other side of the desk listening as your top employee, the one you spent tons of money/hours training, can't suppress the sparkle in his/her eye as s/he tells you s/he is aobut to move on to bigger and better things. It's hard to lose good employees, but it's the nature of the business beast to adapt to change or die.

last year my two highly (on my time and money) trained and certified technicians gave me notice within a couple of weeks of each other. My partner was devastated and was sure that we would go under. These two young guys were both leaving for jobs that improved their families income and benefits. One guy "always wanted to be a cop" go figure! The other was a seven year employee who felt like my son and was moving to a bigger city with his new love. This is what I said to them, "You need to do what is best for you and your families. I love you like a son and wish you all the best. Be sure that all your company owned equipment and tools are turned in and working properly. Here is a resignation letter to sign to receive your last check. Always let us know how you are doing and I will be glad to help you if I am able. Bring the kids around once in a while so I can see them as they grow up."

We hired two new guys that are even better techs and need half as much training. They have almost no need for supervision and are willing to do anything without complaint. We are sitting better than we have in many years and have less stress.

There are lots of people out there job hunting. They will replace you if they can afford to do that, or not. It is your responsibility to do what is best for your career and future. It is their responsibility to run their business and hire new employees when necessary.

I am horrified to hear all the stories of punishing employers and yet I know that is a common experience. All it means is that people are afraid of change. Business is all about change. Embrace it. Move on and grow. Don't be afraid that someone will be unhappy with you for making positive change in you life. It is yours to live, not theirs.

Someone earlier in this thread asked "How would your life change if you couldn't be fired." And then posited a golden lovely world where tenure was a guarantee in any field.

Um...because this has worked so well for public education? (And I WAS a public school teacher for half a decade, complete with tenure and COLA increases, so I'm not one of those know-nothing bashers.) Because being stuck with a useless employee sticking around to collect their pension is better for the economy and business than allowing people to feel challanged and motivated to succeed?

I LEFT teaching for the private sector because I wanted to know that my efforts met with commensurate respect and compensation. It motivates me, excites me, and allows me to measure what I've learned against my increasing success. And I respect why tenure was instituted in public schools. But those reasons do NOT apply to the private sector one little bit.

A flexible job market allows me to leave a job where I feel I'm stagnating to find another better position elsewhere. And my employers, too, can identify who is a better fit for their needs, and make decisions accordingly.

Only lazy complacent fools prefer a world of with such dull protection. Where's the moxie? Where's the inspiration? Is drive, ambition, success, and turning one's creativity and drive into financial success such a shameful thing?

Should we instead bully CEOs into keeping on employers with whom they are not happy? Should we create a job market with so little transience that people who have the courage to leave have trouble finding better positions elsewhere since those jobs are filled by incompetent lazy fools sitting back on their tenure?

Forget it. Nothing sounds more depressing than that. I'd rather be in a gray cubicle (Oh, I am in a gray cubicle) singing for my dinner, and knowing that I'm kicking butt, than in a cushy corner office, buoyed by "tenure."