'I'm outta here': 30+ Workers who quit their bad jobs on Day 1

Author image for Remy Millisky
Remy Millisky • Writer and Editor
Aug 7, 2025 5:00 PM EDT

No need to waste time at a job that you're already checked out of — just quit. If you find that even on day 1, you're doubting why you took the gig in the first place, why stick around? You'll save yourself a lot of time and energy by just quitting and getting back to the job search. 

A lot of people quit their first jobs on day 1. It's an all-too-common sentiment in the fast-food world: people barely get any training before they're thrust into the job. If you've only been trained on the cash register for 20 minutes, you're probably going to fail if you are forced to ring customers up by yourself. If these places would actually train their staff members, they'd probably have far fewer mistakes that will upset the customers. Like, if your new person doesn't understand how to read the order slip properly, they might just totally forget to give the customers half their order. Then the customer gets upset and yells at the employee. This is not ideal for anyone involved, yet this kind of thing seems all too common, as the folks below can tell you. Check out a bunch of stories from people who were wise enough to spot some bad work environments and quit while they were ahead. 

After that, read about these hiring managers who refused to interview certain unqualified job candidates: "I have received a resume that is a screenshot from an iPhone." 

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  • 01

    "People who quit their jobs on the first day, what was your 'I’m outta here' moment?"

    Gre... I interviewed for a retail sales position with one of those job placement companies and on my first day I realized it was a door- to-door vacuum cleaner salesman job based on commission only. I vacuumed my grandma's house with the display model they gave me while she made me French toast, then I quit.
    via u/Green420bast***
  • 02
    Sometimes_Stutters Not me, but one of my bosses. So I got hired as an intern, and sometime between me being hired and starting my original boss quit. So there I was with no one to report to and kinda had to figure out what to do. Anyways, a couple months later they hire my new boss.
    via u/Sometimes_Stutters
  • 03
    I met him in the morning, he spent the rest of the morning meeting leadership and getting acquainted with the place. At lunch he stopped by my cubicle and invited me to lunch. He drove. We ate pizza. Had a couple beers (which I thought was strange, but kinda cool), then we drove back and he dropped me off at the front door and said he was going to go park.
    via u/Sometimes_Stutters
  • 04
    A couple hours later the COO stopped by my desk. and asked if I'd seen my new boss this afternoon. I said the last time I saw him he dropped me off after lunch. Apparently he just didn't go back to work and quit lol. Honestly he was way over qualified for the gig and the place was a sh show.
    via u/Sometimes_Stutters
  • 05
    [deleted] Went into a Mexican restaurant with the idea that I was going to be a cook. And found out very quickly I was a dish washer, right after quitting another dish washing job like a week
    via u/[deleted]
  • 06
    before that I hated. And on top of that I had non slip shoes on and the restaurant had slick a tile in the back that still had me basically skating. I left within the hour.
    via u/[deleted]
  • 07
    itsnotromy I took a job as a "kitchen assistant" in a fairly busy restaurant. From how they described it, I'd be assisting the chefs, maybe clean a bit, all things I'd done before when working in a restaurant. Well. First shift came, and they pointed me
    via u/itsnotromy
  • 08
    to the pile of dirty dishes, and a large metal sink. I cleaned dishes for hours, and when I tried to go to the bathroom, I got screamed at to go "ask permission" first. I'm a 22 year old woman, like f am I asking someone's permission to
    via u/itsnotromy
  • 09
    Age... Cleaning houses. They gave me a quick tutorial on how they like the houses cleaned, since I would be cleaning alone, I wouldn't clean any houses bigger then 1200 square feet. My first house was 3000 sq feet
    via u/AgePractical6298
  • 10
    and I had 2 hours to clean top to bottom. I got what I could do done in 2 hours. Boss called me to go back because customer wasn't satisfied, I blocked the number.
    via u/AgePractical6298
  • 11
    [deleted] Temp job right out of college. During the training phase I was told if I made an error I would get yelled at by him, his boss, his boss's boss and the owner of the company. I assumed it was a joke and he didn't laugh. I told him this was going to be a bad fit and walked.
    via u/[deleted]
  • 12
    BobbiBari I was hired for a customer support position that ended up being standing in a mall kiosk trying to get leads from randos walking by for sales. I was there for 2 hours before I went to the restroom and never came back.
    via u/BobbiBari
  • 13
    Just_Frosting2840 Worked Arby's for 4 hours. Came in 4am, prepped meat, shown registers lightly, then left to tend both lobby and drive-thru. Manager just sat in the office. Took my break and never went back.
    via u/Just_Frosting2840
  • 14
    qveeroccvlt I was hired to work at a sandwich shop. I did an hour up front figuring out where things were and then I was told to go to the walk-in fridge to get something. The smell... my god.
    via u/qveeroccvlt
  • 15
    There was unwrapped food on the floor, open pails of stuff with no lids, rotten vegetables. It smelled like a corpse and looked like a dumpster. I gagged, took my apron off and just left.
    via u/qveeroccvlt
  • 16
    FreshChickenEggs I was temping for a logistics company. The girl who was training me could not explain how to do the job. She gave vague instructions like "You look for empty rail cars and then make sure they are this certain kind and can handle the freight assigned to them" I asked is there - some way to tell the difference in the types of rail cars because they were just
    via u/FreshChickenEggs
  • 17
    boxes on a screen. Do I click on them and maybe get a description like this one is a refrigerated unit, etc? She said no, they are only listed by number and you just have to know which are which. OK, do the different types have a different number system? No, you just have to learn them. Also, the boss. doesn't really like it if you talk a lot.
    via u/FreshChickenEggs
  • 18
    She gave me some filing to do. There were tons of offices on the floor I worked on and it was DE D SILENT. No one spoke above a whisper and that was only when necessary. The girl I was temping for was on maternity leave and had worked there 2 years, the girl training me wasn't sure what her name was. I left at lunch and didn't go back.
    via u/FreshChickenEggs
  • 19
    PsychoBabble09 "Orientation" unexpectedly lasted 9hours... for a bartending position Also watched poor quality employees take advantage of the weak manager. I don't have time for that drama
    via u/PsychoBabble09
  • 20
    chewiebonez02 Told me I had to shave my beard for 7.25 an hour.
    via u/chewiebonez02
  • 21
    KingOfTheLifeNew... I got a job at Chipotle because my job climbing trees wasn't getting enough work and I had bills to pay. At Chipotle I worked with a bunch of highschoolers, which is fine, and one guy in his 30s. The guy in his 30s kept talking to me about the high-school coworkers high- school drama. He then gave me genuine praise for opening up a container of
    via u/KingOfTheLifeNewbs
  • 22
    salt by myself. The salt thing ped me off, but when he started telling me that this one male coworker was a little upset because he asked one of the female coworkers to some party and she wanted to go with friends and not him, I pretty much decided I was going back to the trees. I pictured myself being him one day. 30 something years old and fascinated by high-school drama. I couldn't do it. It's
    via u/KingOfTheLifeNewbs
  • 23
    funny to think back on now though. I never even picked up my paycheck for that day, so I essentially just volunteered to experience a "day in the life of a Chipotle worker".
    via u/KingOfTheLifeNewbs
  • 24
    [deleted] At the point I was required to sign an intellectual property agreement giving them control over any patent or copyright I may produce for the period of my
    via u/[deleted]
  • 25
    employment and a year after termination, regardless if it had anything to do with their business or processes. For an assembly-line welding gig. For $10 an hour. No thanks!
    via u/[deleted]
  • 26
    stateofyou I was working as a teacher at a private language school. Between my lessons I went to the toilet for a pee. The manager followed me in and asked "What are you doing? You need to wait until after work to go to the toilet" So my response was "I'm officially finished work now because I quit, now get out and let me finish my "I
    via u/stateofyou
  • 27
    Trickery1688 I work in a factory that gets pretty hot inside during the summer. Easily over 100 degrees inside on hot summer days. I have seen so many people quit their first day i can't even give you a number. Hundreds at this point for sure. We might as well only hire in the winter because new workers just can't take
    via u/Trickery1688
  • 28
    the heat while also having to learn a new job that's physically laborious.
    via u/Trickery1688
  • 29
    El-Viking It was a call center answering phone calls from people getting pop up ads saying "you've won a free vacation!" in the early days. of the internet. I tried to follow the script for the first few calls but quickly realized it wasn't a "free" vacation.
    via u/El-Viking
  • 30
    [deleted] After working at a golf course for 3 1/2 years I took a job at a landscaping company. Finished a 10 hour shift and decided that I needed to change fields. It was a good job but I had no energy for the things I needed to do at home and around the yard.
    via u/[deleted]
  • 31
    [deleted] They kept paging me until I couldn't take it anymore and threw the pager out the window on the freeway. Getting paged and having to find a payphone to call was a nightmare that kids today will never fully understand.
    via u/[deleted]
  • 32
    atypical_lemur When I was in college I quit a Wendy's the first night. This was in the mid 90's. I got hired and they asked could I start that night. I didn't have anything going on so ya, sure I'll be there 6- 10. After not more than 30 minutes of training on the registers and drive through
    via u/atypical_lemur
  • 33
    procedures I was told that I would have to watch the DT and Front End by myself for the rest of the night. After 7 there was litteraly 3 people in the store, me running the front end, a cook running the whole kitchen and a manager sitting in the office. At 10 when we closed I was told I wasn't allowed to leave until xyz are done, which I get as it was a closing shift, but that wasn't explained to
    via u/atypical_lemur
  • 34
    me when I was hired or asked to work, I was asked to work 6-10 and I had class the next day. So, since I'm not a complete ass (also young and didn't want to burn bridges, or was stupid or didn't know anybetter, I stayed until past midnight doing the closing stuffs. When we clocked out I told the manager I would not be back again. I'm not even sure if I ever went back to
    via u/atypical_lemur
  • 35
    get a paycheck and I don't recall ever even filling out paperwork to be hired.
    via u/atypical_lemur
  • 36
    knuckboy It was a new franchise owner of a classic Midwest ice cream shop. I had worked under prior owners as my first job. The new owners were idiots in daily life but they had also way overextended the menu so everything was crop. I took a 15 minute break, just got in my car and left.
    via u/knuckboy
  • 37
    Animaleyz I got a job at a "mortgage company". As soon as they said I had to pay a few hundred dollars for the training materials, I left.
    via u/Animaleyz
  • 38
    Mordkillius Not first day but 3rd day. Dad forced me to get a job at mcdonalds at high school. I had no car so i had to suit up and walk. First day of work I realise im the only fluent english speaking person at this location. Making the training a lot harder. Didn't know what the f i was doing and mostly just checked
    via u/Mordkillius
  • 39
    orders and filled drinks. Day 2 walking to work wearing the uniform and somebody throws a milkshake at me... it got on my pants. Day 2 they put me on the REGISTER at lunch time. No idea what im doing. Im up literally every single order. The menu buttons were all acronyms.
    via u/Mordkillius
  • 40
    Wanna throw up thinking about going to work on 3rd day but I go.... AND THEY HAD ME TRAINING A NEW GIRL! she was hot so i acted like I knew what i was doing. Internally i was doing. Day 4 i suit up to walk to work and my cousins are over and laughing at me seeing me in it. The one told me they wished i didnt have work so we could go to the
    via u/Mordkillius
  • 41
    mall... so i threw my uniform in the trash and went to the mall. Couldnt smell french fries for like a year without it giving me anxiety
    via u/Mordkillius
  • 42
    DandelionsAreFlo... Shoney's restaurant. Prepping for opening and saw the manager drop an entire pan of hash browns. on the floor and then use the dustpan to scoop it up off the dirty kitchen floor back into pan and put it on the buffet. NOPE.
    via u/DandelionsAreFlowers
  • 43
    Cheezburger Image 10539604224
    via Andrej Lišakov For Unsplash+

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • 44
    Venomous_Seviper Employer said (to 7 of us) "I'll be honest, you're all probably not very smart and were unable to get into college which is why you're here".
    via u/Venomous_Seviper
  • 45
    [deleted] Taking calls for turbo tax at tax time with zero training or understanding of taxes and expected to Google and research that while on the phone. Nah
    via u/[deleted]
  • 46
    edgeof ery A company hired me as a temp employee to replace someone on maternity leave. without telling me. One of my coworkers slipped up and mentioned that I was a temp. Grabbed my coat and keys and walked out.
    via u/edgeof****ery
  • 47
    M1ssMonkey I was given the lunch order for the c-suite of a small company (about 6 meals). They gave me about 50% of the cost of the order. When I showed them the receipt, they said that I am being overpaid anyways so I didn't. need to worry about it. It was minimum wage. I grabbed the CEO's lunch from the pile and walked out.
    via u/M1ssM0nkey
  • 48
    Anfie22 I witnessed a manager publicly humiliate a young employee to tears. He absolutely tore into her, it was cruel and savage. I hadn't been in the office for 2 hours. I wasn't enthused by the job anyway and I didn't direly require the extra cash, so good riddance.
    via u/Anfie22
  • 49
    SummerMarshmall... I worked as a Housekeeper for a day. I have worked as a Housekeeper in the past so I thought it wouldn't be a big deal. I knew after the 2nd suite that it was my "I'm out of here" moment. It was too overwhelming and too much to remember. Towels, wash cloths, hand towels, cleaning supplies, soap, shampoo, conditoter cups, spoons, coffee, creamer, tea
    via u/SummerMarshmallow184
  • 50
    ect They said that we were cleaning normal size rooms with just a bed, dresser, table and bathroom but when I walked in it was a FULL suite with a couch, mini bar, mini fridge, chair, table, king size bed with headboard, two TVs, 2 dresser drawers and a huge bathroom. On top of that you had to strip down the rooms and throw anything dirty into the laundry. Did I
    via u/SummerMarshmallow184
  • 51
    mention you had to do all of this in every suite within 20 minutes? After the 2nd room I was tired, thirsty and had enough when lunch time came around i drovr off. Housekeepers do a lot in one day, it's not just as the guest would put it "cleaning toilets" there's way more work than people think.
    via u/SummerMarshmallow184
  • 52
    edw1n-z Applied for a warehouse. All I had to do was grab boxes from a conveyor belt and stack them on a pallet and then plastic wrap the pallet. The wanted ad said 8 hours. I showed up on the first day at 6 am and worked until 6pm. 8 hours my ! |
    via u/edw1n-z
  • 53
    asked one of the workers there how common it was to work 12 hours a day and he said it was very common. After that one day I was done.
    via u/edw1n-z
  • 54
    Swish887 Took a job as a part-time welder and the forman took me to the paint booth and started to show me what needed painted. I walked out. A few months later I got a call to come in. The forman was gone.
    via u/Swish887
  • 55
    zombiez87 Walked into an Amazon warehouse for training and noticed the dark atmosphere with no windows or anything. Just a large gloomy warehouse. I already deal with depre son so driving 45 minutes there and 45 minutes back, 12 hour shifts at odd hours
    via u/zombiez87
  • 56
    (overnight shifts) 4 days a week plus mandatory overtime, nope! Not for me! Felt like I'd be working somewhere that was a constant trigger for me. I lasted 5 minutes, literally.
    via u/zombiez87
  • 57
    whaletacochamp My step FIL was an accountant and shortly after retiring a neighbor/family friend told him of a company looking for an accountant to help with the books for 1-2 days a week. He knew the guy well and trusted his judgment so he started the job shortly after.
    via u/whaletacochamp
  • 58
    On the first day a ball busting project manager came in and asked each person what they planned to accomplish that day and then said she would check in at the end of the day to ensure everyone had accomplished their intended task(s).
    via u/whaletacochamp
  • 59
    He gave it a couple of hours but then she started micro managing the accounting too. This was basic al business accounting. No need to reinvent the wheel and Intuit could probably do it cheaper. So that's what he told his neighbor to do lol.
    via u/whaletacochamp
  • 60
    abarua01 Got a job at a factory. They told me to show up at 6 am Sharp. I show up and tell the lobby guy I'm new and today is my first day. He tells me to stand around and wait for someone. I waited for 45 minutes and went home, and went back to bed
    via u/abarua01
  • 61
    typhoon_raccoon First day as a (untrained) barrista at a restaurant. Got yelled at because I had trouble operating their coffee machine (which they knew beforehand). After a few hours I asked when I could take my break and they laughed at me and said that they "didn't do breaks". Found another waitress crying in the back because the boss yelled at her.
    via u/typhoon_raccoon
  • 62
    Wasn't allowed to go to the bathroom. When my shift was over they told me I couldn't leave until the boss returned because they wanted to have a "first day"- talk with me. Asked when the boss would be back, "We don't know". So I've waited fifteen minutes and then just left. They were flabbergasted.
    via u/typhoon_raccoon
  • 63
    Cheezburger Image 10539605248
    via Getty Images For Unsplash+

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • 64
    KoLiel Worked in a factory and one of the machines I would be working around only operated properly if the safety light curtains (the lasers that detect objects in the work zone) were off.
    via u/KoLiel
  • 65
    [deleted] They wanted me to buy the products I was supposed to be selling up front (years before MLMs became popular) luckily for me I had no money.
    via u/[deleted]
  • 66
    Redtail_Defense Catfished on a direct sales MLM. Was told it was a startup, wouldn't be a customer-facing position, and that pay range was between 45-55K a year for someone with my experience Orientation was at a nice pub. I finished my burger and left in the middle of a presentation.
    via u/Redtail_Defense
  • 67
    helgathehorr It was an old dirty office with antiquated procedures. After 2 hours I thought I couldn't take another minute. I told the owner I was sorry, gathered my things, and left.
    via u/helgathehorr
  • 68
    goudasupreme my trainer spoke basically no english, i had no idea what was going on and it was in the most depressing, middle of nowhere warehouse you could ever imagine. I was there for maybe 4 hours
    via u/goudasupreme
  • 69
    [deleted] When I was a freshman in college in 2002, I worked a single shift at Abercrombie after being approached about getting a job there by one of their recruiters. "What's your favorite color" was one of the interview (group interview) questions. I knew then that I wouldn't last but decided to give it a try.
    via u/[deleted]
  • 70
    After trying to fold (terribly) women's XS tank tops (this is literally impossible; I have no idea how retail pros do this) only for them to be immediately rifled through and messed up for a few hours I just said "f " and walked. Never even went back for my check.
    via u/[deleted]

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