Would you leave now or after a training course?

[TheExtraGuineaPig]

I am 90% decided that I am going to leave my job. It's for a combination of personal and organisational reasons - I am fulltime and family life is really suffering, also I don't love the culture or my job (neither do I hate it). The thing is I am attending a course next week which I'm really lucky to get on. My boss is away right up until the course starts but my question is should I resign a couple of weeks earlier than I planned to and give up my place on the course (someone else could benefit) or should I do the course then resign a few weeks later?

I am consumed with guilt - my boss is lovely.

Do the course if it's something that would interest you.

Life happens and people leave organisations for all sorts of reasons, so you shouldn't feel guilty.

The only thing to be aware of is if there is a policy in your organisation about recovering the cost of courses if you leave within a certain time of taking the course.

If another employee would benefit from the course, and by you going on it, you'd be depriving them of the training, even though you have made up your mind to leave I definitely wouldn't go. It would be too mean.

Thank you both - I think I'm going to tell her before the course (although that in itself is a challenge as she's overseas in a different timezone atm!) as it feels right to me. God, I hate letting people down, even though if the positions were reversed I'd understand and I'm sure she will too!

Is the course that's more for your professional development or more for the organisations benefit? If it personally benefits you then I'd do it, something you can add to your cv (providing you don't have to pay back any training costs) if the course is more specific to the organisation and isn't particularly transferable then I wouldn't.

Is there any clause in your contract about having to repay training costs if you leave within 6 months or a year of receiving the training? That would probably be the decider for me.