Absolutely right. It's always good to leave any position with a healthy amount of financial padding to hold you over, even if you're transitioning right into another position. Some places are better than others about getting your payroll set up, but I've been at places where you don't get a full paycheck until you're a month in working there or more. Having a bit of a cushion means you can focus on training and transitioning into a new place with less anxiety. If you're leaving a place without a job lined up, you'll want over a month's worth of funds saved up, ideally up to 3 months worth. That means, enough to cover all your bills and some for unexpected expenses (especially if you have dependents). If you can't save that much money before you leave, try to get some sort of hold-over job that can help you pull in money while you search for your next permanent opportunity. You can go to a temp agency, do an online service like lyft/uber, task rabbit, etc. Or, if you have the skills you can do freelance/consulting work. It's best to know what you want to do and, all importantly, to have a backup plan in case your ideal plan doesn't work out. If you're thinking about leaving a place, no matter the circumstances, think long and hard about how you'll handle the transition process. Things will go a lot smoother if you're thoughtful about the steps you take.