Poll for millennials: how often is too often to change jobs?

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Ghost of Bisbee
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6:03p, 8/9/22
AG
In this day and age, it pays to jump organizations, and often. From a total compensation standpoint and a progression standpoint.

With "merit raises" not keeping up with inflation and promotion raises not matching what's offered to new hires in the same position, jumping makes sense

I've read 2-3 years of experience where progression is shown is the sweet spot before jumping. What say you?
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HouAggie
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6:40p, 8/9/22
Don't overlook LTI/LTIPs. Jumping ship every few years can leave a lot of dollars on the table.
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not hedge
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7:02p, 8/9/22
Been at my job longer than most my age 4 years. My industry is different in that it wouldn't necessarily be beneficial for me to find the same job somewhere else because I have to build new relations with clients again etc…. That being said if I was in the corporate world and not working for a small family business I would say 2 - 3 years. Or at least negotiate for raises
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TwoMarksHand
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7:15p, 8/9/22
AG
31 here. With the same company for 8 years. Only company I've worked for since graduation. In outside sales and have had constant growth. Benefits for this company are the best in the business. Don't foresee leaving unless the company is bought and drastically changed.
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$30,000 Millionaire
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7:27p, 8/9/22
AG
Not a millennial - but I think you have to be mercenary. One thing to consider is that jumping too frequently prevents you from growing and fully getting certain experiences that you need for high level jobs.

I'm friends with an Ag that is the most impatient person I know. He changes jobs all the time, normally annually. Smart enough to be C-level, but gets bored quickly and gets "offended" often as well. He's stuck as a senior level IC when he is/was capable of much much more.
You don’t trade for money, you trade for freedom.
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not hedge
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In reply to $30,000 Millionaire • 7:29p, 8/9/22
I definitely feel like I'm missing out sometimes by not job hopping
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dlp3719
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7:40p, 8/9/22
AG
For most jobs in your 20's and early 30's, you don't fully learn and get the most out of the job <3 years. I'd say at least 2 years and preferably hit 3.

Also remember, most 401k matches cliff vest at the 3 year mark so often that's also a reason to stay to the 3 year mark.

If they have matched 3-4% on a $75k job + market performance, you could be leaving $10k behind not hitting the vest for the match.
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Buck Compton
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8:00p, 8/9/22
AG
I stayed 3 years and got a promotion, went to business school, stayed 6 years (through three promotions), then jumped for an executive leadership opportunity where I've learned more in 1.5 years than I ever did in the previous 9 or in business school. I passed up 4-5 different offers in that six years for more money.

For some stages of your career, the money truly isn't the goal. You need experiences that will help you continue to grow. I learned way more in the 6 years. I learned how to act as I worked my way up the chain, played some of the political games, and got a chance to manage people that used to be peers. I wouldn't have had that same experience if I had jumped every 2 years and it's been invaluable now managing an organization of almost 500 people and mentoring people on my team.

I agree on becoming a mercenary as long as you're maximizing what's important to you and best advances your career. That's not salary for everyone, for some it's flexibility for family time or WFH. For others it's prestige and for others it's being fulfilled by the cause they're serving or truly enjoying the work they're doing. Small company vs. multi-National is important for some. Everyone has their own personal calculus on that.

Don't stay in a bad situation purely out of loyalty because the company would drop you in a heartbeat if they had to. But don't jump just to jump if you're in a great situation. There's no promotion possible for me at my current company. It's either jump to a bigger company or keep growing to grow my comp. I can tell you it isn't my last stop of my career, but it's a pretty good place right now to just learn to lead and act as an executive, especially leading through a recession.
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canadianAg
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8:02p, 8/9/22
AG
Millennial here, also been with the same company since graduating (9 years now). It really is just a case by case situation in my experience. I have one friend who left to do an MBA and the started management consulting. I make more than he does and I didn't have to do a full time MBA for 2 years (granted he has the most upside in my opinion). Several friends left for tech companies (msft, google, Amazon). Even with their stock options, I suspect we're still really close because I also performed really well and got stock options more frequently than normal for my company and have a pension that they don't and didn't have to live in Seattle or California. And I have friends still working with me that have definitely fallen behind compared to me and my friends that left.

The big driver for me (and it's hard to find this if you're jumping around) is that I have a VP that is bringing me up with her. And she meets all the DEI checkboxes needed to progress at a Fortune100 and I'm clearly her favorite. Now one day I'll have to step out of her shadow, probably in the next 3-5 years to push for leadership roles, but having her has been a huge financial upside for me that made staying put make sense.

So no real answer I guess. My friends made jumps around years 3-5 but haven't moved since. But they also haven't significantly outpaced me (if at all).
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not hedge
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8:36p, 8/9/22
While my pay is decent and I can easily get more. I have zero micro management and have flexible hours (take off to go to dr appts, run errands, emergencies or just vacay) pretty much whenever I want to. I've heard in more corporate environments taking off can be a pain in the ass
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Foamcows
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9:09a, 8/10/22
AG
Why not find a company to work for that is large enough you can bounce around to different jobs inside the company?
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htxag09
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In reply to not hedge • 9:32a, 8/10/22
AG
not hedge said:
While my pay is decent and I can easily get more. I have zero micro management and have flexible hours (take off to go to dr appts, run errands, emergencies or just vacay) pretty much whenever I want to. I've heard in more corporate environments taking off can be a pain in the ass
I would say it's strictly a case by case basis. You have extreme examples in both corporate and small companies.

For example, earlier in my career I did sales for a small, family owned company. I was on the road almost every week. I'd often drive to Midland (from Houston) to save the company money vs. flying as well as being able to load my truck with parts to gain business. I'd usually drive Sunday afternoon to be ready to go Monday and then drive home Thursday, leaving early afternoon, getting home around midnight. The company would see I checked out of a hotel Thursday morning on my expense report and question me about not being at the office Friday. Also had the receptionist basically keep a chart of when everyone arrived, left, took lunch, how long, etc.

My wife works for one of the larger global IT companies. She's been on a hybrid schedule for probably 8 years and fully remote since a couple years pre-pandemic. With that she also has a lot of flexibility with her hours, more vacation time than she can generally use, 6 month maternity leave, etc.
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krosch11
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10:55a, 8/10/22
AG
It really all depends on the company and opportunities. In my personal experience, it makes sense to jump sooner if you work for larger companies. They seem to slow roll every opportunity for growth or promotion because they want to keep their SG&A down. I just left my smaller company after 7 years for a significant increase. Prior to that, I had promotions and ample bonus opportunities. We were acquired by a fortune 100 company and everything great about the company dried up. Hence the longer timeline with them.
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littlebitofhifi
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In reply to Foamcows • 10:56a, 8/10/22
AG
Foamcows said:
Why not find a company to work for that is large enough you can bounce around to different jobs inside the company?
Because this improves experience but rarely compensation (at least not as much as can be obtained by changing companies.)
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Ol Jock 99
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10:58a, 8/10/22
AG
A word of caution from an Xer...I have a good friend who is pushing 50. He's in sales, always does well, but gets bored and likes hopping companies. Well, as he gets older, the hopping has become more and more challenging, and the roles have become less and less lucrative. Just something to think about as y'all start looking at 40.
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$30,000 Millionaire
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In reply to Ol Jock 99 • 12:15p, 8/10/22
AG
Ol Jock 99 said:
A word of caution from an Xer...I have a good friend who is pushing 50. He's in sales, always does well, but gets bored and likes hopping companies. Well, as he gets older, the hopping has become more and more challenging, and the roles have become less and less lucrative. Just something to think about as y'all start looking at 40.
Do we know the same dude?
You don’t trade for money, you trade for freedom.
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62strat
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12:50p, 8/10/22
AG
Maybe I'm just lucky, but I've had good luck staying with my current employer, and it's the longest I've ever worked for someone.
I hit 7 years next month, and my salary is up 45% from when I started, or over 6% a year. In addition, my bonus has increased every year, from $0 in year 1, now up to ~30% of my salary and still rising. Looking at just those two together, my '22 comp is double that of '15.
This is me being in the same role with same responsibilities.

Plus we get 15% profit sharing for retirement account which has grown to 6 figures already, and a vehicle allowance. They just gave us $1200 visa card last week to help with rising fuel cost.
All in all, the retention here is off the charts, and turnover is near zero, and it's not hard to guess why.

I feel like I have no reason to leave and try and chase more money, and even if I did it may not payoff.
For reference, I'm 42 now.. in that in between age of Xer and Mill.
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Deputy Travis Junior
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5:03p, 8/10/22
I think it is highly dependent on the details of the jumps. If you're hired as a business analyst, then leave to be a senior analyst 2 years later, then leave that job to be a business manager 2 years after that, very few recruiters will look at you and think you're a flake (same story if you get 25% raises each time, or learn new useful skills, etc). But if you have 3 jobs in 4 years and you're doing the same thing at each, that looks worse. But then again the recruiter still might not care; imagine all that he/she wants is to plug a hole for a year or two and you already have the skills. Then you're fine.

If you hate your job, go look for a new one, and even if you don't, you should test the waters every few years to make sure you're not getting screwed on comp. That's my take.
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Ragoo
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9:27p, 8/10/22
AG
I've made one career move. Was with first company for 9 years doing everything from being a frontline engineer to managing a team of engineers, aftermarket sales and service P&L, etc. it ran its course.

Made a change to a company in the same industry but the other side of the fence. OEM to owner/operator. Been here 4 years and have 0 intent on ever leaving.

It all depends on the industry and type of work you are doing. Different industries incentivize differently and different types of work functions require change to move forward.
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one MEEN Ag
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In reply to Ghost of Bisbee • 9:11a, 8/11/22
AG
Depends on what you want out of your career, work/life balance, and how easily you can uproot your family. Your goal should always be to develop deep skills that are hard to find in a market place.

My take is that a freshout of college doesn't really understand the business/system until about two years into their career. If they jump to a different industry they're just repeating that two years over again. Those big companies that are always hunting for 2 year experienced people are just trying to find freshouts who have A) learned how to behave in an office environment and B) have decided what they actually want out of a job.

So if you want to steer away from a technical ladder then yeah, keep jumping until you're in sales smoking all of us on salary. I want more out of a career than just money though. I have small children at home. I couldn't give two ****s about working late to hit quarterly numbers compared to being home with them.

Also, always stay long enough to get vested in your 401k. Unless its a stupid high offer, bouncing around while leaving 401ks on the table hurts in the long run.
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ORAggieFan
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2:11p, 8/11/22
I think 4-6 years at a place is ideal. It shows you are good. In that time one to two promotions is realistic.

If you have multiple stints at two years or under, I'm likely passing.
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Duncan Idaho
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In reply to $30,000 Millionaire • 7:56a, 8/12/22
$30,000 Millionaire said:
Not a millennial - but I think you have to be mercenary. One thing to consider is that jumping too frequently prevents you from growing and fully getting certain experiences that you need for high level jobs.

I'm friends with an Ag that is the most impatient person I know. He changes jobs all the time, normally annually. Smart enough to be C-level, but gets bored quickly and gets "offended" often as well. He's stuck as a senior level IC when he is/was capable of much much more.


I didn't know we were friends
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LMCane
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In reply to $30,000 Millionaire • 8:44a, 8/12/22
$30,000 Millionaire said:
Not a millennial - but I think you have to be mercenary. One thing to consider is that jumping too frequently prevents you from growing and fully getting certain experiences that you need for high level jobs.

I'm friends with an Ag that is the most impatient person I know. He changes jobs all the time, normally annually. Smart enough to be C-level, but gets bored quickly and gets "offended" often as well. He's stuck as a senior level IC when he is/was capable of much much more.
also the problem with jumping is that potential employers will think to themselves 'why hire this guy when we will have to retrain his replacement in another year or two" and also if you jump ship quickly, you won't be willing to work that hard and get in the trenches with the rest of the team.

I'm 52 and spent 8 years with LMT, 6 years with UTC/Raytheon, 2 years Booz Allen, 1 year contractor, 5 years USG, and now 2 years next week with Rafael. to me that seems like a lot of moving around but it's pretty stable compared to today's environment.

I think you owe the employer at least two years when you take the offer.
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not hedge
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In reply to LMCane • 8:55a, 8/12/22
You owe the employer nothing. The reason job hopping exists is because employers would give 2 or 3% wages but hire new people makin significantly more than them. This has caused a shift from company loyalty who used to incentivize to job hopping for 20/30% raises
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Duncan Idaho
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In reply to LMCane • 9:17a, 8/12/22
LMCane said:
$30,000 Millionaire said:
Not a millennial - but I think you have to be mercenary. One thing to consider is that jumping too frequently prevents you from growing and fully getting certain experiences that you need for high level jobs.

I'm friends with an Ag that is the most impatient person I know. He changes jobs all the time, normally annually. Smart enough to be C-level, but gets bored quickly and gets "offended" often as well. He's stuck as a senior level IC when he is/was capable of much much more.
also the problem with jumping is that potential employers will think to themselves 'why hire this guy when we will have to retrain his replacement in another year or two" and also if you jump ship quickly, you won't be willing to work that hard and get in the trenches with the rest of the team.

I'm 52 and spent 8 years with LMT, 6 years with UTC/Raytheon, 2 years Booz Allen, 1 year contractor, 5 years USG, and now 2 years next week with Rafael. to me that seems like a lot of moving around but it's pretty stable compared to today's environment.

I think you owe the employer at least two years when you take the offer.


The bolded is insanity. The only time you owe an employer time is of they did something for you that you couldn't get done any other way.

E.g. going to work for a defense contractor who sponsors you for a TS clearance.

Sometimes you have to fire an employer for cause. And not keeping up with your market value is cause for termination
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The Debt
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8:23p, 8/12/22
This thread is devoid of fidelity.
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$30,000 Millionaire
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9:51p, 8/12/22
AG
Guys,

You don't owe an employer Jack shiat. This is almost rule #1.

I would have no problem leaving a job after 3 weeks if something much better came along. I mean, you can't do that all the time, but once is okay.
You don’t trade for money, you trade for freedom.
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not hedge
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In reply to $30,000 Millionaire • 9:52p, 8/12/22
Starting to come to that conclusion, sucks cause I built relationships with all the company clients but I'm way too underpaid for what I do
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Ghost of Bisbee
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2:47a, 8/13/22
AG
I work in a "passion industry", and the downside to that is organizations know there is a supply of thousands ready to take your place at the drop of a hat, even for top performers.

I've been fortunate to increase my salary to outpace inflation 3x with a promotion in the same organization after a relatively short time, but the gunners who rise quickly tend to jump organizations about every 2 years. Even 3 years seems on the longer end, on average.

Agree with poster mentioning it also depends on your industry. In my case it definitely does.
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lb3
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4:31a, 8/13/22
AG
I would say 4 years is ideal.

I know a guy who has been a C-level exec at multiple Fortune 500 companies and he changes jobs about as often as I change shirts. For him, 4 years would be a marathon.
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Sea Speed
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2:22a, 8/14/22
AG
Stayed at my last gig for 7 years. 2 to 4 promotions depending on how you look at it. Made it to the pinnacle of that job and was hired as a very unique specialist in my field MUCH closer to home. Practically in my backyard. I will potentially have 7 months off per year with 6 as a minimum. In my line of work there is really only one job that is seen as more prestigious than this one and I am doing everything possible to get it. In my line of work you MUST stay lut to advance because so many things are not plug and play from company to company.

I'm pretty happy my career has gone this way because I never would have predicted it would. It is very crazy the path life has for us.
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AggieMainland
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5:16a, 8/14/22
I worked for the same company for 11 years and regret not job hopping. Salary kept going up so it was enough to stay but I would have learned more by moving around. In the long run, the extra skills learned would have been worth more than extra $10k here or there.
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not hedge
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9:09a, 8/14/22
I'm tempted to pull the trigger. Sure if this thread
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northeastag
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In reply to LMCane • 9:20a, 8/14/22
AG
LMCane said:
$30,000 Millionaire said:
Not a millennial - but I think you have to be mercenary. One thing to consider is that jumping too frequently prevents you from growing and fully getting certain experiences that you need for high level jobs.

I'm friends with an Ag that is the most impatient person I know. He changes jobs all the time, normally annually. Smart enough to be C-level, but gets bored quickly and gets "offended" often as well. He's stuck as a senior level IC when he is/was capable of much much more.
also the problem with jumping is that potential employers will think to themselves 'why hire this guy when we will have to retrain his replacement in another year or two" and also if you jump ship quickly, you won't be willing to work that hard and get in the trenches with the rest of the team.

I'm 52 and spent 8 years with LMT, 6 years with UTC/Raytheon, 2 years Booz Allen, 1 year contractor, 5 years USG, and now 2 years next week with Rafael. to me that seems like a lot of moving around but it's pretty stable compared to today's environment.

I think you owe the employer at least two years when you take the offer.


I don't think you necessarily owe the employer anything, but when I was hiring more senior level people that I needed to be in the job for more than a year or two, I wouldn't even interview the serial job hoppers. Particularly if it were a leadership position with management and strategic responsibilities. More junior level, eh, who really cares.
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htxag09
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9:21a, 8/14/22
AG
I spent minimum of 4 years at my first two companies. Left the first one because a new experience was available that I thought would be very valuable for my future. Left the second one because it was a small family company that tried to suck the life out of you and had an opportunity back into supply chain that my past experiences really catered to.

Had no thoughts of leaving that third job but a merger and Covid happened so wasn't really given an option. Found a job I was grateful for (hiring during Covid) but it was a very tactical data entry job and not the strategic roll I was looking for (granted a high paying one).

My current company reached out when I'd only been there 6 months and I didn't hesitate. Felt a bit like an ass but just wasn't a good fit. I haven't once regretted it in the 18 months since.
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