Gen-X in tech here. When I was about to enter the workforce we were told that having multiple jobs in our resume or showing that we stayed at a job less than five years was really bad and would make us difficult to hire because it showed that we couldn’t be depended on.
Fuck that!
I switched jobs all the time as I chased higher salaries and bigger benefits. If they wanted my skills they needed to pay me AND they needed to guarantee me at least two off-site training programs per year. All that training and experience in different technologies and environments made me more and more valuable until my only option was to go into consulting so that multiple clients could benefit at once and none need to commit to paying me beyond the scope of their project.
For those reading, don’t let them fool you about down selling your worth. If you’ve got the skills they want, and you show that, they’ll pay you. Job history conversations are just a way to try and leverage lower pay or benefits on you.
Up until like 2022, changing your job every one and a half to three years was the best way to increase your base salary and total lifetime income.
I’ve changed jobs every 3ish years for the last 12 years and when I started I was making $15 an hour and now I’m making $67 an hour.
My friend who I met at the $15 an hour job has only changed jobs every 7 years, he’s now making $27 an hour.
We have similar skill sets and graduated from the same college except he was 2 years ahead of me, although, I did move to a higher cost of living area which is probably good for like $20 of the difference.
Gen-X in tech here. When I was about to enter the workforce we were told that having multiple jobs in our resume or showing that we stayed at a job less than five years was really bad and would make us difficult to hire because it showed that we couldn’t be depended on.
Fuck that!
I switched jobs all the time as I chased higher salaries and bigger benefits. If they wanted my skills they needed to pay me AND they needed to guarantee me at least two off-site training programs per year. All that training and experience in different technologies and environments made me more and more valuable until my only option was to go into consulting so that multiple clients could benefit at once and none need to commit to paying me beyond the scope of their project.
That’s the right mindset.
For those reading, don’t let them fool you about down selling your worth. If you’ve got the skills they want, and you show that, they’ll pay you. Job history conversations are just a way to try and leverage lower pay or benefits on you.
Up until like 2022, changing your job every one and a half to three years was the best way to increase your base salary and total lifetime income.
I’ve changed jobs every 3ish years for the last 12 years and when I started I was making $15 an hour and now I’m making $67 an hour.
My friend who I met at the $15 an hour job has only changed jobs every 7 years, he’s now making $27 an hour.
We have similar skill sets and graduated from the same college except he was 2 years ahead of me, although, I did move to a higher cost of living area which is probably good for like $20 of the difference.