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> Average empployment time at any single company in the tech industry is now 18-24 months. The devs who are ok with this have no idea how bad this will bite th

> Average empployment time at any single company in the tech industry is now 18-24 months. The devs who are ok with this have no idea how bad this will bite them later when they're older and nobody wants to employ them. Hope y'all are good at saving money.

briHass 10y ago
Maybe it will hurt them, but it may not as well. Tech, for better or worse, is moving so fast that working on the same codebase for 5+ years is likely to greatly reduce your marketability for a new job. While that loyal individual may have been very valuable to his former employer, much of what he learned/specialized in is specific to that company and provides little value to someone else. One can always blame the individual for not spending his free time staying current, but not everyone is at the life stage where they have the ability/energy to end a 10 hour day at work by coming home and spending another few hours coding. Personally, I agree with you someone with a string of 18 month jobs would put me off as an employer. However, if you find yourself stagnating in your job, you must move on.
- Twirrim 10y ago
  It really astounds me when I see resumes for people who spend 6-12 months at a job before moving on. Sure, where it's contracts, that's often out of the individuals hands and I pay no attention to the duration. A remarkable number of these are people who have taken full time jobs and moved on soon after. The only thing that results in is the resume going in the trash.
lacampbell 10y ago
I think it's a different generation. Companies don't invest in people, people don't stay long term in companies. You can also get big pay jumps early in your career - spending 2+ years in your first company is just pouring money down the drain. I'm kind of in this position. My first job out of university was a 3 month contract, then I had a 9 month "permanent" position which ended when they closed the office, then two back to back contracts at the same place spanning 12 months, and now another permanent position which I am 6 months into. Before this most recent position I had the most interest of potential employers to date. I suspect you are right in one sense - as you get further into your career the length of time you stay in positions should be longer, or you should move into contracting. I certainly plan on staying at my current position for at least 24 months. But I feel like 5 and 10 year tenures will start to be the exception rather than the norm.

briHass 10y ago

Maybe it will hurt them, but it may not as well. Tech, for better or worse, is moving so fast that working on the same codebase for 5+ years is likely to greatly reduce your marketability for a new job. While that loyal individual may have been very valuable to his former employer, much of what he learned/specialized in is specific to that company and provides little value to someone else. One can always blame the individual for not spending his free time staying current, but not everyone is at the life stage where they have the ability/energy to end a 10 hour day at work by coming home and spending another few hours coding. Personally, I agree with you someone with a string of 18 month jobs would put me off as an employer. However, if you find yourself stagnating in your job, you must move on.

Twirrim 10y ago
It really astounds me when I see resumes for people who spend 6-12 months at a job before moving on. Sure, where it's contracts, that's often out of the individuals hands and I pay no attention to the duration. A remarkable number of these are people who have taken full time jobs and moved on soon after. The only thing that results in is the resume going in the trash.

lacampbell 10y ago

I think it's a different generation. Companies don't invest in people, people don't stay long term in companies. You can also get big pay jumps early in your career - spending 2+ years in your first company is just pouring money down the drain. I'm kind of in this position. My first job out of university was a 3 month contract, then I had a 9 month "permanent" position which ended when they closed the office, then two back to back contracts at the same place spanning 12 months, and now another permanent position which I am 6 months into. Before this most recent position I had the most interest of potential employers to date. I suspect you are right in one sense - as you get further into your career the length of time you stay in positions should be longer, or you should move into contracting. I certainly plan on staying at my current position for at least 24 months. But I feel like 5 and 10 year tenures will start to be the exception rather than the norm.