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Not really. Beware you can be easily replaced in your new company without any compensation. Risk is often not accounted for. If you're a twenty something it's o

Not really. Beware you can be easily replaced in your new company without any compensation. Risk is often not accounted for. If you're a twenty something it's ok, but imagine you're a parent of 3 and you have to switch jobs every two years: unbearable.

user5994461 9y ago
There are very few projects spanning 5 years or even close to that. Even if you want to stay in a company, you might not have the option.
lsc 9y ago
>Not really. Beware you can be easily replaced in your new company without any compensation. Risk is often not accounted for. My perception is that the sort of people who stick around too long have a much harder time getting their next gig when their current job ends (as nearly all jobs do, sooner or later.) Now, certainly, this has something to do with the fact that people who do badly in interviews tend to stick around longer once they do score a decent job, but I think it also has to do with the fact that interviewing and starting a new job is a skill, and improves with practice, like any other skill, and if you don't have any practice, and then suddenly have to interview in 'hard mode' [1] you are going to have a hard time. I am one of those people who interviews better than their job performance would suggest, but even so, I personally would much rather swing for a better job while the economy is hot and get fired after a few months (and have to find a new job while unemployed in a hot economy) than ride a company all the way down during a downturn and then try to find a job while unemployed in a bad economy. Of course, that's not really a fair either/or; it's super hard to predict what companies will do well in the downturn while the economy is still doing well. I'm just saying that as long as the economy is hot, the consequences to losing your job tend to be small (unless you have a really serious problem with interviewing; I know some people that are actually really good programmers, but who are... disabled in that regard.) - when the economy is not hot, the consequences of losing your job are much greater. [1]It's so much easier to get a better job while you have a job than it is to get a job after you've been laid off, both because the new employer will think less of you if you are currently unemployed and because you are dramatically more likely to get laid off when demand for your job role in the economy as a whole is reduced. Getting a programming job in 1999? super easy. getting a programming job in 2002? extremely difficult.
scarface74 9y ago
You can easily be replaced at any company without compensation. Like one on my coworkers said, always keep your running shoes around your neck. I'm prepared to change jobs st a moments notice. My resume stays up to date. I keep my PluralSight account and my network current. Also keep a savings account with enough in it to cover your expenses until you can get another job. In my neck of the woods (not on the west coast) for the last 20 years it's been about a month at most.

user5994461 9y ago

There are very few projects spanning 5 years or even close to that. Even if you want to stay in a company, you might not have the option.

lsc 9y ago

>Not really. Beware you can be easily replaced in your new company without any compensation. Risk is often not accounted for. My perception is that the sort of people who stick around too long have a much harder time getting their next gig when their current job ends (as nearly all jobs do, sooner or later.) Now, certainly, this has something to do with the fact that people who do badly in interviews tend to stick around longer once they do score a decent job, but I think it also has to do with the fact that interviewing and starting a new job is a skill, and improves with practice, like any other skill, and if you don't have any practice, and then suddenly have to interview in 'hard mode' [1] you are going to have a hard time. I am one of those people who interviews better than their job performance would suggest, but even so, I personally would much rather swing for a better job while the economy is hot and get fired after a few months (and have to find a new job while unemployed in a hot economy) than ride a company all the way down during a downturn and then try to find a job while unemployed in a bad economy. Of course, that's not really a fair either/or; it's super hard to predict what companies will do well in the downturn while the economy is still doing well. I'm just saying that as long as the economy is hot, the consequences to losing your job tend to be small (unless you have a really serious problem with interviewing; I know some people that are actually really good programmers, but who are... disabled in that regard.) - when the economy is not hot, the consequences of losing your job are much greater. [1]It's so much easier to get a better job while you have a job than it is to get a job after you've been laid off, both because the new employer will think less of you if you are currently unemployed and because you are dramatically more likely to get laid off when demand for your job role in the economy as a whole is reduced. Getting a programming job in 1999? super easy. getting a programming job in 2002? extremely difficult.

scarface74 9y ago

You can easily be replaced at any company without compensation. Like one on my coworkers said, always keep your running shoes around your neck. I'm prepared to change jobs st a moments notice. My resume stays up to date. I keep my PluralSight account and my network current. Also keep a savings account with enough in it to cover your expenses until you can get another job. In my neck of the woods (not on the west coast) for the last 20 years it's been about a month at most.