4 ms·

Great article Elliot. You write that one should "change jobs at least once a year" in order to maximize network and salary. Has this approach held you back at

Great article Elliot. You write that one should "change jobs at least once a year" in order to maximize network and salary. Has this approach held you back at all? As an anecdote, when I was hired for my current job, I was told "we're hiring you under the expectation that you will be here at least two years."

elliotbnvl 6y ago
Thanks for your comment. It hasn't held me back at all (the exact opposite, in fact), but it's important to note that this advice should be taken with a grain of salt -- it's not for everybody, as I said at the beginning of the article. There are (at least) two approaches to managing tenure length as a developer. One of them is the "stay put in one place (usually at a FAANG) for thirty years and retire", and the other is the "take lots of short contracts, with optional breaks". As long as you behave in a manner consistent with the approach you're taking, you'll be fine. The issue comes when you try to take one approach while believing you are taking the other. If you change jobs frequently while looking for long-term employment, you'll substantially decrease your chances of being perceived as generating return on investment by potential employers. This is due to the dynamics of long-term employment which result in expensive onboarding costs that can take a while to recoup. However, as a contractor, the onboarding and sourcing expenditures are typically lower (and budgeted differently): the ROI looks much different. It's acceptable and common to accept find and make short-term roles. So it just depends what you're going for. I value the flexibility in shorter term employment which has been, in my experience, harder to find with the longer tenure track. It also seems easier to make sure you are being paid what you're worth.

4 ms·

Great article Elliot. You write that one should "change jobs at least once a year" in order to maximize network and salary. Has this approach held you back at

by dlivingston 6y ago

elliotbnvl 6y ago
Thanks for your comment. It hasn't held me back at all (the exact opposite, in fact), but it's important to note that this advice should be taken with a grain of salt -- it's not for everybody, as I said at the beginning of the article. There are (at least) two approaches to managing tenure length as a developer. One of them is the "stay put in one place (usually at a FAANG) for thirty years and retire", and the other is the "take lots of short contracts, with optional breaks". As long as you behave in a manner consistent with the approach you're taking, you'll be fine. The issue comes when you try to take one approach while believing you are taking the other. If you change jobs frequently while looking for long-term employment, you'll substantially decrease your chances of being perceived as generating return on investment by potential employers. This is due to the dynamics of long-term employment which result in expensive onboarding costs that can take a while to recoup. However, as a contractor, the onboarding and sourcing expenditures are typically lower (and budgeted differently): the ROI looks much different. It's acceptable and common to accept find and make short-term roles. So it just depends what you're going for. I value the flexibility in shorter term employment which has been, in my experience, harder to find with the longer tenure track. It also seems easier to make sure you are being paid what you're worth.