4 ms·

It's more accurate to say that job-hopping has diminishing returns. Get a single +39% increase is one thing. Getting a +39% increase every single time you cha

It's more accurate to say that job-hopping has diminishing returns. Get a single +39% increase is one thing. Getting a +39% increase every single time you change jobs isn't going to happen. If that was possible, you could change jobs every year for a decade and be earning 27X what you started with. If you started at $100K, that would put you at $2.7 million year after 10 iterations. That's why whenever someone insists that job hopping is an easy way to get huge pay increases, it's probably more a sign that they're early in their career and/or that they haven't been keeping up with compensation negotiations. For people at the sharp end of the compensation scale, job-hopping stops becoming an easy option for compensation increases.

munk-a 4y ago
I'd still be very cautious about dissuading people from job hopping. My advice is always "Keep interviewing for new positions at regular intervals until you're bordering on retirement." A lot of people a lot of people are making less money than they could be due to being complacent about reaffirming their own value. America, and most of the modern world, runs a labour market and to properly value a good in a market you need real sales data - I think it's a solidly good idea to interview regularly, be prepared to job hop... but make a sane evaluation about the decision before committing to leaving or joining a particular job. Most employers over-advertise their business because... well... advertising works - so the grass might not be greener on the other side. But if you have an offer for 120k and are currently making 80k from an employer that values you you can discuss that with your employer to seek a salary equalization.
- SauciestGNU 4y ago
  I agree with always interviewing. I had not been until recently and when I tested the market I found that my current compensation is less than half of the current market rate. I'm kicking myself for leaving basically half a retirement on the table for the last 6 years, and I'm disgruntled in my current position now to boot!
jacurtis 4y ago
Yes, job hopping is incredibly lucrative and beneficial early in your career. You can work at companies for 12-18 months, jump to another company and get a 40-50% increase between your first 1-3 jobs. That is far faster than sticking around at a single company for even 5 years. This decreases over your mid-career. You can still get good job bumps of 15% - 25% in your mid years by job hopping. But later in your career you will get rewarded by loyalty and sticking around. Those massive salaries that everyone brags about generally (not always, but usually) come from internal promotion or from poaching. Those careers require you to be part of specialized teams with high-value business-specific knowledge. Those job roles are not given to engineers who job-hop. Simply put, in your late career, if you are only staying at companies for 12-18 months, then you are not getting deep enough into your specialty to be worth the insane salaries. So long term loyalty becomes much greater rewarded. This is another reason why I recommend people stay away from FAANG early in your career and move to those jobs later. Early on, you should job hop through smaller companies where you aren't as enticed to stick around and you can more easily get promotions. Then settle down later in your career at the large companies who want and reward loyalty with insane compensation packages.

munk-a 4y ago

I'd still be very cautious about dissuading people from job hopping. My advice is always "Keep interviewing for new positions at regular intervals until you're bordering on retirement." A lot of people a lot of people are making less money than they could be due to being complacent about reaffirming their own value. America, and most of the modern world, runs a labour market and to properly value a good in a market you need real sales data - I think it's a solidly good idea to interview regularly, be prepared to job hop... but make a sane evaluation about the decision before committing to leaving or joining a particular job. Most employers over-advertise their business because... well... advertising works - so the grass might not be greener on the other side. But if you have an offer for 120k and are currently making 80k from an employer that values you you can discuss that with your employer to seek a salary equalization.

SauciestGNU 4y ago
I agree with always interviewing. I had not been until recently and when I tested the market I found that my current compensation is less than half of the current market rate. I'm kicking myself for leaving basically half a retirement on the table for the last 6 years, and I'm disgruntled in my current position now to boot!

jacurtis 4y ago

Yes, job hopping is incredibly lucrative and beneficial early in your career. You can work at companies for 12-18 months, jump to another company and get a 40-50% increase between your first 1-3 jobs. That is far faster than sticking around at a single company for even 5 years. This decreases over your mid-career. You can still get good job bumps of 15% - 25% in your mid years by job hopping. But later in your career you will get rewarded by loyalty and sticking around. Those massive salaries that everyone brags about generally (not always, but usually) come from internal promotion or from poaching. Those careers require you to be part of specialized teams with high-value business-specific knowledge. Those job roles are not given to engineers who job-hop. Simply put, in your late career, if you are only staying at companies for 12-18 months, then you are not getting deep enough into your specialty to be worth the insane salaries. So long term loyalty becomes much greater rewarded. This is another reason why I recommend people stay away from FAANG early in your career and move to those jobs later. Early on, you should job hop through smaller companies where you aren't as enticed to stick around and you can more easily get promotions. Then settle down later in your career at the large companies who want and reward loyalty with insane compensation packages.