Your situation isn't really a question about job hopping; it's about a bird in the hand vs two in the bush. Either way, you need a good story: if you're just l

Your situation isn't really a question about job hopping; it's about a bird in the hand vs two in the bush. Either way, you need a good story: if you're just looking for better money or newer tech, you look opportunistic. If you have a plan that builds to something based on tech and domain, you look serious. The story is most important for you. It's what you tell yourself to justify and orient yourself in your working life, to give you the patience to wade through crap and the vision to go in one direction. So if you're tempted by opportunity, it's likely you have a weak story -- which means you're reduced to being useful to others. (Which can be fine.) The best stories create value: bringing electric power to transportation, making a corner of biomedical research possible. If you commit to these stories, you might find a community of like-minded people, whom you can trust with your work-life. And who won't leave at the next opportunity.