#4 seems to be generating a lot of controversy, because the reverse also leads to burnout. First, if you expect every job to last 5+ years, you'll often make s

#4 seems to be generating a lot of controversy, because the reverse also leads to burnout. First, if you expect every job to last 5+ years, you'll often make suboptimal choices when it comes to balancing your own needs vs. the stated corporate objectives. Mistakes #1 (single-project myopia) and #5 (long hours, to the detriment of the rest of one's life) occur when people lose the ability to look outside their own jobs. If you have it in your mind that you absolutely must stay with a company for the next 10 years, you're much more likely to make those sorts of mistakes. It's ideal that you get a good job and it lasts 5+ years, but you have to go to work with the understanding that the world might change on you in an instant. What you need to do is focus always on your career. Try to kick out as much of your work to the open-source world as you can. Network before you need it. You need to play so that if you lose your job tomorrow, you'll be OK. Because you just might. It can happen to anyone at any time. If you plan your career properly, though, the next job will be a step up. It's when you're constantly moving around with no progress-- spending 6 months out of each year "on-boarding" into parochial corporate knowledge instead of career-advancing general knowledge-- that you'll burn out. Leaving a job stupidly is a mistake. If you're learning a lot and something mildly annoys you, quitting in a huff is the wrong way to go. When you get something good, hold on to it for as long as it lasts. But don't throw good time after bad, either, because that will lead to burnout just as quickly. The truth on all of these is that there are tradeoffs. Is it a good idea to work long hours? If a month-long burst of 80-hour effort will buy you career advancement that'd otherwise take 2 years, then suck it up and work. If it's just going to get you more grunt work (which is usually the case) then blow it off. Similarly, with job tenure, I think the poker player's maxim-- be very selective, and very aggressive-- applies. Fold losing hands early, but when you have cards (i.e. a job that's doing a lot for your career) then play it hard.