How long is it appropriate to work for one employer?
When I started my first job after school at a small local agency, a project manager once said something like: “If someone has three companies on their CV and stayed less than a year in each, it doesn’t look good.”
I took that to heart. I tried to stay longer in every role, so I wouldn’t seem unreliable, even in underpaid jobs I didn’t enjoy. I endured it just to make my CV look “stable.” In hindsight, it was a little bit stupid. (Sometimes a waste of time.)
Eventually, I found myself working on multiple projects at once. In a relatively short time, I gained more diverse, hands-on experience across different areas. That’s when I realised my manager valued the traditional path: a stable 9–5 and rewards based on years spent in one company.
But today, I see 19-year-olds with more real project experience and skills than some 30-year-olds who’ve simply stayed in one job without pushing themselves.
There’s also this common idea that you should switch jobs every ~7 years (long enough to master something, but also long for getting crazy) :D
How long should you stay with one employer, or how often should you change jobs?
[At this point, I no longer believe in loyalty to an employer, it’s a transactional relationship, and when a company decides you no longer fit their costs, they’ll simply cut you from the budget.]
Replies
Scade.pro
I would say you should keep working as long as your eyes sparkle with enthusiasm and you look forward to going to work (most of the time), plus until you achieve a specific goal (whether in your personal growth or in the project itself).
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@maria_anosova yeah, but this feels more like when someone has ambition and vision – which actually leads to funding their own company rather than being employed.
I think it depends on the game you’re playing and mostly on the field you’re in.
If you’re playing the corporate game, I’d stay at a company for at least 2–3 years. Loyalty helps you climb the hierarchy there, and it’s a huge loss if you leave every year. So I’d even stay up to 5-7 years. Okay, yes, you might miss out on some salary updates. But you can significantly increase your level and compensation with your next move.
If I’m playing in smaller companies, it’s clear that skills matter most. That’s where you can truly master the craft, take on more responsibilities, and move toward building something of your own.
But it all depends entirely on what game you’re playing and what your end goal is.
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@byalexai The thing was that I was in a small company (5 or 6 people) and I had a feeling that there was nobody I could learn from + underpaid. It was an inner pain :D
@byalexai I guess it depends on what you mean by a small company, and it comes down to management. I have a client with about 20 employees. I consider this small and they have a mix of people there for different lengths of time, yet there is heavy turn around in one area, and I would say medium turn around in another and very little in another. What I see are positions that require the least skill turn over fast. But if you have the skill and getting the right pay a small company is beneficial and typically more flexible, not always, but most times they are. I work in corporate and it sucks. but it may be the companies structure.
@byalexai To add in the corporate game, depending on the industry and the number of companies in the city, you also have to account for how many opportunities are available to swap companies. Have to be more strategic anytime you decide to make the jump to a different company.
The most successful moves I've seen are situations where you leave the company then come back to a much higher position you otherwise would not have gotten had you stayed or waited many more years to get.
That last line hit hard. I came to the same conclusion but it took me way too long.
I'm based in Egypt and the "stay loyal, climb the ladder" mindset is even more deeply rooted here. I spent years freelancing and saving up because I kept hearing that leaving a stable job was reckless. Turns out the "stable" jobs were the ones that kept me broke and stuck.
The real shift for me was realizing that years at one company only matter if those years actually taught you something new. I learned more in 7 months of building my own thing solo than in years of doing the same work packaged differently at agencies. Not because agencies are bad - some are great but because I was coasting and calling it loyalty.
The 7-year thing sounds nice in theory but honestly most people know within 18 months if they're still growing somewhere or just comfortable. Comfort is fine if that's what you want, but don't confuse it with career progress.
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@abdullah_mohamed14 when you have the option to work remotely and online, try to get in touch with international companies – you will experience a totally different culture and also be rewarded differently.
@busmark_w_nika
Yeah that's exactly what changed things for me. Most of my freelance clients were US and EU based and the difference in how they valued work was night and day. Not just the pay, but the whole dynamic - you're judged on output not on how many hours you sat at a desk.
It also gives you perspective on what "normal" compensation looks like globally, which is eye-opening when you've only worked locally. Once you see that gap it's hard to go back.
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@abdullah_mohamed14 Which nation surprised you positively in a way they rewarded your work?
@busmark_w_nika
US clients paid the most but that wasn't really a surprise. What caught me off guard was working with a few Dutch and German clients - very direct, no back and forth on scope, and they paid on time every single time. Coming from a market where chasing invoices is basically a part-time job, that alone felt like a different world.
Also noticed that Scandinavian companies tend to respect working hours in a way that's rare elsewhere. No weekend messages, no "quick urgent thing" at midnight. Small detail but it adds up when you're freelancing and boundaries are easy to lose.
That was very traditional advice, and it made sense back when the job market mostly rewarded stability over everything else.
Today, especially with startups, companies are formed, scaled, acquired, or shut down in a very short time, so priorities have shifted toward skills and impact instead of tenure.
I’ve personally never had a “regular job,” but I’ve been brought in full-time on specific contracts to solve defined problems, train teams, and reset systems and workflows, and then moved on to the next company, that’s how I ultimately became a consultant.
For people who take on jobs, I think the key is showing clear results rather than just years on a CV. If someone spends one year at a company and meaningfully scales it, with recommendations and a solid case study to prove it, they’re not going to be judged for moving on to a better opportunity.
The same applies to devs who switch roles for better compensation and growth because there’s only so far you can progress in one place.
However, if someone is applying for operational roles, they would require to prove reliability and stability.
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@rohanrecommends Reading this... yeah, I am definitely a punk player who would rather work on my own than be part of a huge corporation. Such a culture buries my personality. I love my freedom of choice.
totally relate to this, I have 25 years of practice across architecture, design, creative direction, contemporary art and now building a web product! the "horizontal path" gets questioned constantly but the cross-disciplinary thinking is exactly what makes the work different. the CV stability thing is a proxy for something nobody actually knows how to measure
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@visualdrifter I think that the more you know, the higher your value is. Generalists are now those who can also better manage AI tasks with multi-disciplinatory overview.
It depends on your situation. If you're young and starting out - how many student and/or internships did you do with the promise - if you work out, this could turn into a permanent job. Very few do - it's a filter mechanism or nepotistic practice. It's a tough gig for students.
Where it counts - entering mid level career choices - demonstrating continued building of responsibilities and technical capabilities is what employers want. They want to know - is this person dedicated and do they have the hutzpah to learn new things.
In answering your question though, if the job is fruitful, you are recognized and the company demonstrates promotion of individual that deserve it - stay and become a "valued contributed" (gag me now). If you feel you are being taken advantage of you probably are - be smart, don't be disgruntled, make a plan and at the first good opportunity - hasta la vista baby.
People don't quit jobs, they quit their leaders/managers. Good managers know this but most don't. A great leader can mean everything in a job. They just have a way of working with you to get you do your best.
So circling back to your question about "loyalty to an employer" - I can tell you from experience abroad, North America is the most corporatized continent on the planet and your observation is bang on. For employees my advice is learn learn learn and take chances on yourself. Form like minded groups, talk about ideas, promote each other and never ever give up. Be humble, be inventive, be kind to others that are not as good as you and always watch your back.
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@robert_vassov This scenario sounds more like blackmail. But I understand, I would have done the same in their position. But this "mini-article" reassured me – I am more made for startup and own business world :) not a corporate :)
Until the benefit on either side are no longer of value
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@david_sherer Having a look back, I think that the main benefit was leaving the office sooner than others :D
If an employer does good everything with me I can be with that employer my entire life.
but they dont usually. So I think we should change job in every 3 years, cause 2 years is for knowing the employer well, what they thinks, how they thinks, then more 1 year is max. In this time they will know you well more than you knows them. They will try to find alternatives very soon. Easy! either you should leave or they will replace you.
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@tareqaziz0065 yeah, there is always someone who can make it cheaper :D
@busmark_w_nika Agreed