Job Tenure and the Myth of Job Hopping
thebalancecareers.com
Job Tenure and the Myth of Job Hopping
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Re: Job Tenure and the Myth of Job Hopping
#2The article asks the question "So how long do workers stay with their employers nowadays?", but that question isn't answered by the cited data source.
The data are based on 'how long have you been with your current employer?', which of course underestimates the time you will actually stay with that employer (it's unlikely today is your last day).
Imagine a world in which every employee stays at each job for exactly 2 years, and the distribution of work anniversaries is evenly distributed. If you ask each person how long they've been in their current job, the median answer would be 1 year.
I'd love to ask a different question of each respondent: "how many new employers have you had in the last 3 years?"
Re: Job Tenure and the Myth of Job Hopping
#3I don’t think this article makes the right comparison to determine whether people switch jobs more often “these days”. They only go back to the mid 2000s.
When I hear or talk about the idea that people change jobs more frequently now, I definitely include people who started working then, and I don’t think a decade is sufficient time to see a trend in tenure. I’d be more interested in a comparison between the 00s/10s and the 60s/70s/80s (ish).
Stratifying by age would probably be more informative than simply comparing the median tenure in two different years as well.
Re: Job Tenure and the Myth of Job Hopping
#4I think the article is looking too broadly at the market. Job hopping is most prevalent in high demand sectors (like web development for instance), and then it’s only really done by the people with at least above average talent/skills. I had the displeasure of working in a startup that ultimately folded once, all of the teammates I considered to be competent got new jobs within a week or so, all of the stragglers struggled immensely.
I also think it’s obviously good for everybody involved. For employees it means improving your salary and working conditions. For employers, it’s a good thing in a couple of ways at least. A retention strategy that’s actually done right will naturally increase productivity (though there’s certainly more to it than beer, food and video games). It’s also much better for an employer to have an unhappy or dissatisfied employee leave. The upfront costs are more apparent, but an employee who wants to leave but can’t find another job will cost you way more in the long run. Their productivity will plummet and their unhappiness or dissatisfaction will become contagious.
Re: Job Tenure and the Myth of Job Hopping
#5Anecdotally, all of the most significant increases to quality of life in my social circle has come from getting a new job.
I know someone who was making $65k one year ago, and is now making six figures. They're a talented and capable dev, but so are many of you. And this was the midwest.
My own salary bumped from $35k to $75k during my early career after getting a job at a different gamedev studio. Before that, I was paid $20k for around three years, then $35k for a year.
($20k was good money in the midwest, especially when you're young and have no bills. It all went straight into the bank. I'm wistful for those times...)
You are almost certainly underestimating your market value. The only way to determine your market value is to go out onto the market. Go search! Best case, you find a better job. Worst case, you stay at yours. Middle case, you can use a job offer to leverage a raise.
Re: Job Tenure and the Myth of Job Hopping
#6As mentioned in the article, conflating programmers and actuaries muddled the figures. A better source of data would be LinkedIn, more granular.
Re: Job Tenure and the Myth of Job Hopping
#7In Silicon Valley, until maybe 5 years ago, I would say that 2 years per job was about the average. My average is about 2.5 years, and I've had many jobs. I've found that recently, many people, especially young people early in their careers, have been switching jobs after 1-1.5 years.
When I compare with my non-tech friends in other parts of the country, I have one friend who has been at the same job for 13 years, and one who has been at his job for 10 years. I have never held a job for longer than 4.5 years, and my shortest was 1 year.
Re: Job Tenure and the Myth of Job Hopping
#8How much of the increase in median job tenure is explained by an aging population?
Re: Job Tenure and the Myth of Job Hopping
#9Whenever I say I spent 4 years with my recent employer people are always surprised that I was at a single place for so long.
Re: Job Tenure and the Myth of Job Hopping
#10I think the article is looking too broadly at the market. Job hopping is most prevalent in high demand sectors (like web development for instance), and then it’s only really done by the people with at least above average talent/skills. I had the displeasure of working in a startup that ultimately folded once, all of the teammates I considered to be competent got new jobs within a week or so, all of the stragglers str…
> I had the displeasure of working in a startup that ultimately folded once, all of the teammates I considered to be competent got new jobs within a week or so, all of the stragglers struggled immensely.
This says good things about the industry's collective ability in evaluating job-seekers. A breath of fresh air amidst the weekly thinkpieces on how hiring is broken.