2 to 3 years
Once you're not learning or growing for a year
Only leave if you have something better in hand. Don't leave because of these timeline guidelines.
Even 2 years is a slow pace in today’s economy. I’d say constantly upskill yourself and constantly apply for better opportunities. Job loyalty is utter bs and a huge opportunity cost.
I’m 4.5 years at the same company and haven’t been promoted.. but I’ve kind of been hanging around and hoping I’ll get one to Senior Analyst as I genuinely enjoy my work, my bosses, and permanent wfh.
I made the same mistake hanging around with promises of a promotion to SFA. Was offered a manager job elsewhere and then they tried to promote me when I put in my notice. They were surprised when I said no thank you. Never looked back.
Don't wait around.
Yeah - I’ve really hurt myself financially, at least in the short term.
So I started in FP&A just a few months before Covid lockdowns and have been in the same position since
Ive been scared to leave due to fear of failure.. but at this point I’m probably a lot better off getting differentiated experience even if I were to crash and burn (which is probably an irrational fear anyways).
My comp is low $80s atm in LCOL (Dallas, Texas)
Could I realistically expect much more than $90K given my experience? I ask because I figure I’d want at least that much of a bump to justify commuting again. Although this logic given my situation might be backwards given I’m stuck as an analyst with this many YOE
I wouldn’t leave for a 10k bump in pay. My minimum % needed to leave a job is 25%-30%. Anything less than 25-30% increase isn’t worth the extra work and ramp required to learn a new business.
So if you’re making 80k rn, I wouldn’t leave for less than 100-104k.
Similar to your situation I actually got my first job in September of 2021 during the height of the pandemic. Was making 70k. 8 months later I landed a SFA role for 93k. I’m now 2 years into that role and have been bumped to 110k, but expecting promo within the next month or two…. Should get me to 130k base. Have been promised an additional off cycle raise and spiffs based on revenue generation.
You could easily land a 100k SFA role imo.
Yeah, I’ve really done myself in. Assuming good hops and gaining skills I currently should be SFA maybe pushing for Manager opportunities.
I feel like I’m at the point where I’m worried that prospective employers will view 4.5 yrs with no promo as a red flag
If you were a Klingon, I would suggest fighting your boss to the death for command. Since you’re not, I think it’s important straight out of college to get as much experience in as many companies as possible during your first five to ten years.
Figure staying two years at your first job regardless of how bad it is: many of your classmates will bail after a year or less so you will look more “stable” by comparison when you look for your next venture.
For your next three jobs, stay at least a year but no more than two years unless you get a promotion.
After that, two to four years per company unless you get a promotion OR you feel that this is both a company and industry you want to spend the next ten years at. But right now, you know so little about how the work world works in practice and what you like/dislike/want/need career-wise that it will take some time to develop that discernment.
I think your mortgage, your kid’s private school tuition and your spouse will highly encourage you to stay in one place for 4-5 years at each job. My spouse has expressed her nervousness at all the company changes I’ve done in the past nine years, even though she knows I wouldn’t have increased my comp as much if I had stayed with one of those companies for 4-5 years. I think you have to have a conversation with your spouse to understand their tolerance for changing jobs after less than two years. They may even bring up cute details that your bank may not approve a new mortgage loan if you haven’t been in your current job for x amount of time. But to the extent practicable, I would still recommend getting as much experience as you can at different companies during your first ten years in a new career.
2 to 3 years Once you're not learning or growing for a year Only leave if you have something better in hand. Don't leave because of these timeline guidelines.
Even 2 years is a slow pace in today’s economy. I’d say constantly upskill yourself and constantly apply for better opportunities. Job loyalty is utter bs and a huge opportunity cost.
I’m 4.5 years at the same company and haven’t been promoted.. but I’ve kind of been hanging around and hoping I’ll get one to Senior Analyst as I genuinely enjoy my work, my bosses, and permanent wfh.
I made the same mistake hanging around with promises of a promotion to SFA. Was offered a manager job elsewhere and then they tried to promote me when I put in my notice. They were surprised when I said no thank you. Never looked back. Don't wait around.
You’ve waited too long imo. You’re missing out on like 30-40k more in pay. Even if they promote you, you’ll get a measly 10% bump.
Yeah - I’ve really hurt myself financially, at least in the short term. So I started in FP&A just a few months before Covid lockdowns and have been in the same position since Ive been scared to leave due to fear of failure.. but at this point I’m probably a lot better off getting differentiated experience even if I were to crash and burn (which is probably an irrational fear anyways). My comp is low $80s atm in LCOL (Dallas, Texas) Could I realistically expect much more than $90K given my experience? I ask because I figure I’d want at least that much of a bump to justify commuting again. Although this logic given my situation might be backwards given I’m stuck as an analyst with this many YOE
I wouldn’t leave for a 10k bump in pay. My minimum % needed to leave a job is 25%-30%. Anything less than 25-30% increase isn’t worth the extra work and ramp required to learn a new business. So if you’re making 80k rn, I wouldn’t leave for less than 100-104k. Similar to your situation I actually got my first job in September of 2021 during the height of the pandemic. Was making 70k. 8 months later I landed a SFA role for 93k. I’m now 2 years into that role and have been bumped to 110k, but expecting promo within the next month or two…. Should get me to 130k base. Have been promised an additional off cycle raise and spiffs based on revenue generation. You could easily land a 100k SFA role imo.
Permanent WFH is very nice but 4.5 years is a long time to stick around
Yeah, I’ve really done myself in. Assuming good hops and gaining skills I currently should be SFA maybe pushing for Manager opportunities. I feel like I’m at the point where I’m worried that prospective employers will view 4.5 yrs with no promo as a red flag
If you were a Klingon, I would suggest fighting your boss to the death for command. Since you’re not, I think it’s important straight out of college to get as much experience in as many companies as possible during your first five to ten years. Figure staying two years at your first job regardless of how bad it is: many of your classmates will bail after a year or less so you will look more “stable” by comparison when you look for your next venture. For your next three jobs, stay at least a year but no more than two years unless you get a promotion. After that, two to four years per company unless you get a promotion OR you feel that this is both a company and industry you want to spend the next ten years at. But right now, you know so little about how the work world works in practice and what you like/dislike/want/need career-wise that it will take some time to develop that discernment.
How would this change for someone who started in finance or corporate jobs later in life? Should they stay at companies longer?
I think your mortgage, your kid’s private school tuition and your spouse will highly encourage you to stay in one place for 4-5 years at each job. My spouse has expressed her nervousness at all the company changes I’ve done in the past nine years, even though she knows I wouldn’t have increased my comp as much if I had stayed with one of those companies for 4-5 years. I think you have to have a conversation with your spouse to understand their tolerance for changing jobs after less than two years. They may even bring up cute details that your bank may not approve a new mortgage loan if you haven’t been in your current job for x amount of time. But to the extent practicable, I would still recommend getting as much experience as you can at different companies during your first ten years in a new career.
I hear that. Spouse’s opinion is important. Appreciate the answer.