this post was submitted on 27 Jun 2023
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Is the old advice to change companies every two-ish years still the best practice for career advancement? (beehaw.org)
submitted 1 year ago by ELLIOTTCABLE@beehaw.org to c/experienced_devs@programming.dev
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I recall a regular piece of advice for software engineers: “change your job every two years.”

There’s innumerable Google results for this, even from as recently as 2022 — but none of them really seem that high-quality?

I’m really, really enjoying my current (somewhat unusual, hard-to-replicate) position; am about a year and a half into it; but I also don’t want to relax into that and have it cost me in the long-run, career advancement wise.

So, what’ve y’all been doing? Especially in the post-pandemic/fully-remote world, does that advice still apply?

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[–] potoo22@programming.dev 7 points 1 year ago

If you want more money and aren't happy with your job, then yes. Look for a new position after 2 years.

If you're on the young side, you should aim for financial stability since you're starting lower. Once you get to a good place financially, then you can settle in if you find a job you like.

I'm doing well financially, with a house and decent disposal income. My current job isn't too demanding, is flexible with my time, and let's me work from home without surveillance software. I could make more money in a different job, but I feel it'll be hard to find another employer who isn't profits before employees. So I think I'm good and settled in this position.