Hot take: I found a 1998 career guide in my attic that said the average person changes jobs 3 times in their life.

I was cleaning out some old boxes from my parents' house in Cincinnati and found that stat in a dusty pamphlet, which is wild because my cousin has already had four different jobs since he graduated college in 2020.

4 comments

4 Comments

taylorshah2mo ago

That "average person changes jobs 3 times" stat is from a different planet now.

the_willow2mo ago

Stare at that three jobs number and wonder what decade they pulled it from. My whole friend group has each had at least five different jobs since we finished school. That old stat feels like advice on how to use a payphone. Staying put for decades just isn't how anything works anymore.

-1

the_wendy20h ago

Jump right in and say that three jobs number actually sounds about right to me, even today. Look, I know everyone's hopping around like crazy but I've seen a lot of folks in my own circles who found a good company and just stayed put for years. @fiona_west21 mentioned jumping from retail to tech support to project management, but that kind of path isn't for everyone and it comes with a ton of risk too. Every time you switch jobs you're starting over with no seniority, no built up trust, and you're the first one out the door when things get slow. The old advice wasn't about staying in a bad place, it was about building roots somewhere that works for you. Most people I know who job hopped ended up burning out or getting stuck in entry level roles again because they never stayed long enough to see the payoff.

fiona_west212mo ago

That old guide is basically useless now, like @taylorshah said. My advice is to just ignore those old rules and focus on what works today. If a job isn't a good fit, it's fine to leave after a year for something better. I've seen friends jump from retail to a tech support role, then into project management in under five years. Building skills matters way more than sticking it out somewhere you hate.