How long have you been at your current job?

[bigmike23]

A WILD 4 years. Before here I had a useless Criminal Justice degree for a career in Law Enforcement that as I finished up my degree I realized Id loathe life as an officer of anything. So I felt stuck and kinda hopeless as to what I was gunna make of my life.

Started here as a material handler. Within 2 months of that I got promoted to Technician making great money. A year after that I got promoted to tech 2 which is a 6-figure job working a day of OT from time to time. The company is now paying for 3/4 of schooling I went back for to become an Electrician Technician which is above 60 an hr, more in coming years from cost-of-living increases.

I have 5 weeks vacation. Work an extremely hunting friendly 3on 3off schedule, so I only work half the year to begin with.

They say you owe your employer nothing, but in my case i cannot agree

 

[saskhunter]

18 years at my current job but starting a new one next week.

More pay, better hours and less responsibilities. It was a no brainer.

 

[I Am Gunz]

Been in the trade for 19 years, been at my current employer for 6. Great benefits all around. A lot better than most companies.

 

[DoubleMM]

Retired now for 3 years but 20 years with one company and 22 with another before that.

 

[kthomas]

Been unemployed for 1 year and 1 month...

 

[woodmaster0462]

35 years....im retiring December 31st.

 

[Wolfshead]

35 years....im retiring December 31st.

Congratulations!
If I may offer some advice….
You may want to get something lined up to do that will keep you busy if you already don’t.
My first year was a learning curve, and I’d been making knives and doing leatherwork on the side before retiring.
Also, I was a school teacher and football coach for my 33 years and it was somewhat of a transition for me, going from having friends and colleagues around a lot to being alone A LOT.
My wife gets home from work now, and she’ll say that it’s very quiet, and I’m thinking this is what it’s always like….

 

[JohnDough]

Congratulations!
If I may offer some advice….
You may want to get something lined up to do that will keep you busy if you already don’t.
My first year was a learning curve, and I’d been making knives and doing leatherwork on the side before retiring.
Also, I was a school teacher and football coach for my 33 years and it was somewhat of a transition for me, going from having friends and colleagues around a lot to being alone A LOT.
My wife gets home from work now, and she’ll say that it’s very quiet, and I’m thinking this is what it’s always like….

Posts like this are wild. I can't WAIT to retire and retreat to my house and not leave.

 

[Crusader]

I'm retiring end of next month after 15 years as a civilian working for Air Force environmental/civil engineering, most recently doing natural resources management. Spent about 20 years prior to that in the private sector doing environmental engineering/compliance. Looking forward to retirement, have lots of plans and goals!

 

[ScottP76]

A bit over 17 years in, 8yrs 4 days 9 hours left to go. Will do 25 yrs and retiring at 52. Kept on saying I was going to look at different agencies for years. But high on Seniority list and close to maxed out on PTO so I guess I'll stay lol.

 

[Scoot]

25 years this month. I've had half-a-dozen roles, but all the same place. I like what I do and will work another decade or more. I'd like to stay where I'm at, but who knows...

 

[Wolfshead]

Posts like this are wild. I can't WAIT to retire and retreat to my house and not leave.

Trust me, I highly recommend retirement!
I can’t imagine having to have that daily commitment of being at work again.
It was just a transition is all.

 

[Dr. Dirt Nap]

Started in the financial services business in '98 and opened my firm in 2005 so I guess 26 years? I don't feel that old at 47.

 

[lyingflatlander]

21 years. I have watched a lot of people come and go. That either makes me resilient or a damn fool.

 

[JohnDough]

Trust me, I highly recommend retirement!
I can’t imagine having to have that daily commitment of being at work again.
It was just a transition is all.

I am just worried about it in the sense that I hope my mental health doesn't decline further. People think that's stupid, but I tell them regarding overtime, once you become angry and fed up, and stop pulling OT, you think the hatred will get better, the anger, anxiety, depression, but it doesn't. It actually gets worse for a while. I am worried that retiring will be like this, too, just magnified. I dunno, we'll see someday, maybe.

 

[JohnDough]

21 years. I have watched a lot of people come and go. That either makes me resilient or a damn fool.

Your earnings over your career are likely @50% lower based on the studies I've read, but you may garner satisfaction from working less because you are more adapted to the environment and spend less energy through efficiency. That's the tradeoff.

 

[schmalzy]

Your earnings over your career are likely @50% lower based on the studies I've read, but you may garner satisfaction from working less because you are more adapted to the environment and spend less energy through efficiency. That's the tradeoff.

Do you have a source on these studies? Goes against all of the anecdotal experience I have seen. I would imagine pretty heavily dependent on industry and could vary significantly. In skilled trades, if you’re jumping ship every couple years it’s going to be tougher to find somewhere permanent to land, or find somewhere that’s willing to invest in you for certifications, development, etc.


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[Orlando]

37 years. My last day Friday July 5th. Starting a new job at Retired tomorrow.

 

[JohnDough]

Do you have a source on these studies? Goes against all of the anecdotal experience I have seen. I would imagine pretty heavily dependent on industry and could vary significantly. In skilled trades, if you’re jumping ship every couple years it’s going to be tougher to find somewhere permanent to land, or find somewhere that’s willing to invest in you for certifications, development, etc.


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I can vouch for this. I have significant tenure over a coworker of mine, who does my same job, and who has near identical time im my field. I would put our performance on par. He came on with the company years after I did. His base pay is 15% higher than mine.

Further, there is talk of opening a new department, which I would be over by proxy, as I manage the entire facility in lieu of C Suite presence, which would be paid more than my position. Their skill set requirements and job experience for this position is lesser, as well. They are not in leadership roles.


Loyalty does not pay. Job hopping and aggressive negotiation pays. I have not done this because my goal was to leverage my degree and move into management, which often is internal hire only at the midlevel position I sought. I have traded significant income, to this end, and currently work at 20-25% below market value for my experience and skillset. However, I make enough to afford my lifestyle, so I view quitting and going elsewhere mainly as ego driven.

That said, I have received only a 4% pay increase since 2018, regardless of my increase in responsibilities, so I am in the process of renegotiating my compensation, as that's just insulting, but I also know that its just name of the game. Company exploits worker, worker exploits company, and round and round.

Employees Who Stay In Companies Longer Than Two Years Get Paid 50% Less

The worst kept secret is that employees are making less on average every year.

www.forbes.com

 

[schmalzy]

I can vouch for this. I have significant tenure over a coworker of mine, who does my same job, and who has near identical time im my field. I would put our performance on par. He came on with the company years after I did. His base pay is 15% higher than mine. Loyalty does not pay.

Employees Who Stay In Companies Longer Than Two Years Get Paid 50% Less

The worst kept secret is that employees are making less on average every year.

www.forbes.com

Couldn’t see or read the article in the link. Said it was originally from 2014 but wasn’t able to see it.

15% from your situation I wouldn’t argue with or find hard to believe at all, but 50% I struggle with.

What industry/job function?

Just to reiterate, I only have my own anecdotal experience to go off of and what I can assume is varied significantly based on industry.

How do you get momentum and trust with clients, both external and internal, if you’re always starting over?

Don’t get me wrong, I completely agree jumping sometimes is what it takes to get the bump, but every two years seems counterproductive to me.


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