Software Developer Career
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As a software developer how often should I change the company I work in? I hear that I should stay at least 2 years then find a new job since you will not gain more experience in the same company doing the same kind of projects again and again so by change you will get higher offers and new projects and new challenges.
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As a software developer how often should I change the company I work in? I hear that I should stay at least 2 years then find a new job since you will not gain more experience in the same company doing the same kind of projects again and again so by change you will get higher offers and new projects and new challenges.
Depends on the job, depends on the company, depends on the individual. When I was an employee, I tended to stick with a company for ten or so years at a time - getting promoted to improve my skills and prospects. Worked for me. Some companies like to see a series of different challenges on your CV - others see it as a lack of "stick-to-it"-ivity and will ignore an applicant that changes companies too often. There is no hard and fast rule "this always works" here.
Ideological Purity is no substitute for being able to stick your thumb down a pipe to stop the water
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As a software developer how often should I change the company I work in? I hear that I should stay at least 2 years then find a new job since you will not gain more experience in the same company doing the same kind of projects again and again so by change you will get higher offers and new projects and new challenges.
(Talking about salaried jobs, not contractual) There are no fixed rules about that. I'm 40-ish and I've had 3.5 jobs (the .5 was a research assistant and the uni.) I think the idea about the "2" years is that when you want to switch jobs, you have to show that you can keep a job for some times, meaning you accumulated good meaningful experience (and your current employer have something meaningful to say about you for your next employer) If your resume show that you change job (still,not contractual) too often, that will probably mean that you are either not technically good or just not a good employee (that happens). It can happen that you get hired and after a few weeks, you really did not like the company, you have to resign as soon as possible (for the benifit of both you and the company). Remember that people are all different, some might want to have a challenge and do a lot of different things, others might want to have a more stable job; same thing for companies, some want long term commitment because their products are long-term development ( big specialized complex software in stable domains) where it can take months to be fully productive, while other companies work on smaller projects with small life cycles where new employees can be productive quickly. ...
Watched code never compiles.
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As a software developer how often should I change the company I work in? I hear that I should stay at least 2 years then find a new job since you will not gain more experience in the same company doing the same kind of projects again and again so by change you will get higher offers and new projects and new challenges.
That depends on the business. Where I work, a product typically takes two to three years to reach the first customer test phase, and will probably have a ten-plus year life span. Two years isn't long enough to learn the technology or the business.
Software Zen:
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As a software developer how often should I change the company I work in? I hear that I should stay at least 2 years then find a new job since you will not gain more experience in the same company doing the same kind of projects again and again so by change you will get higher offers and new projects and new challenges.
Daily. That way, you cannot be traced for fixing any bugs in the code you may have written! ;P
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As a software developer how often should I change the company I work in? I hear that I should stay at least 2 years then find a new job since you will not gain more experience in the same company doing the same kind of projects again and again so by change you will get higher offers and new projects and new challenges.
As a permie: as long as you find the job rewarding and you ar egetting recognised for the effrot you are putting in. If you want and are not getting promotion then you should leave to get it elsewhere but stay at least 1 year. As a contractor: without renewals it looks like you do enough to get a job but not enough to keep it. I like to see at least one renewal per contract: I always try to tsay at least a year even if I don't really like it. Most of my contracts have been longer but, again, after 2ish years you should consider moving along. Just an opinion folks, move along...
"If you think it's expensive to hire a professional to do the job, wait until you hire an amateur." Red Adair. nils illegitimus carborundum me, me, me
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As a software developer how often should I change the company I work in? I hear that I should stay at least 2 years then find a new job since you will not gain more experience in the same company doing the same kind of projects again and again so by change you will get higher offers and new projects and new challenges.
Member 8317792 wrote:
As a software developer how often should I change the company I work in? I hear that I should stay at least 2 years then find a new job since you will not gain more experience in the same company doing the same kind of projects again and again so by change you will get higher offers and new projects and new challenges.
..new projects and new challenges don't give much opportunity to specialize in a specific technology. Changing often and hanging around for years both have their advantages. Personally, I switch every 2-4 years, not for my career, but for the fun of it. Learning new stuff, meeting new people, doing different things. Other people seem happy once they have a routine, and seems to work for them.
Bastard Programmer from Hell :suss:
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As a software developer how often should I change the company I work in? I hear that I should stay at least 2 years then find a new job since you will not gain more experience in the same company doing the same kind of projects again and again so by change you will get higher offers and new projects and new challenges.
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As a software developer how often should I change the company I work in? I hear that I should stay at least 2 years then find a new job since you will not gain more experience in the same company doing the same kind of projects again and again so by change you will get higher offers and new projects and new challenges.
Yeah, in the early days go for a change every two years, ramp up your income, get some experience. Then go contracting after 6 years or so when you have found a niche you are good at and can sell. If not, find a decent firm and work up the manageent ladder, team leader, dev manager, etc etc etc. I went contracting, never could kiss arse, its worked out well. Made a decent living out of it, though the rates are shite compared to 10 years ago.
============================== Nothing to say.
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As a software developer how often should I change the company I work in? I hear that I should stay at least 2 years then find a new job since you will not gain more experience in the same company doing the same kind of projects again and again so by change you will get higher offers and new projects and new challenges.
Changing jobs to often is not good for your CV. In many places it takes a long time before you have learned the companys structure and systems and starts to become productive. So if you have only short employments the company you apply at will know that you won't stay with them either, and will be reluctant to invest their time in you. If you want to swap workplaces often, you should become a consultant.
Light moves faster than sound. That is why some people appear bright, until you hear them speak. List of common misconceptions
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Changing jobs to often is not good for your CV. In many places it takes a long time before you have learned the companys structure and systems and starts to become productive. So if you have only short employments the company you apply at will know that you won't stay with them either, and will be reluctant to invest their time in you. If you want to swap workplaces often, you should become a consultant.
Light moves faster than sound. That is why some people appear bright, until you hear them speak. List of common misconceptions
Jörgen Andersson wrote:
Changing jobs to often is not good for your CV.
That's only true for people at the supermarket; changing jobs within months means that you're not able to hold a job.
Jörgen Andersson wrote:
n many places it takes a long time before you have learned the companys structure and systems and starts to become productive.
Only if they're laden with money. Each job that I entered (5 in the last 14 years) we were expected to be productive within a few weeks. No, you don't know the company inside-out, but that's rarely required to do a job.
Jörgen Andersson wrote:
So if you have only short employments the company you apply at will know that you won't stay with them either, and will be reluctant to invest their time in you.
That would seem logical. The days that you worked for the same boss until your dead have been long gone by now.
Bastard Programmer from Hell :suss:
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Yeah, in the early days go for a change every two years, ramp up your income, get some experience. Then go contracting after 6 years or so when you have found a niche you are good at and can sell. If not, find a decent firm and work up the manageent ladder, team leader, dev manager, etc etc etc. I went contracting, never could kiss arse, its worked out well. Made a decent living out of it, though the rates are shite compared to 10 years ago.
============================== Nothing to say.
This reply gets my vote. If you are asking this question then obviously the work isn't all that interesting anymore. In the early days of your career if you can't move up at your current firm, jump ship. It is the only way to seriously adjust your salary to what you are worth. Waiting all year for a few percentage points will never pay off, unless the work is so interesting you don't care. As far as contracting goes.. whether you go it alone or with a contracting firm... if you really love to code and want to test yourself on a regular basis it is a fantastic choice. Not to say all contacts are fun, but you get the widest variety of problems and challenges (albeit little reward for ingenuity and cleverness; but you're in control as long as you deliver on time).
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As a software developer how often should I change the company I work in? I hear that I should stay at least 2 years then find a new job since you will not gain more experience in the same company doing the same kind of projects again and again so by change you will get higher offers and new projects and new challenges.
I have been doing this for more than 20 years at this point. I have YET to stay with one position for more than 2.5 years (and I only stayed there for the health insurance because of my newborn son). I have found that more often than not, companies see their development staff as "overpaid" as it is. This is why they are quick to try to outsource their development! They are quite unlikely to give large raises or even enough to bring you up to what the market is currenly paying. I have left contract jobs as early as 6 weeks into the contract and perm jobs after 9 months. In both cases, I left for another job and the contract was with the same firm but different client! I ALWAYS left for more money! I leave for large pay raises. Plain and simple. I have to take care of my family and my desire for raises and bonuses are NOT the primary concern of management in any company. If I ever find a company that raises paychecks to match the current market, I would probably stay with them as long as I was treated well. I cannot disclose what I make now because others that I work with browse these boards, but I can tell you that it's more than I made at the last place! ;)
JamminJimE Microsoft Certified Application Developer
Why are we still calling it Common Sense when it's just not that common? -
As a software developer how often should I change the company I work in? I hear that I should stay at least 2 years then find a new job since you will not gain more experience in the same company doing the same kind of projects again and again so by change you will get higher offers and new projects and new challenges.
From a hiring perspective, I'm looking for someone isn't going to jump ship on me after 2yrs. By that time, they've gained some good knowledge, are productive, and hopefully have moved up the food chain somewhat. I found that a lot of the time when using the "ship development overseas" model , there was a lot of 2yr churn, and I would be constantly having to teach/train/explain to new developers basic concepts of the project all over again. Personally I'm hoping someone is going to stick around 3-5 years at least. A resume with a lot of 2yr jobs says either they're going to jump ship on me, or that they weren't working out for multiple employers and got let go a whole lot.
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As a software developer how often should I change the company I work in? I hear that I should stay at least 2 years then find a new job since you will not gain more experience in the same company doing the same kind of projects again and again so by change you will get higher offers and new projects and new challenges.
The question really ought to be, "When is it time to change jobs? Change jobs ASAP if you don't like the management or are being mistreated or they want you to do something unethical/illegal. This kind of job is not going to last very long at any rate. You're best off if you pick the day of your departure and move directly to a new job. Hang around too long in this job and either you'll get fired (because managers can tell when you think they're idiots), or the company will fold (because they're idiots). Change jobs if you perceive the industry has moved on to a new programming language, operating system, methodology, or paradigm. It's easy to get comfortable, thinking you know everything in the world about some mature product written in old language X ten years ago, and that you will be employed for life. But your company may suddenly drop that product, and then where will you be with your ten-year-old skills and no relevant industry experience. Change jobs if you're bored. If you aren't challenged by what you're doing, and you like to be challenged, by all means move on. HOWEVER, you should know that you will continue to discover new and better ways to use whatever tools you're using for five years or more. Guys just out of school very often think they know all they will ever know by the time they are 25. This is so not true, but you won't realize it until you're 35. Find an old hand you respect and ask them. They will say the same thing. You just have to trust them until you feel it for yourself. Change jobs if you are being paid less than friends make for the same work. HOWEVER, don't change jobs because you heard that's the way to pump up your salary. Here's the thing, HR directors for most companies meet in groups or exchange emails or subscribe to reports that tell them what software devs with so-many years experience are making. If you are underpaid and have hot skills and are just a couple of years out of school, this might work for you once or twice. But in the long run, you can't pump your salary up infinitely high. The only thing that will improve your salary in the long run is years of experience plus having a variety of very up-to-date skills. A little humility goes a long way when thinking about changing jobs. Just because you heard a story on the internet that some guy one year out of school is pulling down $150k doesn't mean that you are going to get that much (even if that story is true, which is not a given). Freakishly rich companies like Facebook and Google pay a lot better than
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From a hiring perspective, I'm looking for someone isn't going to jump ship on me after 2yrs. By that time, they've gained some good knowledge, are productive, and hopefully have moved up the food chain somewhat. I found that a lot of the time when using the "ship development overseas" model , there was a lot of 2yr churn, and I would be constantly having to teach/train/explain to new developers basic concepts of the project all over again. Personally I'm hoping someone is going to stick around 3-5 years at least. A resume with a lot of 2yr jobs says either they're going to jump ship on me, or that they weren't working out for multiple employers and got let go a whole lot.
To be fair, you have to also take into consideration what kind of company those jobs are at. I've worked at a lot of startups, and that has led to a lot of 2-3 year jobs when they fold up. I'm always having to explain that at interviews. The worst I can be accused of it doing a poor job of picking startups. (OK, I suppose you could accuse me of being a terrible jinx!). To the original poster, I'll agree with what someone else here said - if you are happy, stay there. That is the rarest thing in a job, and the most valuable thing in life.
