How many jobs over the course of our lives?

[ykee]

I am in my early 30s, and remember in grade school being told that I would be switching jobs seven times over the course of my life. Now that I'm on my fourth distinctly different job in two completely different industries, I wonder if seven isn't a complete lowball.

Most of my peers that are around my age group seem to have had about the same number of jumps, whereas, older folks tend to have stuck in their positions a little longer.

Anyway, wondering if anyone wants to hazard a guess at how many jobs they are going to run through over the course of their life. I think I'll be somewhere around a dozen, in four different industries (that's eight more over the course of ~30 years).

 

[KENAT]

Well I've only had 2 Engineering Jobs but if you count temporary/short term jobs I've had while at school/uni/first emigrated, then it gets a much bigger number.

I'd be impressed if I manage to average 5 years at each real engineering job. With the state of social security etc I'll probably need to work at least 45 years, so that's 9 jobs at least.

This does not allow for name changes of employers due to mergers/spin offs etc.

KENAT,

Have you reminded yourself of faq731-376 recently, or taken a look at

http://eng-tips.com/market.cfm?

 

[TheTick]

I remember being told seven careers. Switching jobs is nothing, but I've been in the same profession now for 13 years.

Tick's career chain:
Musician --> Machinist --> Navy nuc --> college student --> Engineer
That's 5. #6 will probably be either hedge fund investor or teacher or theologian.

 

[nickelkid]

With 20 years in industry I am with my 8th employer. The last 4 years have been the most volatile and profitable. Number 8 is the best employer without a doubt (good people, growth potential, interesting work, etc…) I hope to make it with Number 8 for several years. Looking back I have no remorse, even though some transitions were tough, each move has been for the best: professionally, personally, and monetarily.

I hope I do not get to a dozen, but I never thought I would be at 8.

 

[CorBlimeyLimey]

40 years
2 countries
5 different fields
10 companies (2 companies twice)

Maybe 1 or 2 more companies/fields before I retire ... or die.

 

[SomptingGuy]

Two employers.
One before graduation, one after.
Since graduation (1990), two roles in two countries.

- Steve

 

[ctopher]

There was a thread on this, but can't find it.

Chris
SolidWorks/PDMWorks 08 3.1
AutoCAD 08
ctopher's home (updated Aug 5, 2008)
ctopher's blog
SolidWorks Legion

 

[Comcokid]

28 years
9 employers
6 industries
and, although I've always done electronics hardware design, I've managed to do serious design in a number of different electronics speciality areas.

 

[DonPhillips]

The US workplace changed over the last 50 years. It was not unusual in past decades for someone to work for one employer for life. In the 90's, this started to change and I remember hearing the then "old timers" how things were changing. There was no loyalty to employees anymore, etc. I had not bought into that, being a youngin', so the change was just the way it is - you have to compete to keep your job.

So I was at my first employer 15 years and had 6 different jobs during that time. The past 6 years, I had 2 employers, two different jobs, and I am now self-employed and went back to a earlier job I enjoyed the most.

I foresee me going full time with another employer (if they insource my current part time job) and do that for around 10 years, then I will be off to a more southern and warmer climate where I will be either self-employed or continue in that one job that I enjoy most. After 10 or 15 years doing that, I may retire.

All is subject to change.

Don Phillips

http://worthingtonengineering.com

 

[Senselessticker]

5 years
3 states
3 fields
2 employers (I only recently changed companies)

 

[jmw]

The company I joined when I first discovered that work wasn't an optional extra after all, had many "man and boy" types, "I've worked here all my life, man and boy and me Da before me."

But what is interesting is how even those who are content to stay in one place are involuntary movers.

The company i started with celebrated its 200years anniversary the year I joined. I stayed for 11 years. During that time I had a progression of jobs, and many more job titles.
The company changed ownership twice (or was it three times?) and suffered a management buyout once.

I left and joined a competitor.
I had one job there and one job title but the company was sold twice and I then transferred to a different division which bought itself out and then sold itself on.

The new owners then bought the company I started out in and several of the guys there had the same experience but via a different group of companies.
I had about 3 different jobs and 8 different job titles with them.

I'm not a particularly grass is greener type of guy so I guess the real footloose types must find their resumes run to novella length when they list their work history.

Like they say, you can run but you can't hide. Sooner or later your past will catch up with you through the next merger or acquisition.




JMW

http://www.ViscoAnalyser.com

 

[SomptingGuy]

The company I first worked for had that ominous two word title: XYZ Industries. A sure sign that whatever bit you worked for had been bought from someone else and would be sold off at a moment's notice. And it was. I think it's had about four different owners since I left. Some of the employees from my days are still there, as are some of the buildings. In this situation, it's difficult to be proud to work for your employer.



- Steve

 

[RossABQ]

As I read this, I was thinking I have had a very stable career. But going thru it I find I am in my 6th job in 34 yrs. Two of those were each for 15 yrs or more.

 

[frv]

Including temporary things and jobs that I chose to stay at for four months or less, 12 over 12 years.

However, some of those were simultaneous. At one point I had three jobs. And all were in some way working toward getting where I am now.

At this point in my life, I would be perfectly content to stay where I am until I retire. I am very fortunate to have landed with a good company that (until someone tells me otherwise) pays very well. My current employment is my first full time engineering employment.

 

[TheTick]

Just try to keep the hire/fire ratio >= 1.0

 

[btrueblood]

...unless you work at a gun range.

 

[cksh]

15 years
8 companies.
3 industries
the last 6 are related to Automotive (oem and aftermarket).

haven't made it to that magical 5 year mark yet. Came close once.

Two of the jobs didn't work out. My first one was 3 months in and got laid off. And another turned out not to be a good fit so I left after 3 months.

The way things are going with Automotive I expect to be laid off in the next few weeks. But nothing has been confirmed. Most of my fellow engineers have been here 20 years or more (if I include the their time before having been bought out). If I leave on my own I want out of Automotive. But that will be hard to find for me.

I am mid thirties and expect to change jobs quite a few more times over the next 25 to 30 years. I am sure I will change industries once more given the chance.

So by the time I retire I will have worked in 4 or 5 industries and maybe 12-15 companies.

Someday I will find something I like!

 

[cranky108]

23 years
1 industry <-----------------------
2 companies sold (7 names for the same desk)
4 employers
2 locations

If you don't stay long enough to face the problems you created, then you haven't learned to avoid them.

 

[MechEng2005]

A) 1 year intern at OEM for automated machinery
B) 6 months after BSME, same as above
C) 9 months contract position for OEM for automated machinery
D) 2 weeks fixture designer
E) 2 years and counting for OEM with less focus on automation in more specific industry. Hopefully this will last for a long time yet!

Note: I had about 4 months unemployed between C and D. I took "D" more for a paycheck, not because I intended to stay, but would have gone back to being unemployed instead of staying if I hadn't found E when I did. The company just wasn't a good match.

-- MechEng2005

 

[spongebob007]

15 years, six different employers, seven different positions, four different industries. The old days of spending your whole career at one company are long dead and gone. With pensions going the way of the dinasour and the average merit increase barely keeping ahead of inflation I see no real incentive to spend too many years at one job.

At my last company the only real way I would have gotten a real boost would have been to become an Engineering Supervisor. When my boss left I had considered applying for his job. The pay range for his position was 13K more than I was making on the high end, and only 3K on the low end. Since I had no management experience, I am sure they would have low balled me had I applied for a job. I talked to some other engineers who made the transition to supervisor and the consensus was it was typically an 8-10% increase in salary.

In the end, I left the company for a non-management position and a 20K a year raise. I am making significantly more than I would have made if I stayed at my former employer and took the supervisor job.