How many jobs have you had in your working career?

[Anonymous]

I'm 45 and same place for 29 years. From 55k to 250k. Close to topped out, but I'm ok as it's 40 hrs a week and not too stressful.

[Anonymous]

5 in six years, which is a lot, or four in five years if you look at my career post-grad school. I’ve also just gone back to work a previous employer.

2020-2021 (8 months): Worked at a scaling startup in an emerging industry. Family-run company, very political, I got caught in the crosshairs and was canned. (I was essentially demoted after six months and then fired on a minor policy violation.)

Finished grad school, was unemployed 4 months.

2021-2024 (2.5 years) Stable analyst role, moved into IT a year in but essentially did the same work. No growth/limited visibility.

2024-2025 (14 months) Big jump: 25% increase in pay, manager-level, got to work on complex projects. High visibility. A gossipy, unprofessional, mediocre culture, and my boss was a total narc.

2025-2025 (5 months) Got a job in consulting, first six-figure job (!). Bro culture, another family owned startup - never again, laid off after five months.

Unemployed four months.

2026 - Still at six figures, really good team and experience so far. Back at employer #2 (I’m in a smaller market).

I’d like to be in this job for 2-3 years and then transfer internally. I got a late start to my career - was something of a free spirit before - and I really just want stability and consistency at this point. I’m well-connected at my company, which I think will help.

[Anonymous]

I've been working about 35 years since graduating from college. I've had 3 jobs, spent 1 1/2 at 2 law firms as a paralegal and been at my current job for 32 years. Have gone from 19k to 240k. Spent some years mommy tracked and kinda stuck now especially with the economy and jobs as they are but pretty much happy with where I am and plan to stay until retirement. I do counsel younger women to move around and experience life a little more than I did and not to become complacent. I would do my work life over again in a minute if I had to.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:13 jobs since college. 49 yo woman. Layoffs, volatile industries, frustrating orgs/culture and bad bosses, but also some great experiences. I tell my kids, I’m a survivor. In between various jobs, I always freelanced, so I was never not hustling. I have been at my current org for 4 years, which is the longest tenure so far!

Same here. A dozen jobs since finishing undergrad due to all the above. Always hustled. Been at my cutest job for five years, longest I’ve lasted anywhere but it’s due to the great salary, nice management team, interesting work, great colleagues and decent raises. Wouldn’t be surprised though if things shift at some point due to volatility and increasing use of AI. Management loves it.

[Anonymous]

I’m 52. I’m in my fifth job now, with a long stretch of consulting in the middle when my kids were little. My salary has not gone up that much. Started around $50 and now I’m $150. I could be making more but I’d rather do a job I love at an organization I respect.

[Anonymous]

48 and 5 jobs since college. Two were very short stints right out of college to kill time before law school. Post law school, I had one for 7 years, the next for two years (after my son was born, I purposefully took something short term with bad pay to bridge a gap until I was ready to gear up again), and then my current job for 12 years. So really just 2 jobs where I was trying and cared about it.

My first job in 2000 was $24k. I currently make around $1.5m. Hoping to ramp to $3m in 3 years.

[Anonymous]

4, in 35 years

[Anonymous]

5 jobs, 4 different fields. Retired at 40 and became a full time SAHM of 2.

[Anonymous]

4.
1- 7 years and moved up a lot.
2- 4 years in the same field and moved up a bit.
3- 6 months. Tried something new to make more money and it was absolutely miserable.
4- 9 years and counting after taking time off for a new degree for a completely different field.

[Anonymous]

I’m 42. Since college I’ve had 6 jobs.

Job1: 2 years
Job2: 1 year
Job3: 3 years
Job4: 9 years
Job5: 0.5 years (bad fit, bad boss)
Job6: 6 years (current)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:39- 3 jobs. I'm still at the same, very large federal agency, but 3 distinct jobs in very different offices.

Same. Same large agency; 48 and been there for 27 years; seven very different positions in different sections. Now that my kids are older, I am open to leaving the government. As much as being a fed gets crapped on, it has been a tremendous stablizer for raising my family on a decent salary, with good benefits.

[Anonymous]

I've had 9 employers since graduating from college almost 40 years ago. Three were manufacturing plants that closed and one beltway bandit that got gobbled up by private equity. I've been at my current employer for 8 years and might ride this to the end.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:5 jobs, 4 different fields. Retired at 40 and became a full time SAHM of 2.

lol. You didn't retire after 5 different jobs in 4 different fields in 15 years. You can't retire if you never had a career to retire from. You just stopped working when you had kids, probably because you didn't have a career.

[Anonymous]

53, business undergrad

First job: 5 years, two roles $33-60
Second: 21 years, three roles $76-135
Third (current): 5 years, 1 role, $180-216

Numbers don’t include bonuses and stock/options grants

[Anonymous]

I’ve been at the same company by whole career, 23 years. The original company I was at got acquired at one point, so that was a change. I’ve worked on the same team for 20 of the 23 years in various roles. Started at 27k, now 380k and a VP.

I do worry I’m not marketable externally. The linked in messages stopped at about year 18. I am generally happy though.