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Ask HN: How often is too often to switch jobs?

3 points by mcdevhammer ↗ HN
I got a job as a developer right out of school and worked there for only 4 months before switching to another job with more pay and better benefits. I have discovered that I do not really enjoy my new job. It is a very large company and things move so slowly I am bored out of my mind. I show up at 9am and almost never stay until 5, but still get everything done which is assigned to me. Apparently they think I am some kind of star who is going to make big changes but I just can't stand all the processes and hoops that need to be jumped though. It takes a full day to get a deployment done and up to a week just to run a SQL script to update a database because of processes and approvals. I want to find a new job but I have only been here for 3 months and am worried it is going to look bad that I switch jobs too often. How long should I wait before looking for another job so it doesn't look bad on my resume?

4 comments

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chisto
I just feel in the same way. But I have a little experience, 2 years, after 3, current 7 months and the feel of going to slow is very frustrating. I'll recommend talk to your manager's and change of project or move to other area that create new stuffs maybe that will help if can't happen move on. I myself don't like the people that change very often of work.
nostrademons
I usually tell people "Stay as long as necessary to fully exploit the opportunity." You're right to worry about not learning things quickly, since the time when you're just out of college is the best time to gain skills quickly. But have you learned why those processes and approvals exist? What events or forces led to them being instituted, and what sort of problems was the organization solving? Have you learned how to figure that out, how to develop little birdies within the organization who will tell you things and keep you informed of office politics? How to build a reputation for yourself so you can bypass many of the petty procedures? These are critical skills that are much easier to learn in a big company than in a startup.

I would focus on learning the soft skills while you have an opportunity, and then jump ship once you feel that you know how to develop these soft skills, and that most of the remaining work you're doing is specific to how things work in that one company. Then use the skills you've developed to jump ship for a better opportunity.

As for how often is too often - it's not unusual to have a bunch of jobs in your first few years out of college. 3 months is generally too short, though, if you leave after 3 months it looks like you're superficial and can't be bothered to learn anything in depth. I'd stay minimum 6-8 months, maximum of about a year or two, for the first few jobs. Then take that experience and knowledge of what kind of environment you really like, pick a job that really excites you, and stay 3-4 years to really learn an area well.

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