How Long Should You Stay at a Job?

Key takeaways

Conventional guidance suggests that you should stay at a job for at least two years. However, you are typically free to move at your own pace. Explore key facts:

• According to data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average tenure for employees as of January 2024 was 3.9 years [1].

• Job hopping comes with growth potential that you may not find by staying with your current employer.

• You can ask yourself questions, such as what the benefits of staying in your current role might be, as you consider the next right step for your career.

Discover how long employees typically stay at a job based on various factors, and find guidance on determining whether it’s time for you to consider pursuing something new. Afterward, consider enrolling in Dartmouth’s Strategic Leadership: Impact, Change, and Decision-Making Specialization. In as little as two months, you’ll have the opportunity to learn how to crack the code on talent to accelerate your career and help other people get better. Upon completion, earn a shareable credential for your resume or LinkedIn profile.

How long should you stay at a job?

According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), as of January 2024, the median amount of time employees had been with their current employers was 3.9 years, a decrease from 4.1 years in January 2022 [1].

It’s worth breaking this statistic down further, as the amount of time employees tend to stay with their employers changes depending on factors such as age, industry, and occupation.

Average length of employment by age

According to BLS data, older employees tend to remain with their current employers much longer than younger employees. Consider the following full breakdown of median tenure by age [2]:

Looking at the data this way, it appears that younger employees tend to change jobs more frequently than older employees, who are more likely to have established their positions within their company and may hold leadership roles.

In fact, employees with management occupations had the highest median tenure, 5.7 years, according to the BLS [1]. Younger employees, on the other hand, tend to have stronger representation in service occupations—jobs in health care support, food service, or personal care, for example—which had the lowest median tenure of 2.7 years [1].

Still, when you look at these numbers, remember that the median is a midpoint, meaning that just as many 25- to 34-year-olds have been with their current employer for less than 2.7 years as have been there longer. This brings to mind a more recent trend, job hopping.

Is job hopping bad?

Job hopping is a career advancement strategy that involves changing jobs frequently to accelerate professional growth. Many employees, particularly in the younger generations, have found success leveling up at work by moving to a new company every year or so, as opposed to waiting for a promotion at their current company.

Traditionally, employers have interpreted a job history made up of a collection of roles held for short periods of time as an indication that a worker was unable to hold a job. Hiring costs are high, so companies tend to prefer to hire employees who are likely to stay with their company for a longer period.

Recently, however, it’s become more common for workers to embrace this strategy if they see career growth opportunities elsewhere. According to a recent survey from Career Sidekick, 62 percent of respondents left at least one job within the first year. The survey also found that, on average, individuals change their jobs every 2.73 years, with 42 percent making the switch every one to two years [3]. It’s worth noting that Career Sidekick did not collect age data from their participants, but if we compare the 2.73 average tenure to the BLS data, it may be reasonable to suspect that their surveyed audience skewed closer to that 25- to 34-year-old demographic.

Career Sidekick also found that the three most common reasons for leaving a job are [3]:

1. Finding a new, better opportunity

2. Leaving a toxic work environment

3. Lack of growth opportunities in their current role

In this sense, job hopping may be off-putting to some employers, but it also comes with growth potential that you may not find by staying with your current employer.

Read more: 14 High-Demand Jobs

How soon is too soon to leave a job?

The decision to leave a job is ultimately a personal one, influenced by individual factors. Take time to assess if your current role supports both your well-being and career advancement goals. According to a 2022 survey by The Muse, Gen Z and millennial candidates are driving a generational shift, viewing the employer-employee relationship as a “two-way street.” In fact, 41 percent of respondents expressed a willingness to quit a new job within two to six months in response to “shift shock” or job strain [4].

Questions to ask before leaving your job

Conventional guidance and average tenures aside, determining how long you should stay at your job requires some self-reflection. Many factors can influence your decision to leave a job. Your decision to stay or leave isn’t only a reflection of you—it’s also a reflection of your employer and their ability and willingness to support their employees’ growth.

With your career goals in mind, ask yourself the following questions as you consider what’s the right next step for you:

• What are the benefits of staying in your current job? Can you live without those benefits?

• What are the benefits of leaving your current job? Can you continue growing without those benefits?

• Did you accomplish the things you wanted to accomplish in this role? At this company? Are you able to identify opportunities to accomplish any unmet goals if you remain in your current position?

• What do you hope to achieve by leaving your job? Is there a path for you to achieve that goal while remaining at your current job?

• What would you do if you weren't working? Can you do those things while continuing to work?

Take the next step in your career journey

Explore our Career Chat newsletter on LinkedIn for tips that may lead to meaningful career growth. Then, explore additional free, digital resources:

• Watch on YouTube: 5 High-Paying, High-Growth Jobs

• Take a quiz: Career Test: What Career is Right for Me Quiz?

• Learn from experts: How to Use GenAI to Advance Your Career: Insight from Coursera's Former CEO

Whether you want to develop a new skill, get comfortable with an in-demand technology, or advance your abilities, keep growing with a Coursera Plus subscription. You’ll get access to over 10,000 flexible courses. 

Build job-ready skills with Coursera Plus

Start 7-day free trial

• 
• 
• 
• 

Start 7-day free trial