How old are you and how many jobs have you had?

[JunesDunes]

My Dad was moaning about how no one sticks to one job/company now and that he doesnt understand why people are constantly looking for new jobs and moving about.

He is past retirement but still working. He works for a very traditional company with a job for life, only move for a promotion type approach. He has been there since school and excluding a couple of sideways moves, he has followed that path. He hasn't always been happy there but "it's what you do".

I tried to explain why most jobs don't work like that anymore and that people are more willing to move if they are unhappy and all the other reasons to change jobs/careers. But he didnt get it.

So I'm curious about your experiences?

I'm late 40s.
At school/college/university I had 4 jobs but they were typical transient student jobs so I dont really count those.

Since then I've worked for 4 companies. However within those companies I've had at least 12 different roles, some sideways and some progression. Some my choice, others due to restructure or redundancy etc.

So basically a new job on average every 2ish years which seems a lot when I put put like that! But I do stay in companies for a while.

Assuming nothing major happens, I dont have any plans to leave my current company, although I'll probably move about in it. I dont always like it but it fits around my life not the other way round. I am also counting down to retirement (😂), I'm not ambitious anymore and just cant be bothered tbh.

Early 50s, since I started working after Uni, I've worked in four different organisations and a period of self employment.
I just realised I've never left looking for a promotion or more money but because working conditions deteriorated: in two due to rubbish management and the other was lack of work/life balance.
I have worked different roles within a number of them.
My mum is like your dad though, got one job and stayed there until she took early retirement and on a good pension too; I'm envious.

im 46 and I’ve had three jobs.

Twelve!
Ed to add, late 50s

Oops, miscounted and remembered a couple of short term jobs....somewhere just short of twenty. I think my longest job I lasted about six years. I'm a bit of a fidget!

As a student 4.

In the grown up world of work 8 and am now aged 60. Been in current job 5 years. DH has worked for 3 companies. BIL worked for the one place from 18 - 65.

39. I've had 10/11 jobs ( I did one job on twice on temp contracts with a year between the contracts). 4 of them jobs have been with the organisation I'm with now and have been with for 8 years. I think 3 years is the longest I've stayed in one post. I do get easily bored and like trying something new to expand my knowledge and experience. All my jobs, bar the first, are in similar sectors so very transferable skills and knowledge. I'm at the point now where I'm thinking I should maybe stick around and focus on becoming an 'expert' in the current area I'm working in, but there's also part of me that thinks I've got nearly 30 years left of working so I should try something new again.

I started work in a bank in the late 1970's, and I could have stayed with them for my entire career if I'd wanted to. I didn't want to.

Thing is... they were arseholes about booking holidays - woe betide anyone who wanted to have their summer holiday in the actual summer. The holiday lists were distributed to senior staff first, then those with school-age kids, then the rest of us.

Another massive issue for me was the lack of promotion. They were not exactly forthcoming when it came to career prospects and promotion for young female staff. What was the point, when they were only going to get married, leave and have babies anyway? A manager once actually said that to my face.

In total I've had 7 actual jobs as an employee, and a period of about 15 years when I was freelance, so worked for quite a few firms in that time. Just taken early retirement.

I’ve had
1 Saturday job whilst at school( working in a fish and chip shop)
Then 10 years in the Department of the Environment, in 3 different roles
Followed by 22 years teaching- in 2 different schools
Now retired!

Thats the sum total☺️

I am 39, I was on and off with the same company throughout uni but had a new contract each time, I did 9 months at another company then returned to my origjnal company at a new store on another new contract for almost 12 years, don't work now due to disability.

I’m 49 and this is my 5th ‘proper job’ and I’ve been with this company for 23 years in various roles.

Mid/late 40’s 9 jobs been in this 6 years. Previous was 3 years, seem to get longer now I’ve got to a level and wage I’m happy with. Had 2 6 monthers back to back early on. Mostly been in small orgs with limited potential for promotion so had to move and build my career.

I’m 50. 3 weekend jobs when in school/college (not at the same time!), 5 jobs since.

Saturday and part time jobs aside I have had 1 for 40 years , although moved about within the same company ,,

I've had 6 'proper jobs in 10 years
Longest was 5.5 years, then 2 years, then a few short ones....I'm on my sixth now and I can see myself staying here for 5 years ish
I'm a terrible judge of culture of companies in interviews and as soon as I realised I made another bad decision I left
Life's too short to be unhappy in a role

I’m 42. I have had 2 jobs! The first from leaving college and the second for the last 11 years!

My dad started work at 15 and had 3 jobs plus national service (1940's-1970's).

Job one (wartime reserved occupation), then national service at the end of WWII.

Job two for several years, then business relocated and my parents moved with his job. Worked there 20 years+, then got made redundant.

Job three - long distance commute for a while but got too much so had to relocate again nearer work. Died suddenly 18 months later.

I'm 37.

Aside from teenage jobs, I've worked in four positions across two companies, and now run my own business which I've been doing since I was 31.

Both my parents had NHS jobs for life.

I'm 48 and in my 6th role. Two lasted 8 or 9 years, with a short lived role just before my current one that I've been in for nearly two years.

I have changed to a different career path with this job.

Been made redundant twice - one time took me 6 months to get a new job, the other time (just before this one), two months.

I'm 47. Since qualifying as a solicitor I've had 6 jobs. One was only for a month as I realised what an utter arse the owner of the firm was.

37

Aside from saturday jobs/part time jobs

Ive had 5 jobs.

1 .3.5 years
2 3 months I cried every day
3 1 year, I left because I got an offer for a job with a massive pay rise
4 3.5 years massive pay rise job made me redundant 😂
5 current job just over 3 years

Ive also had mat leave in that period

68
As a teenager four jobs.
Then civil service 35 years
Then two jobs before retirement.

65
two jobs - one just for a few months after my PhD but then went to a similar one nearer to my fiancé. I retired after nearly 40 years at the end of last year. The company had undergone many mergers and acquisitions from beginning as a small startup, but I retained continuous employment.

DH thought he had a ‘job for life’ - we couldn’t have anticipated the once great ICI tearing itself apart. He’s had 3 in all and then quite a while as a consultant so working for a good number of other companies.

I'm 60 and had 6 different jobs when I was younger, horrible office jobs and horrible jobs in hairdressers.

I had my children then retrained as an accountant. I had that job for 25 years.

I’m mid 40s and have worked for 7 companies excluding college/ uni jobs. Out of those, 1 was so awful I didn’t finish my 3 month probation and just left, 1 was due to moving 2 hours away, and 2 ended in redundancy!

32, and I had one holiday job from 16-21, then had 6 roles at 4 organisations over the last 11 years.

One was sort of just an expansion of my previous role, and the latest one I have gained half a job and kept half my old job.

So it was Job 1 at Org 1 - 3 years
Job 2 at Org 2 - 2 years
Job 3 at Org 2 - 2 years - promotion/expansion of previous role
Job 4 at Org 3 - 1 year - then got poached into
Job 5 at Org 3 - been in post 3 years so far
Job 6 at Org 4 - been in post for 3 months so far

So not quite as bad as it sounds moving wise. I usually merge Jobs 2 and 3 on my CV.