how long to stay whilst building your career in your 20's-early 30's?

[nancytherunner]

something i've been discussing with my fiance this week was whether it was time to start looking around for a new role or not. he's in a fairly conservative/well-worn-path career (he's an accountant) so not much help to me.

i currently work in graphic design, an in-house department of an insurance company, and i've always been ambitious, and am eager to make sure i get enough experience in a few varied roles to build a career out of my work. potentially even going freelance when i have a few more years of experience.

anyway, influencing this decision - a few factors:

1. i have no opprtunity for promotion (it's just not viable due to how small the team is - i'd be waiting on my boss to resign, really, for something attainable "upwards" to crop up). basically, i'm treading water - work's fine, get on with people well, but not challenging (and although informally there is room to take on extra responsibility, there's no likelihood of an official job role change like a title change/extra money - it's not big enough).

2. i'm wanting to build as much experience, contacts in industry before we settle down in the next couple of years to start a family (i'm 29, no DCs), and i realise that if i just stick in the same job until that happens (if we're lucky enough for it to happen), i may find my options limited later on.

anyway, my work history to date:

10 months - first graduate job (left because the job remit was very narrow)
2 yrs - next job was great, very varied, but i left because their in-house dept moved back to their HQ (other side of the country)
1.5 yrs - this job

i suppose what i'm really asking is in the topic title: how long to stay whilst building your career in your 20's-early 30's? (especially if you don't see any progression on the horizon).

that's it really

p.s. before the graduate job i continued in my student bar job, so although i've been working for a few years before my "first" job, it's not the sort of thing i'd put on a CV, if you see what I mean!

Time to look to move on, I'd say. There really is no point staying to fill dead men's shoes until you're actively looking to tread water (loving my mixed metaphor there). Limiting your options now because of something which may or may not happen in a few years' time is not sensible. Frankly, if your fiance has a more stable career path (which it sounds like he does) it may make more sense for him to take a career break with young children than for you to. Worth thinking about, anyway.

Have a look around and see what opportunities there are. It doesn't commit you to anything but 1.5 yrs in one firm, where there are no prospects, is acceptable dead time. But any longer than that and I would argue you're potentially not looking ambitious enough (I might ask at interview what took you so long to move on, given the lack of prospect is not a new thing).

Use this time to set the world on fire! Leave the play-it-safe game to the accountants (I should say I am only teasing about accountants, genuinely one of my best friends is/was one before becoming a Finance Director. He is also extremely sensible about career options, although has had to compromise somewhat because his wife is a consultant in a rather specialised field of medicine).