Job hopping and mental stability/health… is there a correlation?
I’m a classic job hopper. I’ve spent 1-2 years tops at each company and I only have 6 years of experience. Job hopping has either always taught me brand new skills / got me the right “titles” or always increased my TC. Whether it’s teaching me something brand new or not though, I’m so whatever about it and end up exploring again very soon. I generally do a good job and always get countered to stay, but I just always have an itch to keep exploring. However, more recently I was thinking maybe there’s some relationship between my job hopping history and mental health. I never feel fulfilled and feel like I always need to be looking. Partially it’s because I’ve seen way too many people around me get fired. Partially it’s because I am just not excited by it. In the past, I’ve had some depression (nothing serious), some family issues, grew up poor so always financially insecure, and recently one of my closest friends died from an accident last year. I don’t think I ever fully processed my friend’s death. I still had a full work week, did a major presentation to the company ceo, attended the virtual funeral, etc. I also had a family member get very sick a few years ago. It was quite traumatic but I went on with life and kept working and going to school, trying to pretend none of it is bothering me. I’m not correlating the job hoppiness to my personal issues or history, but I recently realized it’s somewhat related. Like me constantly trying to fill the void with something. Things inherently don’t excite me. I chase after something but quickly get bored by it once I attain it. Title, money, product, anything. Does anyone feel the same? Or maybe I’m just a dude addicted to job hopping and finding excuses for it. TC 230 #mentalhealth
Make your next hop to a job/product/idea/company you love.
Take a resolution to find a good job and give it a best effort for 3+ yrs. Also get therapy.
Just do whatever makes you happy. You don't need to doubt yourself.
If you did a poll, I believe you'd be shocked at the % of people who feel the exact same way. I have 2x your YOE and felt like I just read my bio
Good point. Just added a poll
Not gonna lie, a lot of this reads like my career. 13 years experience here and I’ve only made two years at most at a job. I’ve been at my current employer for a little over a year and I’m already thinking about switching. I think once you hit 6 months at a new job, the “honeymoon” phase is over and reality sets in. I’ve come to learn that all tech is like this. Not going to bother even offering advice but just to say that I think there’s a strong correlation of working in tech and how it factors into our mental health.
I feel the same. Working for my 4th company with 8 yoe. Less than a year at DD, already feel like hopping again.
I am exactly like you. Grew up as a poor immigrant. Always seem to be money hungry or wanting to strive for more. I also do a lot of job hopping and never seem to slow down. If I am not working then I am studying for a new skill set. I am also very hard on myself and always seeking for validation. Definitely think you should look into therapy. I have and it has revealed some inner pain that I didn’t know I had.
Do you all ever learn anything if you keep hopping? Have you ever seen a project through to finish line? How are you keeping up with your skills and marketability?
Maybe the problem is that you are hopping from crap to crap. Hop somewhere nice and you might stay longer
R u me