The average worker in the United States holds approximately 11 jobs during their lifetime, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. This number is likely to increase by several jobs for younger workers, who seem less committed to longevity with their employers. This change in how long someone stays with a company is a direct result of there being plenty of opportunities to choose from in addition to healthy competition amongst companies to offer employees the best salaries and benefits. That said, here are some of the key reasons it pays to switch jobs early in your career.
Acquire more skills
One of the greatest benefits of switching jobs is learning new skills, according to Pay Scale. These are crucial and transferrable skills, such as writing, negotiating, making decisions, and solving problems, that can help you get better jobs in the future.
Avoid career burnout
When you stay at a job too long early in your career, you’ll tend to become more mechanical in how you perform tasks. In fact, Forbes further explains that your ideas will tend to diminish the longer you stick with one job.
Helps self esteem
Face it, as a talented professional, you have various goals you want to achieve during your career. You have a better chance of reaching them by switching jobs more frequently when you’re first starting out. For one thing, you’ll become exposed to more challenging tasks as you advance into higher-level positions. You’ll also experience a greater sense of accomplishment.
Enhances industry scope
It’s a good feeling when you can perform your job efficiently and get recognized for your efforts. Unfortunately, if you stay in a job too long, you risk falling behind on new trends or happenings in your industry, according to Forbes.
Expands your network
The more jobs you have when you’re young, the greater number of contacts you’ll make. These are people who can mentor you or help you advance into executive roles in the future. These business contacts can also be a launching pad for future business endeavors if you have a predilection toward entrepreneurship.
Increases pay and benefits
Often times, people get stuck in careers because there’s no room to move up. This issue tends to stymie both career growth and income. Although you’ll have to gauge various salaries and benefits in your industry, you can often get significant bumps in salary when you make both lateral or upward progressions in new jobs.
