how long to stay

snunez889

Whats is the right amount of time people stay at their first IT job. Im interested to know, and what are some of the reasons you stayed or left.

markulous

Depends on a lot of factors: how fast you learn, what certs you're getting, your role there, how much room for growth, etc. If it's a dead-end help desk that pays $10 an hour, I'd say grab a cert or two (or more), and move on within 3-6 months. If you're getting paid $18 an hour and there's a lot of room to move up doing something you really want to do (network admin, sys admin, etc.), you may stay for several years.

bhcs2014

There is no "right" amount of time. You stay as long as you want. I stayed a little under 5 months at my first IT job. I left because the job was no longer serving me. It had become stale. I found a better job and I've been here around the same amount of time.. I won't hesitate to leave if a better opportunity comes up.

cyberguypr

^ No right amount of time is precisely the answer. I did desktop support for many many years because the employer was great, I was always picking up more responsibility, learning new stuff, and generally progressing. The minute all that stops happening, that's when you move on.

kohr-ah

Like others said it is until you can no longer gain anything from it or seek more of a challenge.

I stayed at my first job 1.5 years then my 2nd one 4 years.

The one I am at now I wont stay as long maybe 1.5 years due to the lack of the ability to grow but I am going to seek out a place I can stay another 4 - 5 years at minimum and grow into a stronger position.