[staticcaucasian]

Your answers read exactly like most of the people I know at Microsoft. I think to a certain extent companies with high average tenure produce cultures where people become risk-averse and reinforce these values through statements like your own.

For what it's worth, by staying there you are leaving a serious amount of compensation behind, assuming your skills could find you another job. $225k would be $350k elsewhere, easily. Many of the MSFT lifers I know don't really have a skillset that would translate or be valuable elsewhere, due to their focus on their company. That's probably true of most cases where someone stays at a single firm for a long time.

By no means am I suggesting there's anything wrong with your worldview, just pointing out that in this industry, you are leaving serious comp behind by not shopping around. Your work after moving would probably be more enjoyable and interesting, too.

[techsupporter]

> By no means am I suggesting there's anything wrong with your worldview, just pointing out that in this industry, you are leaving serious comp behind by not shopping around. Your work after moving would probably be more enjoyable and interesting, too.

You may be right, at least about the money, but I think you're missing the other side of it that I tried to express: I don't need more money. I don't even, really, want more money. What I do want is to do something mostly interesting--I don't have to optimize for interest--in the least amount of time. I like what I do for work, even if some days I don't love it, but I adore what my salary allows me to do outside of work.

Switching employers, looking for a new one, making those decisions...they all take time that I don't have to spend right now because my needs are quite nicely met where I am and, so far as I can tell, will continue to be met for a long time. I do side projects outside of work to keep practice in some skills that don't directly relate to my work and I have friends who are at other companies and are also my professional network if I ever do need another job.

tl;dr: I'm optimizing for contentedness, not income or interest, and that's the big reason why I've stayed at the same employer for almost two decades. My employer treats me well and pays me enough so I am content.

[joewee]

I don’t know about this math. What if you change jobs and hate the new job? How do you put a dollar value on months wasted working at a place that’s not a good fit for you.

There’s only a 33% chance a job will work out. That is, that both you and the employer agree it’s a good fit after a year. So you are more likely to fail in a job change, and the odds get worse the more jobs you change.

[staticcaucasian]

That's not how that math works, _at all_.

Besides, you have an asymmetric opportunity, since you can interview, get an offer, and decline it if you don't like the new option. You don't need to quit before interviewing. In fact, that post-offer woo phase can give you a huge chance to get more information about the new gig.

[joewee]

Time has value. And interviews only give you a partial view of your ultimate working situation. But you and I are looking at this from totally different perspectives, I have no interest in convincing you I’m right. My experience is that if money is really what you want, you should start a business. As a owner you will earn more but must deal with instability. If it’s stability you want, you get a job. That’s the trade off I and many other entrepreneurs often consider. So job hopping to make a few extra K is a waste of time. Why job hop when you can do your own thing and double your income? Seems like someone that’s afraid to commit either way.