woman deep in thought with her coffee left untouched on the table
After 5 years in her first job, Singaporean worker asks if it’s finally time to move on: ‘How long do people usually stay in the same job?’
SINGAPORE: After five years in her first job, one Singaporean employee has found herself wondering whether it might finally be time to move on.
The woman, who works in the performing arts industry, took to Reddit to ask how long people tend to stay in the same job these days, as she has been quietly contemplating leaving her company.
For context, she explained that this is her first job, and she has been with the company for five years. While she does not dislike the work and has picked up plenty of experience along the way, one thing has started to bother her: the lack of career and salary progression.
Over those five years, her total salary increment has only come to around S$500, which works out to roughly S$100 a year.
“I currently only have a diploma certificate, and I’m starting to wonder if it’s time for me to make a career change,” she wrote.
“I know the job market is currently bad and I should be grateful, but improving oneself is equally important, right?”
Seeking a bit of guidance from people who had been in her shoes, she asked how they knew when it was genuinely time to move on from a job.
She was also curious about what came next. With no previous experience of changing jobs or industries, she wanted to know how others figured out which direction to take and what steps they took.
“I’d really appreciate it if you could share your experience, especially a step-by-step breakdown of how you made the transition. I’m also wondering what small steps I can start taking now while I’m still working, whether it’s taking courses, upgrading my skills, exploring different industries, updating my resume, or simply researching different career paths. If you were in my position, what would you do first?”
“Do not stay at a company for too long”
Under her post, one commenter shared how she usually decides when it is time to start looking for a new job.
“For me, I look around job markets to know the range I should be paid. If it is severely under, then that’s the sign for me to know I should be applying for a new job.”
Another commenter said it really depends on how comfortable someone is with their current job.
“It depends on what your comfort is. If you like the job environment and don't mind the pay, you can stay. Otherwise, I feel that the increment is quite low.”
A third commenter said he found himself in almost the exact same situation after spending 12 years working as a service desktop technician. Despite staying with the company for more than a decade, his salary only went up from S$2,000 to S$3,500, while his responsibilities kept piling up.
“The workload was crazy; I had to take care of network, cybersecurity, DevOps, infrastructure, etc.,” he continued.
“Decided to call it quits and resign without a backup. I would ask that you leave and not stay at a company for too long. I have peers who are significantly less experienced but drawing salaries up to S$4-5k; mind you, these are people who are asking me how to reset a user's password.”
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Meanwhile, a fourth user advised her to make use of her younger years to build up her experience and qualifications.
“When you are young, you should move to gain experience after 2 to 3 years. May want to consider studying part-time to get a degree for a higher salary band.”
In other news, a man who’s drowning in debt recently vented on social media about how terrible his current situation is and how he is slowly losing faith that he’ll ever see the light at the end of the tunnel.
In his post on the r/SingaporeRaw forum, the man shared that all his family members, save for his mum, have taken out loans and have yet to pay them off in full.