
Ask HN: How soon is too soon to switch jobs? - cryopha
I&#x27;m asking in general, but here&#x27;s my story specifically:<p>The company culture is great. My co-workers are all extremely talented people that I&#x27;ve learned a lot of good practices from. The company has a great reputation. Management likes me and has gone out of their way to make me feel welcome. This is my first full time job and I&#x27;ve been here for a little under six months. I have good internship experience from before this but no real open-source work to show. Leaving the company this soon would probably burn some bridges no matter how gently I did it. There’s an unwritten expectation that you stay for at least two years.<p>The main reason I want to leave is that the work itself ended up being much more simplistic than I thought it would be when I first took the job. Simpler than what I was doing previously as an intern at another company. I feel like I&#x27;m wasting months doing really trivial work and that it&#x27;s going to hurt my chances of getting more interesting work later on. My current assignment is a CRUD front-end only app using an outdated framework that I was already proficient in before I started working here. I won&#x27;t be able to get a new assignment for another 4-9 months, and my next assignment isn&#x27;t guaranteed to be anything more interesting. Pay is slightly below average for my area, and benefits are extremely poor by any standard.
======
poof131
If you feel like you are no longer learning or growing then you should
probably look at moving, especially if pay and benefits are below average. At
least start a slow search to see if there is someplace worth moving to. And
since you aren’t miserable and are actively employed, you can move on your
terms.

I wouldn’t worry about perception, especially in software. Moving after 6
months multiple times would be bad, but moving a few times in your first four
or five years isn’t a big deal. I think the opposite actually applies in
software, staying at someplace too long can be seen as a red flag if it’s not
a top notch company using cutting edge tech.

The real risk though is leaving a good company culture with good management
and a good team. Places with both are probably fewer and farther between then
you would imagine. You may find better pay working on cutting edge tech with
awful management and egotistically, unhelpful teammates, especially at some
hyper growth companies.

The answer depends on what you want and it sounds like more interesting work
is important. If there is no way to get your ‘simplistic’ work done and do
interesting stuff on your own or helping another team, then moving is probably
worth it. I do wonder though if the place is so great and your coworkers so
talented, why is the work so simplistic? Is it a lifestyle company or are you
missing something without the experience to know?

In any event, think about what you want, take your time and do research if you
choose to move, and best of luck in your career.

------
JSeymourATL
> The company culture is great; co-workers are all extremely talented people;
> Management likes me...

There's an old rule, people don't leave companies-- they leave bosses.
Question for you, can you up manage-up? Can you assert to management that
you're ready for more interesting, challenging work? Can you help your boss
with his agenda? Can you challenge your peers to up their game?

If you can do that, then definitely stay. Incidentally, it also makes you more
valuable to the company and will certainly justify a salary increase.

------
logn
"There's an unwritten expectation that you stay for at least two years."

Two years is a decent duration. At least view this as a job to challenge
yourself on delivering projects successfully, even if they're routine CRUD
apps.

It would be helpful for you on your third job to list your manager from this
first job as a reference.

Generally it's never too early to leave. But if you have a string of job
hopping, some people will hold this against you, and you'll have a short list
of people wanting to endorse you.

------
bZfrank
Just talk to them. Tell them your bored and see if they are willing to help. I
bet they will come up with some solution for you.

------
william_hc
Just tell your manager that you're bored and want (or need) something more
challenging. If they are a good manager they'll figure something out.

------
andymurd
Line up another job before quitting this one. As other posters have said: just
don't make a habit of short-term jobs and it's easily explained.

------
loumf
_Pay is slightly below average for my area, and benefits are extremely poor by
any standard._

Frankly, none of the other stuff matters to me as much as this. Look for a job
while you still have one and move on if you think you see yourself there for a
while. One short stint won't matter, but two in a row might.

------
suprjami
If you are surrounded by talented people, in a positive work environment, you
are doing better than the vast majority of the workforce. Most people hate
their jobs and are surrounded by dicks.

A good work environment is a huge benefit that you won't realise you miss
until you give it up. I would take "slightly below average" pay for a positive
workplace any day.

Like others have said, talk to your manager. Don't just say "I'm bored and
want exciting work". Ask if you can have more of a challenge. Ask if you can
shadow one of your talented co-workers to learn more. Ask what other problems
is your manager trying to solve. Take some initiative, look at the business
more holistically, and add value by improving some part of the workflow or
tooling.

------
tixocloud
Use your free time to hunt out opportunities for improvement. What are the
issues that the company is facing? Are there any other areas that you can
continue to grow and develop? It's not about waiting for your manager to
assign you something - it's about finding ways that you can make the company
better, which can lead to more interesting assignments. Ones where the
management team hadn't even considered in the first place.

------
panjaro
If the task is trivial at job, you can always go home at the end of the day
and push some code to open source, learn new stuffs.

------
ashleyp
Get the assignment done quickly and so you can get a new one. You're leaving
because one assignment you feel is shit?

------
mak4athp
If you carry this attitude through a series of future jobs, you're going to
demonstrate that you're a pretty awful employee. Not all work is exciting, and
new hires are often going to get the worst of it until they prove themselves.
If you can't suck it up for a bit and show some loyalty, then there's another
candidate who can.

But realistically, you're very early in your career and can afford to burn
some bridges and make some selfish decisions. Doing this once or twice isn't
going to really stand out as a problem, so much as you taking a little time to
get your bearings in the real world.

So be sensitive to your employer's needs (don't quit during a release crunch),
and be open to any counteroffers they may offer as you tell them your plans,
but do what you need to.

