Hi fellow data professional!

Quick question: How much could I pay you to switch your job?

Conventional wisdom in the tech industry in the last handful of years is that the way to supercharge growth and max out your career earnings is to frequently change jobs.

On average, job switchers could and should target an increase of 15-20% of their current salary.

But in a rocky economy (at least here in the U.S.), career experts are urging would-be switchers to consider the benefits of a stable role over pay bumps.

After passing 4 years with my org I’ve topped out of the 2-4 year average tenure. Although the data suggests exploring other roles would be to my benefit there is something all the data and career gurus miss: The cost of switching jobs.

I was listening to an episode of the Acquired podcast, and host Ben Gilbert proposed the idea of using marginal dollars to determine whether a few extra million was enough of an incentive for pro athletes to disrupt their personal lives by relocating to a new city in order to “get the bag.”

In other words: At which point does “getting paid” not matter as much as professional growth, role security and job satisfaction?

If you’re thinking about switching to DE from data analysis or even software engineering, you need to determine your time horizon (for upskilling, interviews and onboarding) and the percentage increase that would make that investment worthwhile.

For some, upskilling for 6-12 months to move to an internal DE position at a 15% salary increase might be a good move; others might say 15% isn’t worth even one month of study.

Professionals at any stage have another chance to capitalize on drastic income fluctuations: Choosing to work remote over in-person. Often, in-office or hybrid roles will pay more but the marginal dollars are eroded by costs like gas, parking, food and childcare.

On top of that the highest paying roles are often situated in major metro areas like Atlanta, New York and San Francisco, all of which are considered HCOL (high cost of living) areas.

This is why, in my opinion, it’s important to optimize for professional growth over salary growth. If you follow the “switch jobs every 2 years” suggestion, you’ll get salary bumps but unless you’re a high performer you’re making lateral moves. And if you have to physically move or culturally adjust to a different org every other year that becomes draining and provides you less opportunities to become a true SME (subject matter expert) within your domain.

Finally, and this isn’t talked about enough, the corporate world is experiencing volatility not seen since the pandemic. Orgs are ruthlessly downsizing and increasing role scope. No one truly understands AI so everyone is trying to “optimize” and “pivot”, often at the cost of job security.

I’d be cautious switching jobs right now and I’d certainly avoid a lateral move. As my friend Ken Jee notes, your best shot at remaining retainable and hire-able is to build a “moat” of seniority.

Otherwise, you’re just another hired gun chasing the bag.

Thanks for ingesting,

-Zach

P.S. Read next week to learn Ken's simple but overlooked approach to upskilling with AI tools

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