How long is it appropriate to work for one employer?

When I started my first job after school at a small local agency, a project manager once said something like: “If someone has three companies on their CV and stayed less than a year in each, it doesn’t look good.”

I took that to heart. I tried to stay longer in every role, so I wouldn’t seem unreliable, even in underpaid jobs I didn’t enjoy. I endured it just to make my CV look “stable.” In hindsight, it was a little bit stupid. (Sometimes a waste of time.)

Eventually, I found myself working on multiple projects at once. In a relatively short time, I gained more diverse, hands-on experience across different areas. That’s when I realised my manager valued the traditional path: a stable 9–5 and rewards based on years spent in one company.

But today, I see 19-year-olds with more real project experience and skills than some 30-year-olds who’ve simply stayed in one job without pushing themselves.

There’s also this common idea that you should switch jobs every ~7 years (long enough to master something, but also long for getting crazy) :D

How long should you stay with one employer, or how often should you change jobs?

[At this point, I no longer believe in loyalty to an employer, it’s a transactional relationship, and when a company decides you no longer fit their costs, they’ll simply cut you from the budget.]