couldnt agree more - sean percival

I wonder how long he means when he says that. 5 years? 3? Less? - Diego Barros 

I don't know, I was with my first company for 4.5 years. That still made me kinda the new guy, as a lot of employees were there 20 to 30 years. I guess it depends on industry. That was the insurance industry, and as long as there was a way up I was happy with that company. Now working in dot coms, working at a place more that two years is impressive. In some ways I don't necessarily thing it's a good thing. I just see people burn out too quickly, and good processes never seem to arise, as everyone has their own opinion as to how things should be done. - Dario Gomez

I was at my last job 8 1/2 years. In that time, Facebook and Twitter were started, Google grew up, and Bush started two wars. Maybe I stayed too long. - Louis Gray

I'd rather my longevity at a company be determined in terms of achieving some goal. If it does not look like I will be able to accomplish something interesting, novel, or useful then I'll bail. Idiotic politics usually short circuits that game plan though. - scott anderson

I've never worked a job for more than 2 years. I like finding new levels of experience. If they kept it a learning experience I would stay longer, but never found a company that did that. - Jesse Stay

Scott, your reasoning led to my longevity there. I wanted to reach an end, be it M&A, IPO or something else. But it eventually became time. - Louis Gray

Louis: The goals I set are more personal and typically are not dependent on what the company and/or my division achieves. I have been fortunate in that I have always been able to drive the projects or sub-projects that I have worked on. That said, politics and the agendas of other individuals still find a way to mess up the best of intentions. - scott anderson

http://www.youtube.com/watch... - Hayes Haugen

++ scott. I agree with, "If you’ve been in your job for awhile, you should quit. Google was really comfortable. I knew all the people. It’s important to do things that will make you uncomfortable." with the caveat that it is important to find a place where you can accomplish something and stay there long enough to give it legs or cut it loose. I hear overnight success takes a long time. Otherwise you are just uncomfortable for no good reason. - Clare Dibble

Bold advice in hard times. - Tim Tyler

great advice for people who don't have a mortgage or a family - Terris Linenbach

+1 Terris - Bill Hooker

Terris, I have a family of 4 kids and a mortgage. As I said I've never had a job longer than 2 years. As for going out on your own, it's difficult, but very possible. It involves a lot of sacrifice though. - Jesse Stay

Going out on my own was the one of the best decisions I ever made in my life (even with a mortgage, family and a new baby at the time). I ended up back at a company, but this time I had founded it. There are many ways to make your life work on your own. If you really want to do it, just step off the cliff. You'll figure out a way to make it work. - Matt Mastracci

Matt, funny how that happens - my wife was pregnant when I went out on my own as well. I still don't know how we managed all that. :-) I agree though - it was the best decision of my life. I may end up at a job again at some point, but as Paul said, at the time it "sounded like the right thing to do". I've learned so much from being on my own, and the freedom is priceless. (Paycheck, much of the time is not so priceless) :-) - Jesse Stay

Actually it's a great advice for people who have mortgage and family and are taking it responsibly rather then being complacent in hope their current employer is here forever. - ǝuǝƃnǝ

eugene, yeah - one thing I've learned more than anything is that control is a good thing. Even if I work for someone else I always want to be sure I've got my own thing of some sort going that I could resort to at any time (a book, side-business, blog, investments, advisory roles, etc). Of course you have to be careful about that at the same time in that your employer knows of such things and is okay of you owning that IP. - Jesse Stay

To be clear, if you have kids, etc, find a new job before quitting your current one :) - Paul Buchheit

It was such a pleasure to be in the audience for this! - Jay

Paul, how long do you think is too long? - Diego Barros 

Whenever you get "too comfortable" :o) - Susan Beebe

Yeah, the correct answer obviously depends on your situation (how much you will learn at the new job vs the old), but in general I'd guess that "too long" falls in the 5-10 year period, though if your job is bad, "too long" may happen much sooner :) - Paul Buchheit

Totally agree with this, esp the quote at the end "It's important to do things that make you uncomfortable". IMO, people grow the most when they are forced out of their comfort zone - Dave Hodson

It's important to do things that will make you uncomfortable because.......??? - τorƍue

Growth and flexibility. Obviously not all uncomfortable things are good though. - Paul Buchheit

Paul Buchheit is Sarah Palin? - Jim Norris

One of my friends has been at Apple for 10 years. She's a brilliant engineer (I've known her since college). Her reason for staying: "I've got 3 kids. They need lots of care and nurture, and they're providing plenty of challenge in my life. I don't need more." My mom sacrificed her career for her 3 kids. Her sister continued pursuing her career, since she only had one. When looking at the outcomes for all the children involved, it's really obvious which sister spent a lot of time teaching her child(ren) to pursue their passions. I think American society places too much value on things like sending kids to private school, giving them lots of toys and spending money, and insufficient emphasis on how much difference a parent makes. - Piaw Na

That's very reasonable Piaw -- I agree that good parents are more important than good toys or schools. The "quit your job" advice was more for people looking to start a company or something. - Paul Buchheit

Paul agreed - entrepreneurship isn't for everyone. My dad tried it, decided it wasn't for him, and he'll be retiring in about 10 years or so after years and years of building a very successful career in the professional world. If it's for you, there are ways to make it work and provide for a family - it involves a lot of work though, and make sure you're prepared when you do it. (I sold a piece of software I wrote when I went out on my own which enabled me some cushion to do it until I had sufficient revenue - there are other ways) - Jesse Stay

@Scott Anderson - absolutely - I'll leave when the job is done or the politics make finishing what I need to do impossible. - Dan Morrill AKA Techwag

@Jesse It's not about providing for the family. I'm sure entrepreneurs manage to do that or they go out of business very quickly. It's investing time in the family that's usually the missing ingredient. I know, since I did have a largely absent entrepreneurial father. - Piaw Na