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Comment by vatican_banker | Hacker News Reader

> I wouldn’t want to switch jobs just to drive up my pay even if I could [...] I have worked 20 years in the same job and so have my colleagues.

Honestly this part of the European mentality is hard for an outsider understand. I lived there for ~10 years and heard this argument countless times.

I want a fulfilling life and part of that is a fulfilling job. It's hard to believe a job on the same company can be fulfilling for 20+ years. Changing jobs is part of professional growth IMO.

Different strokes for different folks I guess.

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> It's hard to believe a job on the same company can be fulfilling for 20+ years.

I don't see why not. I have never worked for small companies (always 25k+ sizes ) so my view may be skewed but the scope of these companies are so large that changing a project can mean totally different ways of working and sometimes totally different industries. Can it be that it's easier in europe to change your job context within the company and not so in america?

> Changing jobs is part of professional growth IMO.

Actually it's hard for me to understand why this is taken for granted in America and my home country India. Sounds like KPI chasing to me.

It's not KPI chasing. I've grown _so_ much after each job/career change that I often wonder how long would it take me to grow by same amount if I'd stay at a single job (I don't have that answer yet but I'm sure longer).

Changing jobs every 5 years-or-so is forcing yourself to learn a new culture and new set of skills.

> It's not KPI chasing. I've grown _so_ much after each job/career change that I often wonder how long would it take me to grow by same amount if I'd stay at a single job (I don't have that answer yet but I'm sure longer).

I don't know why you are so sure. I work with plenty of europeans who have spent 10+ years in a single company. They seem pretty smart and their ways of thinking are pretty much on par with my american counter parts. If you have some source to cite on this except for personal experience, which is tainted by the culture around you, that would be great.

> It's hard to believe a job on the same company can be fulfilling for 20+ years.

In my experience, the only companies I’ve been in where all my coworkers were first class was in the Netherlands.

I cannot see myself working 20 years in the same company in the US or Japan, but I think I can see myself doing it in the Netherlands.

Fwiw, I did change and change back.

If I was working in web/db/internet stuff there would be much more jobs of the same kind. Then I’d switch more too I think. The reason I’m sticking is also because I work in a niche (which I like).

I want a fulfilling job perhaps more than I want to make more money, which is why I don't switch from a fulfilling one!

Switching every two years to make more money would invariably mean that you switch from fulfilling jobs to less fulfilling ones (Assuming no fulfilment comes from the switch itself)!

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