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It seems that changing jobs in engineering is very common. Therefore, we decided to investigate by asking 1000 engineers a series of questions to find out how often they change jobs and why. The results have revealed a lot of insights into engineering jobs.
In an online survey, we asked 1000 engineers how often they change jobs. 23% have revealed they change jobs every 1-2 years, 41% have changed jobs every 3-5 years, 17% Every 5-10 years, while only 19% said they do not change jobs at all. The main reason for changing jobs is salary. Engineers are more likely to change careers if another company or a competitive business is willing to pay more.
This insight has proven that the more you build experience in your engineering niche, the more valuable you become to your business and the competitive business. The highest paying company is usually where engineers work.
Unfortunately, engineering jobs are highly competitive, and also it can take a while to climb the cooperate hierarchy to a better position that pays well. Therefore, growth in salary can be accelerated when changing jobs to another competitive engineering company than staying in the same company.
Changing jobs in less than 5 years is usually due to multiple reasons such as salary, position and work environment. However, changing jobs after 5 years usually indicates that engineers have seen all the growth possible in their current position and company and changing jobs is the only possible solution for growth.
This is very common when a senior position is open, and promotion is given to a younger engineer. Usually, those positions will be reserved for someone who has been in the company for 3-5 years. When the work is given to one engineer, the other engineers will feel that they missed out on their growth opportunity, which results in a job change.
5 Main Reasons Why Engineers Quit Or Change Jobs
In the same survey, we asked those engineers the top reason why they quit or change jobs: 38% answered it was because of salary and promotion, 25% said it was because of the toxic work environment, 21% said because they got poached by a competitor business with a better job offer, 11% said they got fired and 5% because they were retiring.
The following is a breakdown of each reason.
1- Quitting because of Salary & Promotion
Engineering jobs are very competitive, which means only the best of the best get the highest positions. And when engineers do not get the position they want, quitting and looking for a better job is the best option to get to the next level of their career.
In general, there is an expected salary for the years of experience you work in your engineering industry. If you feel you are underpaid, check our guide for Average Engineers Salary to see if you have not been compensated well for your work.
2- Quitting because of the toxic work environment
Escaping the difficult work environment is the second biggest reason why engineers change jobs. Some work environments are very toxic; engineers have to work under horrible management with poor communication and attitude, which creates tension in the work environment and forces engineers to change jobs.
Although engineers are known for picking salary over the work environment, some work environments are very difficult to be in. The management sets up the culture and the tone in the workplace; bad management can result in disconnection from the job, which forces engineers to look for another job. Read 8 Reasons You Are Losing Passion For Engineering-How to Fix? To see how the loss of passion in engineering results from poor leadership.
3- Getting poached by a competitor business
As discussed earlier, salary is a big motive for engineers. Usually, when an engineer is very successful and well known in this engineering niche, they will likely get poached by a competitor business that offers a higher position with an attractive salary.
Engineers are more likely to take the competitor company’s offer if they get an offer that their current company can not give, such as a senior engineering position already occupied by someone else in their current company. Engineers may fear they are Not Reaching Their Full Potential, which is why they accept those offers.
4- Getting fired for poor performance
Losing your engineering job is common and usually happens to poor performers due to work storage. In any layout situation, the first to be let go are the engineering who are the worst performers in the organisation.
The fear of job security in engineering is real, and it happens a lot in poor economic conditions and to workers who are not showing signs of improvement. To learn more about this topic, read The Shocking Reality Of Job Security In Engineering.
5- Retire because of age
Retiring because of age is a natural thing that everyone has to go through. It comes a time when you are old enough to retire and leave work. Unfortunately, this is the least reason why engineers quit their job, which shows that there is high competition and striving to get paid more and find the perfect workplace. It can be many years of switching jobs before finally retiring.
More Reading on this topic?
Engineers have choices, and leaving their job for another job that offers more benefits shows that career opportunities are available widely for engineers. The following are two related resources to this topic:
