Three-year itch?

No, not that.
And no, not that either.

My wife claims I get restless, bored, tired, fed up with my job about every three years.
I've been at my current job for three years and I just applied for another position. This one would more than double my salary. It's a big boy job. I'm 43 and while I make more money now than I did in newspaper business (not that much and less than half what my wife makes), I am a part-time employee working for three entities.
The new job would also require a move. For me it would be home.
We moved here about 13 years ago because I was unhappy at my job and got a better on here. We're also close to her parents (she's an only child).
I am ready for a change.
Again, this is part time and my man in job is not long term sustainable. My other pay stream, the new boss doesn't see how my position fits in to the business model. In short, I think I'm looking at a pay cut or unemployment within a year. I was passed over for my boss' job last year because I didn't live in the county.
That said, If I don't get this job I am going to begin looking for another career (my current career has a limited field). I'm thinking of going into small business for myself.

My question is does anyone else get the itch to change jobs or careers every few years?

 

No. Not every 3 years maybe after 8-10. How much does your wife make?

 

Including my first job out of law school, I changed jobs six times over 15 years. Three of the changes required moving to a new state. Each move made sense in my career progression so I never worried about how often I changed.

I really didn't expect to stay in my current job more than four years. Looks like I will be here until retirement.

 

One of the pluses of mine. Not in any one assignment more than three years.

 

After college, I really job hopped.

Nineteen months after I graduated, I was on my third job. It was not a good look.

I've settled down since then. I realized that I hated moving.

My last gig I was there three and a half years. Honestly, had my dad not gotten sick and I didn't feel compelled to live closer to home, I very well may still be there (assuming I'd survived layoffs).

I've been here a few years now and I'm getting restless, especially with the state of the biz.

 

I was in my first job nine years, my second job six years and this one 19 years. Who knows? I may have one more left in me if the right opportunity emerges, otherwise I can spend another 4-5 years here and walk away.

 

I was a stayer at my jobs. One deciding factor was that once our children were in school, my wife said she wasn't moving no matter what. Turned out she made the right call for both of us.

 

Itch? I'm not sure. But I consider myself a professional job hunter. I'm always looking for a new opportunity, and I send resumes into the ether every week.

I kept my first job out of college (part-time with full-time hours) for three years. My next was just six miserable months, and the one after that lasted eight months before the local office closed.

My current spot was the last of three jobs in 18 months. I've been here for 15 years. I never thought that would happen. I expected to keep relocating, moving onward and upward in sports journalism.

I love where I live, if not the job itself. Hopefully my next job will come soon, and it will still be around here.

 

I get the itch. I'm not really sure why. Think it's generally a combination of:

• By then I'm looking for a new challenge
• Every company has its own BS to deal with, but after 3 years I get fed up with the current crop of BS
• Life's short, and I like new experiences

That said, I'm going to stay at the current gig longer than usual because I find the problem I'm trying to solve right now particularly interesting, and because I really, really like my coworkers.

 

How long were you at your two previous jobs? If it's about three years each, then yeah, that's not a good look. I've been at my job for going on three years, and had considered moving on. But then realized my pension vests at three years and that I have built up a lot of goodwill and standing here. Change for the sake of change can really be deadly, but it sounds like you're reading the tea leaves and looking to make a move that's more of your doing and less out of immediate necessity. My ex-wife had six different jobs in like 8 years, and for good companies. I realized later it was largely because she wore out her welcome

 

I'd put mine at 18 months. But I'm no longer in a position to be a professional vagabond.

 

Before my current gig, the longest I was anyplace was five years, and I had two five-year stints along with a couple of other jobs where I only lasted a year. This week, I started my 11th year at my current place, with no plans to leave. It's got great, great benefits and we have two kids who are happy in their schools and town.