11 years at one job

I have been here 11 years today. This was supposed to be a temporary job until I could find something I wanted to do. I was also in my 20s at the time (29 turning 30).
Time can be a tricky asshole.
That's all... :hi:

I think?

I know what you mean, though. I got my first "real" job at 18 years old, and stayed there until I was nearly 26. At 24, I went back to school, because I saw other people at my company who had started there young also, who had meant to do something else, and were still there twenty and even thirty years later.

If it wasn't for the fact that I worked my way up into the engineering dept. through the years, I would have left by now.
I was voted least likely to succeed with a lot of people who knew me once upon a time. So this job gave me a good "told you so" to the people who figured I wouldn't be anywhere by the age of 40.

It is nice to get up in seniority, and especially if there are a few rungs you can climb up while you are spending your time there. I also like getting the extra vacation time!

Most of all, my company has what I call a "velvet trap," an agreement signed by the owners that says as long as I do not unionize (fat chance of that being a real opportunity here in the South), and I am willing to retrain if it is necessary, and as long as I perform my job to their standards and follow company rules, I cannot be let go for technological or economic reasons for as long as they continue to publish the product in this market. Pretty nice to have these days. And it works. My average stay at a job before coming here was 3 years!

I have a sideline biz at home that is more involved with my current areas of interest (because after all, interests do change over 12 years), but the mainstay healthcare and salary base is from my employer.

...I have been "wooed" by other places (it pays to keep your eyes and ears open, after all), but I have yet to find one that will offer me near what I have here. I have had periods of dissatisfaction over the 12 years, but they pass eventually or I find a way to get the company to be responsive to the concerns at the time. It comes down to this: It's not that I won't leave, it's that I won't leave for LESS.

Lately we have had some cuts around the country due to the wonderful economy. Most of them were in the sales staff. I don't think my job is in jeopardy yet, but you never know these days when it can all fall out from underneath.
I also have some sideline work at home, and that helps to keep me from getting too bored here at work. Good benefits here also, so it's all not that bad.

...for the year, it seems nicer and nicer!

Seriously, I could be making maybe $20k more a year, but with lots more downside risk due to exposure to the whims of the economy, and I would have to live in an area where the cost of living is hugely higher, so that would eat it up as well.

I mean, I have 25 acres, a nice house, a barn, garage and shop building, and pay $485 a year in property taxes. Shrug. It is all relative.

I had worked my way up somewhat with my first employer also, but there wasn't much room for more improvement without additional education. As it was, I chose to go for broadcasting and left for a completely different career.

Moved back to my hometown to regroup for a few weeks then me and my girlfriend were going to move to the Outer Banks of NC. That all fell apart and I've been at the same job for 12 years now. I was 27 at the time. Though I did quit twice but they rehired me once in '95 and again in late 2003. Third time will be the charm. It's coming soon, I hope.

I have thought of moving somewhere also. I am single and don't really have any reasons to stay here.
Yeah, maybe this time when you quit you will be able to move to where you want to go. Good luck.

Document control clerk . . . 23 years ago.

I was "between engagements," as we used to say in the theatre (i.e., unemployed), had typically done temp jobs when not acting/directing, and took the work because it was kinda interesting and was scheduled to last *MORE THAN 6 WEEKS!!*

It was hard to get them to take the skills I'd developed as an actor, director, and stage manager seriously at first (it's an engineering company), but eventually they saw the light, and after a painful period in document control, I transitioned over to their publications group, where I found a real home for years.

I got to work all over the US and Canada, and also lived overseas about 10 of those years, in Hong Kong, the Philippines, Singapore, Indonesia, and Kuwait.

I did run away to join the dot-com circus in 1999, failed to become an Internet millionaire, and rejoined the company in 2002, about 10 months before the Iraq war.

I mention that because the irony of marching down Market Street with my "Impeach Bush" sign held high and then slipping around the corner to duck into my office to work on my company's proposal for reconstruction in Iraq was, shall we say, intense. Maybe absurdist.

Not to mention the absurdity of being sent to Iraq, which was an unanticipated side effect of having worked on the proposal. (I was never sure why they wanted to include my resume, since the need for editors in Iraq seemed limited.)

Nevertheless, I went, arriving in Baghdad within days of the conclusion of "Major Combat Operations."

Iraq was nasty, with large chunks of hot metal being flung about profligately. I didn't like it and came home in under a year.

Note to self: Never accept jobs in a war zone again.

Since then I've transitioned to something much more satisfying, organizing the training for people in a moderate-sized Eastern European country in the newest techniques for motorway construction. (Notice the "organize" part -- I still don't know the tech side so well and couldn't tell the difference between a Vogele paver and a Cedarapids crusher).

But I am having a good time.

Even if I am still "between engagements."

Thanks for sharing. In a way the marching thing is pretty funny. Sneaking in to work to work on something you just marched against.. well, kind of anyway.
I got this job "between engagements" also. I still feel like I am waiting for the right job to come along.