I've "maxed out" my job hopping

[nolimits76]

Originally Posted by lacedWithKerosene

I've never agreed with the idea that someone's "skill set" is objectively "worth" a certain amount. It seems like a Communist idea.

Really? How much will you pay for someone to mow your lawn? My guess is you will take a few quotes and base the decision based on their experience and quality of service (skills). Once you know someone will do the work for $50-60 per yard, then you will be hard pressed to pay more unless you get more in return for the extra money you spend.

It doesn't mean the guy mowing the lawn is worth less. He's a human and regardless of paycheck status, his worth is considerable. But the free market did determine what his skill set was worth. Now if he expands his skill set or does something different than he can increase that worth.

On the flip side, if he is the only guy in town that cuts grass then he has more leverage to increase his worth because of lack of competition. Then you have to make a decision to mow your own grass or pay him to do it. If he's a mafia style grass artist, he will lock up supply on all lawn machines so he takes away your option to self-perform the task and further increases his leverage and ability to increase his worth.

So yes, to increase our value to others we have to continue to grow. The medical field is a great example. Pretty much, your pay will be determined by your level of education and consequently the acronyms that follow your name.

MD/DO > PA/NP > RN > LPN > MA

Granted within those generic titles there is some flexibility depending on your years of experience, fit, specialty, etc. but generally speaking you will never jump "classes" in your salary wages. In other businesses, this isn't always true -- but it remains true the more skills you have and how you uniquely apply them will give you more value.

[Old Guard]

Originally Posted by lacedWithKerosene

I've never agreed with the idea that someone's "skill set" is objectively "worth" a certain amount. It seems like a Communist idea.

What do you think you are paid for?

[BobNJ1960]

Originally Posted by lacedWithKerosene

Long-story-short, in less than 2 years I did the following job hops

$17/hr contract -> $20/hr contract -> $60k/yr salaried -> $82k/yr salaried

and had no plans to leave my current job until I realized it was unstable (company went public, started reorganizing, downsizing, my division is in the crosshairs).

I started applying for other jobs, but am getting no responses, I'm sure because they see that I've job-hopped too much. It kinda sucks because I feel like success in the modern economy requires lots of job hopping to reach the top of the ladder if you're not able to start out on the top of it.

Hopefully you haven't added yet another job in such a short span of time. It will hurt you, long-term.

[selhars]

Since when do you put salary on a resume?

Some applications demand it.
The Feds (at least at one point) wanted it on the resume. I think that's changed.

Heck they even wanted you to designate HOW MANY hours a week your full time job was, as in 37.5 vs 40 hours.
Such BS. But if you want to apply that's what you have to do.

[Tac-Sea]

Originally Posted by Moby Hick

I don't think your problem is job hopping. You've more than doubled your income in two years. Congratulations. But, the higher up the pay scale you go, the fewer openings there are and the more people want them. This is true regardless of how long you've been at your past jobs.

This too. I make 155K a year, trust me, there are far fewer jobs at this level, and the few that there are, the competition is top notch. You're not competing with burger flippers...