Minimum Time to Stay at First Job After College

[amathew]

Hey folks,

I'm a recent college grad who took a job as a "Statistician" at a start-up 11 months ago (June1 will be one year). Unfortunately, a lot of my job has involved just data munging and bookkeeping, and not formal statistics (though I have done some ML and predictive modeling). It's really getting annoying, especially since my latest project is to audit all our accounts for the past month. Honestly, that is just BS. Sure, I'm working with data, but there is a BIG difference between looking at data and formal statistics, and I'm sick of not being able to apply my statistical skill set.

Since I am a new college grad, I figured that I needed to get some work experience and I've been just sticking it out. However, I'm really considering leaving now and was wondering if there was a minimum time to stay at a first job after college. I just don't want to be considered a job hopper.

Thanks.

 

[JohnGalt]

every (clinical) statistician i work with has at least a master's...do you have the opportunity to continue your education? what are you really hoping to do with your career?

 

[amathew]

every (clinical) statistician i work with has at least a master's...do you have the opportunity to continue your education? what are you really hoping to do with your career?

I allready have my Master's.

I'd like to work in one of the three following area:
1. Political Analytics - I'd like to work for a political lobby, interest group, or campaign on doing voter targeting, analyzing voter files, and attempting to use statistics to improve political campaigning.
2. Public opinion research - Public opinion research companies usually have a number of statisticians working there.
3. I currently work with consumer behavior data and marketing stats, so I'd be open to staying in this arena.

Beyond WHERE I want to work, I really can't say that I have anything else regarding what I hope to do with my career.

 

[JohnGalt]

If your current job is both your first job out of school but the job doesn't offer the type of work you are looking for, then I don't think any potential employer would really blink.

 

[bringusingoodale]

I would suggest staying at this job for at least 3 years.

But I don't know what the job prospects are for statisticians, so I assume it's like most other professions where you have to start somewhere near the bottom, and from what you described you are there, to gain experience, if only as a sign that you can hold a job. Again, I don't know about your career, but sounds typical enough.

I think at best you should stay where you are while actively and seriously looking for your desired job. almost pretending you haven't got a job.

 

[chrisjr]

^^ agree with John.

just be careful choosing your next position, bc if you quickly depart from 2 jobs you may come off as a job hopper

 

[wj4]

I stayed at my first job for about 14 months. I found a job for a better company that pays about 30% more.

Most of my friends stayed around 1-2 years and left for better paying gigs.

 

[Joffrey]

Feel free to jump ship the minute what you really want comes along. Just be mindful that it is really beneficial to show some longevity on your resume. So if something better comes up after 5 months, take it but try to stick it out at the new place for much longer.

 

[Kiwi Man]

I was told to stay around for 2 or three years..........

 

[wj4]



I was told to stay around for 2 or three years..........

By who?

I'm probably in the same age bracket as you are. I'm relatively new with less than 2 years of real world experience.

My Thai brother, there is no 'set' time. If an opportunity presents itself..you would be a fool not to take it. Conversely, if the firm needs to cut you due to a restructure or whatever reason, they will do it without hesitation. You need to look out for yourself when the it is all said and done.

You have to be God like to even get a 5% raise a year while working at the same firm. When you hop over to a new job, the raise is usually 25% or so. (Given that it's usually more when you are younger and will somewhat plateau out as you become more seasoned). Of course, in addition to the paychecks, you need to consider other factors such as benefits, coworkers, etc.

Of course, it will vary by industries, but I always keep an eye out on what I should be getting paid. I keep in touch with friends from the grad program and see how they are doing every now and then.

 

[Ebichuman]

Job hopping is pretty common, I frequently see applicants with 1-2-3 years on their various jobs. Same with my colleagues and friends, a lot of change going on and has been for at least a decade. The old adage about staying 2 or 3 years on the first job is just an OLD adage. I stayed just over a year on my first, same on the second. Bottom line: as long as you can explain why you're changing jobs, you're good. And that's true for jobs you had for 6 months or for 10 years. You've put enough into your first job - start looking for a better one.

 

[NAMOR]

stayed for 2 years 6 months. once you find what you want, i dont see a reason not to move on

 

[dagman1]

This is one of those things where it really just depends. The truth is that if you find the right opportunity at the right company, it doesn't matter if you've been somewhere for 1 month or 5 years, you should leave. But don't leave for a marginally better job. And when I say marginally better I mean that you should judge marginal by experience more than salary. So just make sure to make a good move.

 

[joshuadowen]

This is one of those things where it really just depends. The truth is that if you find the right opportunity at the right company, it doesn't matter if you've been somewhere for 1 month or 5 years, you should leave. But don't leave for a marginally better job. And when I say marginally better I mean that you should judge marginal by experience more than salary. So just make sure to make a good move.

Agreed. If you've been there a year and aren't happy, I think it's totally reasonable to start quietly seeing what other options may be available to you. No one will blame you for leaving a job after a year, especially if you are leaving for a job that is much "better." Better here can mean a lot of things. What's important is that if you leave this job for another one, you should be able to explain the move in a future job interview. You don't want to end up in a situation where you don't have a good explanation for why you changed jobs. Significantly more money, more responsibility, change of job type, and change of venue are all pretty acceptable.

 

[amathew]

Update =

I'm still at the job but now I am seriously going to start looking for a new job. Apparently, I was not thorough in one aspect of my job and it end up costing the
start-up almost $10,000 (oops). Got a lecture from the CTO about being more diligent in my work. Now I am definitely out of here. Given this result, which
happened on the 1 year anniversary of me being here, I've decided to leave.

However, I was wondering how I would handle reccomendation letters now. Given the errors, how do I explain why I left the job. Should I seek out rec letters from
certain people in the firm (maybe the engineering team) because I doubt the CEO or CTO would be open to providing me with one.