I changed jobs 10 times in 10 years to get the career I wanted

Here is the latest breaking news from around the world: I changed jobs 10 times in 10 years to get the career I wantedImage source, Brittany Harris-NelsonImage caption, Brittany Harris-Nelson has had 10 different jobs at six different universities over the past decadeByAlice KantorBusiness reporterPublished10 minutes agoBrittany Harris-Nelson describes her career journey so far as being like "a frog moving across lily pads". "Each step brought me closer to where I ultimately wanted to be, even if the path wasn't always linear," says the 32-year-old. Today, Harris-Nelson works in a mid-level administrative position at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, a role she had long coveted.

She says that to get there, she leapt from one college job to another for close to a decade, using each new role to gain specialised skills that would help with her career advancement. Overall, she has had 10 different jobs at six different universities over the past decade, starting with several positions when she was still a student, and then three full-time roles. Harris-Nelson has been an office manager, an admissions counsellor and a student advisor, before reaching her current position as assistant director of student engagement.

The Details

While she does not wish to reveal how much she now earns, she says that as she changed jobs her salary didn't increase much. But she got more benefits, such as extra paid leave and bigger pension contributions from her employer. "Each role helped me build skills and perspectives that I didn't yet have, and together those experiences prepared me for the work I do today," she says.

Gen Z job hop moreIndustry professionals have identified the emergence of a new work trend among members of Gen Z (those born from 1997–2012), called "lily padding". It refers to young adults hopping from job to job to try to improve their skills and chances of getting more senior roles and higher pay, rather than staying put in one role at one company. The idea is that they supercharge their employability.

The data seems to back up the phenomenon. The average tenure of a Gen Z employee in the first five years of their career is just 1. 1 years, compared with 1.

What Experts Say

8 years for millennials (those born between 1981 and 1996), and almost three years for older generations. That is according to a 2024 global survey, external of 11,250 workers by recruitment agency Randstad. This increased mobility in the job market leads to increased salaries, at least in the UK, one 2025 report found.

, external The study by financial company Wealthify said that people who changed jobs four or more times over the previous decade earned an average of £39,276 versus £30,088 for other workers - a 31% premium. Those who describe their career strategies as "lily padding" are always on the lookout for the next opportunity. That's the case of Adam Smiley Poswolsky, who is now a 42-year-old public speaker and author who talks and writes about how to improve workplace cultures.

The development has drawn wide international attention, with diplomatic circles watching closely.