I’ve got over 27 years spread out between two “careers” with the same company. I took an early retirement offer in 2001, spent 5 years traveling around, and hired back on in 2006. Only a little while until I can bridge that time together and be eligible for 6 weeks of vacation.
I worked for one company for 21.5 years, and I’ve now just passed 14 years with this one. There can’t be many in the IT industry that have only worked for 2 companies in over 35 years.
I’ve got 26 years in with Department of the Army. I’m a civilian, though. I’ve held various jobs and gotten promotions throughout my “career”. I’m hoping I can maybe, just maybe eke out one more grade promotion, but if I don’t, no biggie. I do alright.
I can retire in 11 years at age 56. I’ll have served a total of 37 years. Sadly, I’m really looking forward to it.
Decent raises in years 1-3. Then the economy tanked and corporate figured out a basic rule - “hey,you don’t like it, find a new job! Heh! We dare you!”
My mom would have been at the same company for over 40 years, except she left to go farm. Once farming started to suck financially, she got back on at the same place. It’s now been 23 years.
I’m at fourteen years and a couple months at my current job. The company I work for has been bought and sold three different times since I’ve been here. Luckily I’ve managed to survive a couple of rounds of layoffs so far and hopefully can make it to the fifteen year mark.
Oh, and my mom is retiring at the end of the month after having worked in the same doctor’s office for twenty years. My dad worked for the same company for nearly forty years. I guess it just runs in the family.
I was hired into the consulting division of one of the Big Eight accounting firms. A couple of mergers and name changes later, and the entire consulting division was sold to another company. So, I haven’t changed jobs and for vacation calculation etc. I’m treated as having been employed “here” for 20+ years.
I was with Digital -> Compaq -> HP for 24 years before being “laid off” at the end of 2004. Like the OP I had many different jobs starting with being a field tech to Unix operating system development technical lead. I was in operating system SQA when the axe fell.
The Digital culture was one where if you could show you had the skills to do the job, you could move into a different position. I went from the lowest entry level position to a very senior position over the years. I didn’t have much in the way of a college education, but I worked hard, kept learning and was smart enough to take new opportunities when they presented themselves.
And from the relationships I made there I found my two post HP jobs, including my current one, where I’m in a senior SQA position.
I feel very fortunate for the opportunities I’ve been given.
Twenty eight years for me. A lady I often see at work has been there 37. I’m appreciative and feel very fortunate. Though, I do also know some valuable history, and think there are several ways it’s in a company’s interest to keep its most senior members. I hope this give and take keeps working!