Switching Jobs - when to make a move?

[NumberCruncher]

SO has been at his tech job for about 1 1/2 years. It's kind of an average job in terms of benefits and pay, and it seems to make sense to switch companies eventually. Question is, when? Does it "look bad" to stay such a short time at an employer? Should he wait until the product he's working on is released (at least another six months)? Is there an optimal time to shop around?

Recruiters have been contacting him a lot recently. He could easily make a lot more if he went somewhere else (of course there are other concerns as well, like work/life balance considerations, but that's a concern once he begins to interview). A job change could mean FI in 3 years instead of 4-5. He does have stock options and 401k contributions that are not fully vested, but the value of these seem relatively minor compared to the potential salary bump.

[Mother Fussbudget]

Tough, complicated question.  How much longer would your SO have to continue working to vest his 401K employer match?

In general, I think you're answering your own question:  there is no company loyalty - not toward the employee, so why should employees be loyal to a company?   I changed jobs on average every 18 months over the past 10 years, and am making more now (as a consultant) than I ever did as an FTE(mployee).  Although I wish I'd stayed at Amazon long enough to get the 401K match...

[mozar]

I think 18 months is a good amount of time. Generally recruiters want to see at least a year. The two year thing no longer applies. So if your SO starts interviewing now it will probably take 2 months to get a job. Is there a typical hiring season for your SO's employment? For me it's July to October and by late October I won't get any more serious calls from recruiters. I recently started a new job. I was at my former employer for 1.8 years. I got a pay bump of 15% which moves my FIRE date from 15 to ten years. If your SO is young it's typical to move around. Recruiters want to hear you moved for a better opportunity.

[NumberCruncher]

Thanks for the replies. :)

The company match is not very good, so while four years is the vesting schedule, it's not much money to stay.

I think the conflict is more with my SO - he tends to be a bit more conservative financially and wants to wait until his project is done (he's not the manager or project lead, he just wants to see it through for some reason). I may try to convince him otherwise...company loyalty definitely is a thing of the past, for better or for worse.

[One Day]

Although I agree there is no harm in exploring a job change at thus point, don't forget the other factors. If he is in good health, relatively young, not unhappy with work, wants to finish the project, and satisfied with work - life balance, then waiting another 6 months to start looking - or another 12-24 months to FI - is not really a big deal, IMHO.