3 years was the max. Was in education, then worked in banking for 4 years (separate companies). I thought that working for a single company for a long time was a good idea until I read this article showing that people who switch jobs more frequently earn more than if they had remained at the same job. Also, changing jobs is not a bad thing nowadays since most companies don't offer pensions for their long term employees, and salaries cap out while new employees earn at a higher rate than you started.