AWS Members Consider Career Changes

Eighteen months ago, AWS surveyed our members and found job satisfaction was high, particularly because individuals were relieved to have a job in a very unstable market. AWS’ jobs poll shows 84% of our members still report they are satisfied or very satisfied; in this group 25% were considering other career options compared to 41% of total respondents. AWS members are experienced professionals, many in technical positions and as such have had, and continue enjoying, a higher level of job security.

Of the Alumni who left their current positions in the last 6 months, 30% did so because of a better opportunity elsewhere. Twenty three percent left for a bigger challenge and 33% left for other reasons such as bad relationship with a manager, salary and benefits, selling their company, their company going bankrupt or retiring.

These figures are in comparison to a recent survey by job-placement firm Manpower which reported 84% of employees plan to look for a new position in 2011. The general industry figure of 84% is up from 60% last year. In a survey conducted by Firstdirect, almost seven million workers in the UK have moved jobs in order to find a better boss and improved working environment. The division of HSBC Bank plc has found that one in ten workers have switched careers in their search, while one in 20 has attempted to set up his or her own business.

Similar to findings in the CNN Money article, most ARCO alumni in 2009 to 2010 sat tight through the recession, not even considering other jobs because so few firms were hiring. For the past few years, the Labor Department’s quits rate, which serves as a barometer of workers’ ability to change jobs, has hovered near an all-time low.

But after years of increased work and frozen compensation, “a lot of people will be looking because they’re disappointed with their current jobs,” said Paul Bernard, a veteran executive coach and career management advisor who runs his own firm. Contrary to Bernard’s comment on disappointment at work, AWS community members were generally positive about their work, indicating new challenges and opportunities as a result of improved technologies and reorganizations within their companies had kept job satisfaction high.