Deciding whether to stay in your current job or explore new opportunities is a common dilemma many professionals face. It’s a deeply personal question with no universal answer, as everyone navigates unique career, life, and financial landscapes. While external advice can be valuable, ultimately, the decision rests on individual circumstances and aspirations. Preparing for a career transition also involves significant effort, often requiring considerable time and energy dedicated to networking, upskilling, and interview preparation.
When facing such pivotal career moments, it can be helpful to have a framework to evaluate your situation. One insightful approach, shared by Garry Tan from his Founder’s Journey series, is the principle of “learn, earn, or quit.” This philosophy suggests that at any given job, you should be in a state of either learning, earning, or ideally, both. If neither is happening, it might be time to consider a change.
“At every job, you should either learn or earn. Either is fine. Both are best. But if it’s neither, quit.” – Garry Tan
This concise yet powerful statement provides a valuable lens through which to assess your career trajectory. As you reach milestones like work anniversaries, team restructures, leadership changes, or project completions, reflect on whether you are actively learning and earning. If not, it prompts a crucial question: What steps should you take to realign with these fundamental principles?
The relationship between learning and earning is symbiotic, creating a powerful cycle for career advancement:
- Learning Amplifies Earning Potential: The more knowledge and skills you acquire, the greater your value in the job market. Experience gained through learning translates into increased earning potential, opening doors to higher-level roles and more rewarding opportunities. Continuous professional development is key to unlocking higher salary brackets and career progression.
- Earning Fuels Learning Opportunities: Financial stability gained through earning provides the flexibility to invest in further learning. A comfortable financial cushion allows you to consider opportunities that prioritize learning and growth, even if they involve a temporary salary adjustment. For instance, with sufficient savings, taking a slightly lower-paying but more impactful role at a dynamic startup to gain invaluable experience becomes a viable and strategic career move.
This interplay between earning and learning creates a positive feedback loop, propelling your career forward:
The virtuous cycle of earning and learning, showing that increased learning leads to increased earning potential, and increased earning potential allows for more opportunities for learning.
Revisiting the initial question of job change, it becomes clear that it’s an optimization challenge centered around this learn-and-earn cycle. You are the primary variable and the only one who can solve it. Ask yourself: Am I learning in my current role? Am I earning what I deserve and what I aspire to? Define what “learning” and “earning” mean to you personally. What specific role are you targeting? What is your desired timeframe and company size? Are you aiming for a specific income level? Do you prioritize a stable, predictable income, or are you willing to take calculated risks for potentially higher future rewards?
This cyclical pattern of learning and earning is frequently observed in the career paths of top executives and industry leaders. Reaching senior leadership positions often necessitates strategic job changes to overcome limitations within a single organization. While internal promotions are possible, relying solely on them to reach the highest levels requires exceptional circumstances of company growth, opportune timing, and consistent upward mobility.
For most professionals, upward career trajectories involve navigating different organizations to maximize learning and earning opportunities. While aiming for a VP position within your current company is admirable, it may be unrealistic if a capable VP is already in place and the company’s growth prospects are limited. Organizational structures often require significant expansion to justify creating new VP roles. Furthermore, companies might opt for external hires to fill such positions. Similarly, aspiring to a high six-figure income in a small, local business might be unattainable, regardless of performance. In such scenarios, strategically changing jobs when you encounter ceilings in learning or earning becomes a more effective path to career advancement.
Seek out environments where your potential for growth and desired outcomes are amplified.
For example, gaining experience as an engineer at a major tech company provides both valuable expertise and financial resources. This foundation can empower you to take a calculated risk, such as becoming the CTO of a startup. While startup compensation often involves deferred or equity-based pay, the learning curve is exceptionally steep. Conversely, becoming an early-stage manager in a rapidly scaling company offers an accelerated learning environment, even if it entails a temporary reduction in salary compared to established roles. The experience gained during a successful growth phase, including fundraising, mergers, acquisitions, and exits, can position you for Director or VP roles in larger corporations later in your career. Your commitment to learning today directly contributes to your earning potential tomorrow, and your earnings can create the space for future learning endeavors.
Career growth is rarely linear; it often resembles a pendulum swing, oscillating between periods of intense learning and focused earning. The direction of this swing is ultimately determined by you. How much do you aspire to earn? What knowledge and skills do you want to acquire?
Only you hold the answers to these pivotal questions, and aligning your career decisions with the principle of “Earn By Learning” can pave the way for a fulfilling and successful professional journey.
