Those "lifer" friends may just be later in their career, though. Your ability to significantly advance your compensation depends on how early in your career you are. You will plateau at some point, but early on it makes a lot of sense to job hop. My first job hop was for +66% comp increase. My next was for about +25%, next for +15% or so. Eventually you hit a ceiling. After 30 years in the industry, my last job change was probably about +0.05%. I expect if I have to interview again, it's a toss up whether I'd get a higher or lower offer.