U.S. Workers Have Found a Way to Increase Their Salaries Fast. But the Strategy Could Hurt Them in Retirement. What's the real cost of a quick income boost?
By Amanda Breen Edited by Jessica Thomas
Key Takeaways
- The average raise hovers around 3%, but one popular career move can increase that 10x.
- Many young professionals are embracing the change — but it could have negative consequences.
On average, Americans believe that financial success requires an annual salary of $270,214, according to a recent survey from Empower. That's a far cry from U.S. workers' median weekly earnings of $1,165 reported by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
People who want to increase their wages might be able to negotiate. However, with the average raise hovering around 3%, even the savviest deal-makers are unlikely to see a major pay bump.
Those who want to make significantly more money at work face an important question: Is it time to find a new job?
Job hopping, wherein employees change jobs frequently, is on the rise, and new research from SideHustles.com suggests that it can be a highly lucrative move.
The report, which surveyed 1,003 full-time employees to understand their job-hopping habits, salary expectations and career motivations, found that 12% of full-time employees consider themselves job hoppers — and 47% feel switching jobs regularly is more financially profitable than remaining with one employer.
In fact, on average, job hoppers have seen a 35% salary increase in the past three years, nearly doubling the 18% bump experienced by tenured employees, according to the research.
Related: I Used a 'Lazy Girl Job' to Increase My Income 10x — Here's How You Can Do It Too in 2025
Additionally, the survey found that few employees plan to stay at their place of work beyond the next five years: 18% of full-time employees plan to job hop in the next year, 20% plan to within the next two years, and 30% plan to within the next three to five years.
Gen Z workers are particularly eager to find their next professional opportunity, with nearly 30% intending to job hop within the next year, per the report. Almost 20% of Gen Z respondents identified themselves as job hoppers, whereas only 8% of Gen X subscribed to that label.
However, as attractive as switching from one role to the next for a salary bump might be, it also has potential drawbacks.
Related: This Career Hack Is Helping Gen Zers Increase Their Salaries By $50,000
A September study published by the Vanguard Group found that changing jobs had a noticeable effect on retirement savings, amounting to six years of lost retirement funds.
In comparing two hypothetical scenarios, Vanguard's report found that an employee who remains at one company for 40 years has the chance to reach their maximum 10% retirement savings rate by age 32, while a job hopper who switches roles eight times in the same period returns to a default 3% retirement contribution rate each time, building 1% annually from that base point.
The study calculated that the person who switches jobs has "a 41% smaller retirement nest egg" upon retirement, though it also acknowledged that job hopping "reflects the reality of many workers today."
