Money WondersPlay

Work & the Rat RaceCareers

A Dozen Jobs in a Lifetime

The average American career has many chapters

A job for life sounds like the norm. The government followed thousands of Americans for decades. How many jobs did they hold?

You'll find out

  • How many jobs one career holds
  • Why most of them come before 25
  • Whose pay grows faster

Why it matters

If a career has a dozen chapters, the next one is rarely far away. Knowing the pattern changes how a job looks.

About 3 min6 interactive slides · 5 questionsLesson 156 · Zone 18

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More in this zone

  1. 154CompensationYour Total CompensationYour salary is only part of what a job pays
  2. 155Retirement PlansThe Employer MatchMoney your employer adds when you save
  3. 157TaxesW-2 or 1099Employee or contractor changes your taxes
  4. 158Labor LawEvery Hour Over 40 Pays ExtraMany salaried workers get no overtime at all
  5. 159NegotiationNegotiating Your PayThe first number on the table shapes the result
  6. 160EarningsWhat a Raise Is WorthA small raise compounds across a career
  7. 161Decision MakingThe Sunk Cost TrapYears already spent shouldn't decide the next ones
  8. 162AmbitionThe Bobbin BoyAndrew Carnegie started at $1.20 a week in a cotton mill, built a steel empire, and gave most of it away