By Emma Dunn
A Gen-Z job hopper who has changed roles 17 times says older generations want her to be “miserable” by staying in a job for “stability”.
Mich Marie, 26, has job hopped since she had her first job in a supermarket aged 14.
She spent her school years in different part-time roles such as in retail and restaurants.
After graduating with a degree in human services from New York City College of Technology, Brooklyn, Mich went on to try different positions such as a case manager, window install assistant and care coordinator.
Mich’s longest role was a direct support professional which she held for two years and she tends to stay in her jobs for no longer than six months.
By doing so she has tried out a variety of positions and has increased her salary from $9-an-hour to $25-an-hour.
She hopes to one day be self-employed so she can escape 9am to 5pm work hours.
Mich, who is currently working as a behavioural advocate at a health insurance company, from New York City, US, said: “I job hop to see what makes sense.
“I’m still working out what things I like.
“Job hopping has a lot to do with being overworked and underpaid.
“Job hopping gets a bad reputation.
“People who are older than I am, the older generations, they see it as people who job hop are never going to be have security and stability.
“These people want us to be miserable and want us to stay in a job that no longer suits us.”
Mich started working at a young age so she had her own money to buy what she wanted.
She said: “I started working at 14 – I did retail, a host in a restaurant, admin work.”
Mich started studying for her human services degree in 2017 and held down a part time job working with individuals with disabilities throughout.
After graduating in 2020 she went down a more corporate route doing roles in case management and health insurance.
Mich has been in her current role for six months but usually moves on around this time.
She said: “Jobs get at least six months out of me.
“If they’re going to take advantage of you, I’m going to leave.”
Mich’s first job at 14 started on $9-an-hour and now she makes $25-an-hour but can find the work “overwhelming”.
She said: “I definitely see myself being in the public eye.
“I want to be a model, or content creator or to own a business.
“I want to do something that I enjoy. I want to make an impact.
“It’s depressing when you work a job you don’t want to do.”
Mich feels there is a lot of shame surrounding job hopping but she would rather shop around than spend years miserable in one role.
She said: “I don’t have kids or responsibilities. Why can’t I do what I want and figure out what I want to do?
“I’m taking advantage of this time and creating something for myself.
“Job hopping has never impacted me getting a job. I’m very extroverted and open minded to learning about different fields.
“I’ve had the ability and advantage of meeting so many different individuals.
“You can be whatever you aspire to be, no matter where you’re from.”
List of her job roles –
Supermarket cashier/stock
Retail
Sales
Babysitting
Administrative assistant
Restaurant host
Summer Youth
Hotel maintenance (cleaning job)
Window install assistant
Electrician Intern
Direct support professional (working with individuals with disabilities)
Case manager
Case worker
Substance/ behavioural advocate
Health insurance
Customer service representative
Care coordinator
