The best time to look for - and get - a new job is when you already have one.

If the company has not been performing well in recent years, you have received positive performance appraisals, and your pay rate has not increased in two years, it is time to move on.

I don't think ive had a raise in like 10 years.

Most places I have worked had a pay scale which differed for each position. Once you reached the top you received no more raises other than the occasional COL bump.

2 years

Why do you think you deserved a raise every year, most raises are rewarded for more education, more responsibility, more profit for the company. maybe the attitude that you deserved a raise every year, maybe it best you did hit the door.

A lot depends on the situation. I know a lot of people that never grow in their job or entire departments do not offer anything different. For instance I know a lot of people that have been at the same job for 20 years and they are still doing the same thing they did 20 years ago. They never grew their potential. In a merit based economy, they shouldn't make more. You don't get raises just because you have spent a year there. Not saying that's the case here, but this can be situational.

It is situational. Some - like Serious - are aware of their local economy and options. For others, salary is not the entire package. Things like a flexible work schedule, decent insurance (yes, simply having decent insurance coverage by an employer is getting to be a big perk), vacation (both amount and the ability to use it), co-workers you enjoy, a boss who has your back, a company with a track record of stability ... all of these count for something.

It's not just salary but perks too. So the answer is... when it is no longer worth it overall to stay there.

Well you stay until you can find something better I'd imagine.

It depends on a lot of factors. Contrary to popular belief, jobs are not all about money. In many jobs, benefits are more important than money (think military). My boss is stingy about raises but he's pretty generous with vacation time and free merchandise. And I like the social aspect of my work and the fact that I can negotiate problems directly with the boss, so I stay even though I haven't gotten a raise since I started two years ago.

Until you find a better and/or higher paying job.

I did it for 3 years. The third year with no raises was what did it for me. I quit without a new job to go to. A mistake in retrospect. Now I don't leap unless I have a net.

A person has to decide what is more important: The possibility of making more in a new company where you might face layoffs, or staying put in a job that may have more security. It is definitely a gamble. I would not just jump ship at the sole prospect of making more money. Sometimes there are things about a job (like atmosphere, morale) that are worth staying there for as opposed to going somewhere else for more money.

Some people are just lazy, afraid of change, or really do suspect that the grass isn't greener on the other side. For the latter most, sometimes they were right when they jumped ship and realized it wasn't all that, or heard from contacts on the inside later on of problems.