u/JumpySpecial9834

I have approximately five years and four months worth of experience. The five years were in one job. The four months have been in my second. I have never been more stressed or miserable than in this second job. I was really excited at first because it came with a huge salary bump from my old job (where I was comfortable, but way, way below what people typically expect when it comes to software engineer salaries), but it quickly became apparent that it's not an environment I care for at all. The stacked rankings and performance assessments are just terrifying, and it just doesn't feel conducive to a healthy working environment. Just being here is doing awful things to my anxiety.

Even though it's only been a few months and leaving would mean paying back the signing bonus, I've started looking for other jobs. My fear is that having a stint of just a few months will be considered a big red flag. I've heard that people are only concerned if there's a broader pattern, but I was hoping to get some thoughts on how long other people have typically spent at a job and when they knew it was time to jump ship in a job they weren't happy with.

Pizza with whole cloves of garlic

What is the shortest amount of time you've ever spent in a job and why?