Staying Unhappy, or Constantly Moving?

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Not really happy with my job right now, and I'm thinking about applying for a new one. Already went into a lot of detail in another thread, so not going to repeat myself here. Anyway, I was discussing it with my parents, who are 100% against it, and my dad told me something that he's probably told me a hundred times before. He says that a person like me isn't going to happy no matter where I am, so I need to just suck it up and stay put. What do you guys think? I know I can't spend the rest of my life jumping from one job to another as soon as get tired of it, but if I'm genuinely unhappy doing what I'm doing should I force myself to keep doing it instead of looking for another job? A job that, like my dad says, I'll probably end up hating too?

What your dad said is one of those things where I agonize -- because I can see how he's right, yet I also feel the opposite case is "right" too and there's a lot to be said for what you want too.

It's one of those things in life that are true whichever "side of the coin" you look at. There's a lot of truth and wisdom in the concept that if it's going to be hard to find exactly what one wants in life, you may as well cut your losses and "stick with" whatever is the nearest thing to hand that doesn't actually kill you.

On the other hand, there's a school of thought that says there's always the chance of better things, in anything in life. Something that might be less soul-killing even if you haven't found it yet. And that it might just be worth it to keep moving on until you find it.

Some people might luck-into that job they can tolerate first time, or very soon. Others might toil for years in the wrong fit, moving on numerous times and then find something they can finally be happier with.

I say it might be worth keeping moving on, as long as the length of stay at these jobs isn't so short that it starts to look bad on your resume/CV.

Lots of people shift around through various jobs these days; gone are the days of our parents and grandparents' generation where you pretty much retired from the first job you got as a lad.

Years ago, people used to stay in jobs much longer than nowadays. Used to be you got a job and you stuck with it for years. Someone told me nowadays, stay in one job for three years. The exception is getting a promotion.

If three years and no promotion, move on.
If three years or less and you get a promotion, stay for three more years.
Repeat.

I think the only real recommendation that is almost a necessity is to not quit a job until we are offered a new one. It seems easier to get a job offer when working than if in a period of unemployment.

Both positions can be correct.

Staying where you are may be the best choice because you are dealing with a known quantity. However, you can't put a price on happiness.

I'm at a job I've had for just over 1 year. A part of me wants to bug out and do something else, BUT it's the best paying job (w/benefits) I'm likely to ever get around here. Moving elsewhere with no assurance of finding something as good = bad idea in my book.

It's not a bad place to work, but I'm not really happy with it. Indeed, I'm sticking with it more to help take care of aging parents rather than it being what I want to do. No real regrets, but I keep wondering if I'd be happier if I moved on.

Frankly, some people have "wanderlust." They are never content staying in one place too long, and often their whole life is set up to be something they can toss in a suitcase (or back of the car) and move on when they get bored.