I'm a job-hopper who's worked 4 jobs in 6 years. I can take risks in my 20s — but I plan to stop in my 30s.

• Bremda Acosta has worked for four different organizations since she graduated in 2018.
• She told Business Insider she is not loyal to a company if its benefits and pay don't work for her.
• Having been a job-hopper in her 20s, she says she expects to stay in jobs longer in her 30s.

This as-told-to essay is based on a transcribed conversation with 27-year-old New Yorker Bremda Acosta about job-hopping. The following has been edited for length and clarity.

I'm a job-hopper. It doesn't make sense to be loyal to a company that isn't loyal to you.

I understand why sticking to a job was important for previous generations. For my mom, for example, she'd get benefits at work, such as a pension.

I've never been offered a pension. It's much harder now to purchase a home with our salaries than for previous generations. If you can leave for a higher salary rather than waiting for a raise, you should.

If the economy were better, I'd have stayed in roles for longer.

I started working as a teacher after college

I graduated in May 2018, majoring in sociology and public health. Since then, I've worked in four places.

I'm a program manager for a nonprofit organization based in New York City. I focus on community organizing for schools in the area. I've been in this position for eight months.

I found the job on Indeed. Before that, I worked in schools and other jobs. Working in schools helped me get the job I have now.

I left my first job after 7 months

After college, I decided to become a teacher. I was born and raised in the Dominican Republic and spoke Spanish. I landed a job as a Spanish teacher for 11th grade at a charter school in Brooklyn in June 2018.

I didn't go to school to train as a teacher because it was a charter school. I was 22 and felt very inexperienced. It was the hardest job I've had. My days started at 7:30 a.m. I'd often not finish until 7.30 p.m.

I left after seven months with no plan about what to do next.

I quit my 2nd job because I couldn't see a future there

I started searching for jobs in the nonprofit sector. I'd always wanted to work with immigrant communities. After two months of being unemployed, I found a position at a cancer charity. I worked as a program associate, offering support groups to Spanish-speaking women who had breast cancer and ovarian cancer.

The job was good for me. Talking to people helped me come out of my shell. But I felt micromanaged and didn't see a path for professional growth.

I went back to studying

But, in the back of my mind, I started to feel as though I wanted to go back to teaching. I decided I wanted to become a sociology professor but knew I'd have to do a Ph.D. for that. I left my job in 2019 to pursue a master's in sociology at Syracuse University in 2020.

I loved learning. I didn't have to pay my tuition and got a stipend for my rent and utilities.

I finished my master's, but I left before I completed a Ph.D. because I was worried that I wouldn't have control over where it was based. I'd have had to apply for grants based on available positions in the country. I didn't want to be in isolated places like Montana or Iowa.

I wanted to be in New York. I got a job as a business operations coordinator at another charter school in Brooklyn. The school only taught kindergarten to third grade. I learned a lot in the role, but when I asked for a salary raise, they couldn't offer me more.

I worked additional days on the weekends, sometimes alone, without extra pay. I felt like I was doing so much. The job wasn't giving me the benefits I wanted, so I started looking for something else after 19 months.

My mantra is to leave a job when it no longer works for me

An employer wants to get what they can out of you. As an employee, you should focus on what you want. If something happening at your job isn't beneficial for you, you should move on.

Get all the experience you can and then move forward.

But you should be careful not to burn any bridges. I always leave on good terms.

I was asked why I had moved jobs so often in an interview

I think job-hopping is good for your 20s. But moving around so much at a certain point makes you look unreliable.

In an interview once, I was asked why I had had so many jobs. They asked me to walk through why I left each one. I didn't want to be in that position where I had to explain that.

I worry about people looking at my résumé and thinking I'm not going to stay for a long time.

Job-hopping doesn't work forever

I'm only job-hopping because I'm able to take more risks at this stage in my life.

I've learned that if you're thinking of leaving a company, make sure the next place is aligned with the salary and values you're looking for.

In my 30s, I'll want more consistency and for people to see me as reliable. I'm planning on staying longer in future roles and plan to be more cautious when accepting new roles in the future.

But I'm grateful I explored many different organizations and had experience in different sectors, teams, and managers. I'm glad I stepped out of my comfort zone.