I live in Flushing, New York, but until a few years ago, I worked at a CPA office in Manhattan.

After graduating from college in Korea and coming to the U.S., my career was interrupted while I raised my children, but once they grew up a bit, I returned to work using my previous accounting knowledge.

Thanks to that experience, I learned a bit about American workplace culture, and what impressed me the most was how different Americans' views on "job changes" are from the Korean perspective.

In Korea, changing jobs often carries a negative connotation. There are thoughts like, "Did they get fired from that company?" or "Aren't they moving because they couldn't adapt?"

In the U.S., it's completely different. In fact, many people view changing jobs as a form of promotion.

Just looking at the CPA office where I worked, employee transitions were very natural. For example, a white female colleague I was close with moved to another accounting firm after about two years.

When I asked her why, she said they offered a slightly higher salary, were closer to her home, and her position would be a bit elevated. The way her colleagues reacted was, "Wow, congratulations! That will help your career and you'll earn more!"

From a Korean perspective, one might think, "Why change when the current company is fine?" But for Americans, many see their careers as a staircase.

While it's possible to get promoted steadily within one company, moving to another company and 'leveling up' is also viewed as a completely natural growth process.

In some cases, if there are no higher positions available in the current company, accepting a team leader position at another company is common. It's not unusual at all to advance through external opportunities, even if internal promotions are slow.

Moreover, there is no culture of being discreet when deciding to change jobs.

Instead of quietly resigning, they confidently say, "I'm starting at a new company next week!"

Supervisors and colleagues support this decision. They might say, "I heard that place has good work-life balance," or "I hope the new team suits you well." There have even been cases where former colleagues contacted me later from other accounting firms, saying, "We have an opening on our team, and I thought of you," offering to recruit me.

I believe this culture gives people control over their careers. The mindset of "I have maximized my potential here. Now I want to grow on a new stage" naturally forms.

So in the U.S., when looking at a resume, if someone has worked at one company for 10 or 20 years, it can evoke thoughts like, "How come they stayed so long? Didn't they take any challenges?"

Of course, frequently changing jobs also carries risks. If someone moves every 1-2 years, it can create the perception that "this person lacks stability." Therefore, in the U.S., it is generally expected to stay at a job for at least 2-3 years. During that time, one builds performance, learns new tasks, and then moves on to the next stage, which is seen as the ideal career path.

Even when I worked at the CPA office, among experienced applicants, those with many job changes received good evaluations as long as they could clearly explain what projects they worked on and what positions they held at each company. It gives the impression that "this person adapts well to various environments and is flexible to change."

This culture of viewing job changes as another form of 'promotion' was quite empowering for someone like me, who resumed my career after raising children.

Even with a career interruption in between, I could start again and build my career step by step. Instead of waiting for promotions in just one place, I think it reflects a much more flexible mindset in creating new opportunities.

Now that I have returned to being a full-time housewife, thanks to my work experience back then, I have become accustomed to the American career mindset.

As my children grow and eventually enter society, I want to teach them that moving to a place where they can grow in the direction they want is natural, rather than staying at one company until retirement. I want to convey that this is not at all unstable, but rather a proactive and self-directed way of managing a career in today's world.