I've been where I am for almost 6 years, which is pretty incredible for me at 31. But am I a lifer? I can never say for sure, but I highly doubt it. It's so circumstantial. I am not worried about getting laid off, but I question what my salary ceiling is (pure salary, I get no other comp), especially next year when inflationary raises need to be more like 10%+ rather than the standard 3%. I really love my job and the work in it, and leaving will be hard, but it's given the pay situation, it seems unlikely to be more than another couple of years.