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jump ship

danielxu85

Senior Member
Mandarin Chinese
I guess "jump ship" means to abandon a former job without permission, but does it have a connotation of switching to a new job?

As the person's superstar status fades, he jumps ship, accpts a demotion, or take a lateral transfer.
I don't think that the sailors who jumped ship - and gave rise to the expression - (jumping meant leaving by a route other than the, supervised, gangplank) always went looking for a new ship to sign up with. I think the concept of jump ship stops at leaving the present employment.

In your example this person has three options
- get out (and if they do the company loses interest in their subsequent employment status)
- go downwards (and the company will never promote you again)
- go sideways (generally into an area which is a dead end and from which no-one has ever returned 👁 Wink ;)
)
Thanks, maxiogee! Do you mean that "go sideways" is the same as a lateral transfer?
I think the concept of jump ship stops at leaving the present employment.

I accept your derivation Max, but I think in an age where the typical person works for seven companies in his life, and a flying executive for many more, it's come to imply moving from one company to another.

For me it has that force overwhelmingly.

This impression was confirmed by the following (from an online dictionary)


Usage notes: often said about someone who goes to work for another company
Thanks, maxiogee! Do you mean that "go sideways" is the same as a lateral transfer?
Yes. That's what is implied by the 'lateral transer' - our heor is the manager of Deparrtment Y, earning €30,000. Then he is moved to manage Department X, and still earns €30,000.

I accept your derivation Max, but I think in an age where the typical person works for seven companies in his life, and a flying executive for many more, it's come to imply moving from one company to another.

For me it has that force overwhelmingly.

This impression was confirmed by the following (from an online dictionary)

Usage notes: often said about someone who goes to work
for another company

Yes, but in the situation we are given it would appear that our hero has been assked to call in to the personnel department on a Friday afternoon. He is given, politely and in honeyed words, three career options which he urgently needs to consider - perhaps by next Friday.
I don't see him having time to rustle up a new employer.
I've been that hero - twice.
As the person's superstar status fades, he jumps ship, accpts a demotion, or take a lateral transfer.

Daniel, a tiny thing - you must mean take a lateral transfer

Yes, but in the situation we are given it would appear that our hero has been assked to call in to the personnel department on a Friday afternoon. He is given, politely and in honeyed words, three career options which he urgently needs to consider - perhaps by next Friday.
I don't see him having time to rustle up a new employer.

Max, I can't quite read it like this. I see it as suggesting we are dealing with the superstar's career strategy: if he stays long in a company he loses his sheen without developing a patina - people come to treat him and his ideas as old hat. As the person's status fades - fading is a gradual process. The solution is to switch companies frequently - to jump ship. I'm told that in Advertizing executives take the view that they should switch companies at least once every six months.


Max, I can't quite read it like this. I see it as suggesting we are dealing with the superstar's career strategy: if he stays long in a company he loses his sheen without developing a patina - people come to treat him and his ideas as old hat. As the person's status fades - fading is a gradual process. The solution is to switch companies frequently - to jump ship. I'm told that in Advertizing executives take the view that they should switch companies at least once every six months.


I can't agree.
The notion of 'accept' implies that an offer has been made.
No superstar would see the notion of a demotion being part of a career plan. They would most likely see themselves holding the position they achieve, but not rising out of it, if their career were to falter.
No superstar is going to foresee their status fading - these people are egoists who may accept that other superstars have 'fade potential' - but not them.
I guess "jump ship" means to abandon a former job without permission, but does it have a connotation of switching to a new job?

As the person's superstar status fades, he jumps ship, accpts a demotion, or take a lateral transfer.


"jump ship " has a specific meaning. It was when a sailor escaped from a ship, usually in a foreign port, in order to avoid further service as a sailor, or to seek political asylum. It therefore has a connotation of abandoning something without warning.
I can't agree.
The notion of 'accept' implies that an offer has been made.
No superstar would see the notion of a demotion being part of a career plan. They would most likely see themselves holding the position they achieve, but not rising out of it, if their career were to falter.
No superstar is going to foresee their status fading - these people are egoists who may accept that other superstars have 'fade potential' - but not them.

I agree with all of this except the opening sentence.

Sure, you can't accept an offer that hasn't been made. But the sentence is:

As the person's superstar status fades, he jumps ship, accepts a demotion, or takes a lateral transfer.

This could easily be, and, as I read it, probably is, a general description of the way these things happen, rather than an outline of what is happening in a particular case. When such a person's status fades he may find himself offered a demotion: as you say, a demotion is unacceptable to him, so he jumps ship - in my view, he goes to another job there's any question of this offer being made.

Can you see this as a interpretation, Max? I can't easily envisage an alternative.
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