Originally Posted by Unregistered

The best time to leave is after a project cycle. Which is probably about 3-5 years depending on project complexity.

The reasoning is so that you can talk about your experiences instead of talking about your lousy academic results that limited your choices in the first place.

If you can't even talk decently about skillsets and experience you learned on the job... well then I think the best time to leave STE is when it's time for you to retire.