If you have thought about walking away from your current profession this year, you are in the majority. A fresh, representative survey by Profession.hu finds that five out of ten Hungarian workers have already changed careers at least once, and four out of ten now work in a completely different field and industry from where they started.

The more revealing number sits underneath that headline. This year, 54% of career-changers said a higher salary would have kept them in their original profession, up from 42% four years ago. Pay, not culture, not perks, not purpose, is the single biggest reason people leave. And that shift matters when you are the one deciding whether to stay, switch, or push for a better offer.

The situation, in plain numbers

Profession.hu's survey paints a labour market where career mobility is now the norm, not the exception:

• Five in ten workers have already changed careers.
• Three in ten seriously considered a career change but did not go through with it.
• Only two in ten have never had the inclination at all.
• 52% of those who have already switched are women.
• The move is most common among workers with secondary education (56%) and those living in small settlements (60%).

Translation: if you are weighing a switch, you are not an outlier. You are part of roughly half the workforce that has done it or is thinking about it.

Why people actually leave

Money leads, but it does not stand alone. Beyond pay, the top retention factors cited by respondents are a better management attitude and company atmosphere (40%) and greater professional recognition (30%). In other words: if the salary is close to fair, how you are treated tips the balance. If the salary is clearly below market, nothing else holds you.

External shocks also show up in the data. COVID-related changes drove 12% of respondents to switch careers, the biggest single wave in recent years. The 2022 changes to Hungary's KATA framework (the itemised tax for small-taxpayer enterprises) prompted 6% of career-leavers to change professions, mostly former sole traders forced to rethink their setup. And high prices, inflation and general uncertainty contributed to the decision for 36% of switchers.

Salary remains one of the strongest drivers of both job and career change: every second respondent switched profession explicitly because of higher pay. The financial angle is the primary reason for changing jobs across every generation, regardless of age.

That summary comes from Dencső Blanka, market research and business development expert at Profession.hu, in the release accompanying the survey.

Which sectors are pushing people out

Not every industry loses talent the same way. Profession.hu's data splits the market cleanly:

• Retentive sectors: IT and technology, healthcare and social care, and industry and manufacturing. Workers here rarely move to a completely different sector, they tend to switch employers within the field.
• High-outflow sectors: finance, banking and insurance; agriculture; and hospitality and tourism. In these industries, when people leave, they often leave the sector entirely.

Hospitality and tourism deserve a note. The sector has been among the three with the biggest decline in job listings for a year, forcing many workers out. That happened despite a strong commercial year for the industry itself: Hungarian travel agencies grew above the economic average in 2025, and combined revenue of the top 50 firms rose to HUF 323 billion. In short, the businesses did well; the wages did not follow the workers.

If you work in one of the high-outflow sectors and you feel underpaid, the data suggests your instinct is correct, not paranoid.

Before you switch: five checks to run

A career change can bring real gains, but it also comes with real uncertainty. Before you resign, work through these five questions:

• Do you actually know your market salary? Not a vague sense, an actual number. Compare your current gross and net pay against advertised roles in your city and seniority using a salary calculator or public salary data before you assume you are underpaid.
• Have you tried to negotiate first? More than half of switchers say pay would have kept them. That means a well-prepared salary negotiation with your current employer is worth attempting before you start applying elsewhere. Bring the benchmark data with you.
• Is the problem the pay, or the manager? Since management attitude and atmosphere account for 40% of retention decisions, be honest about what is actually driving the itch. A new sector will not fix a boss you could escape by changing teams.
• What does the target sector really pay entry-level? Switching profession often means a temporary pay dip while you rebuild seniority. Check employer reviews and job listings in the target field so you know the realistic 12- to 24-month picture, not the top-end number recruiters advertise.
• Do you have a runway? Career transitions in Hungary often involve retraining, a probation period, or a short unpaid gap. Three to six months of expenses saved is a common safety margin.

Your rights and options if you decide to move

Under Hungary's Munka Törvénykönyve (Labour Code), which applies to anyone employed by a Hungary-registered employer, you have a few practical entitlements worth confirming before you hand in a resignation:

• Notice period: Check your contract; the statutory minimum for open-ended employment is 30 days, but it can be longer based on tenure or contract terms.
• Untaken holiday: If you leave with unused annual leave, you are entitled to compensation for it in your final settlement.
• Reference and documentation: Your employer must issue the closing documents (igazolások) within the statutory window. You will need these for your next employer and for any social security continuity.
• Non-compete clauses: If you signed one, read it before you accept an offer in the same sector. Enforceable non-competes require compensation from the former employer.

None of this should scare you off a move that makes sense. It is just the paperwork side of a decision that is otherwise about your working life.

The honest bottom line

Half of Hungary's workers have already crossed the line you may be standing on. The survey does not tell you whether they are happier, but it does tell you what tipped them over: pay first, treatment second, everything else a distant third.

As Dencső Blanka put it, a career change can carry a lot of uncertainty, which is why it matters that job-seekers can lean on as much information and practical help as possible when they decide. Do the benchmark. Have the negotiation conversation. Read the contract clauses. Then choose from a place of information, not frustration.