I have a question that I’m wanting some unbiased opinions on.
Currently I work in an IT engineering role. It’s highly technical and quite often very interesting. 90% of the time I like my job, and I get paid reasonably well for it. But lately I kind of feel like everything I’m doing is pure reflex, I know all the answers to all the questions and I’m not having to actually think about much. So currently I’m bored, which I’m not confident will change any time soon as I’m at the top of the ladder in my current job.
I have been presented with a potential opportunity to move into another division of the company I work for. It’s a project management role in a similar field to what I’m doing now. If the other division takes off then I’ll end up being the head of a department. It’s technologically cutting edge as far as my industry goes (Computer Telephony Integration) but from a management perspective rather than an engineering / technician perspective. The only down side is that I may end up being bored due to the lack of hands on work.
So my question is, is it worth moving to a job where there’s a small chance I may become bored, or staying in one where there’s a small chance I may not always be bored?
i may or may not have met you.
doesn’t really matter.
in the last 39 years i’ve amassed 4 university degrees including a phd, 2 bsc and a ba.
and i’ve worked off and on for the last 22 years as a bike messenger.
why?
because i’m rarely bored, by the time i’ve finished a degree i’m usually disillusioned with the field it’s in, and i’m really not that great with taking orders in a day to day sense like in an office environment.
so i do a job i love, and study stuff that interests me, and i’m generally just good at what i do. and i get paid not a lot for my efforts. but i love it.
there exists the possibility (probability even) that some time in the next couple of years i’ll have a family to worry about, financial problems to overcome, and an actual adult life, but untill then 'll continue to do what i love, and what i’m good at.
robert heinlein once wrote that you have to enjoy what you do or it is drudgery whether you are a doctor or a bank robber. if you aren’t enjoying being a doctor, you might need to consider robbery instead.
You might also ask yourself whether you could tolerate project management - it’s different to being a hands-on geek. You’ll be relying on other geeks do do what they’re supposed to and more importantly, when they’re supposed to do it. In my (albeit limited) experience of tech projects it’s a bit like herding kittens. Rarely boring, but not always interesting in a good way.
where do you want to be in 5 years time? try and picture that and work towards it.
toss a coin and the way you feel about the result will tell you which is the right choice.
(i just changed jobs from one that pays really well, and is super flexible to one that is 9-5 and pays quite a bit less. the new job will allow me to generate new skills that i want to use in future employment as well as network with people i want to work with. the boredom and lower pay will be countered by the benefits. i’ve figured where i want to be in 6 months, 1 year, 2 years and 5 years. and this is going to help me get there)
Read up on the Peter Principle. You may end up being a victim.
If you like the technical aspects of the work you’re doing I would advise against going into management, unless you actually want to be a manager.
I suffer on a daily basis because of skilled technical people who have been promoted into management, beyond their ability and/or motivation.
On the other hand, CTI is in demand so if you don’t like the management job there’s probably plenty of opportunity to move back into a tech job so long as you don’t leafve it for too long.
Good advice. Once I allowed myself to be pushed from using VC++ all day to using Outlook and Microsoft Project all day and I didn’t enjoy it. How much do you like dealing with people? I discovered that, for me, the hardest technical problems were a lot less taxing than the intangible, emotional, psychological problems that people throw at you.
Know thyself.
Have you considered kicking it up a notch on the technical side of things? There’s always different/harder technical jobs out there.
Well it seems the squeaky wheel does, in fact, get the oil.
I had a meeting with my direct boss today and he has stopped any/all outbound work from coming my way. Then had a meeting with the CIO and been told that provided I keep doing my job well, as I’ve been doing, he has pretty much been given a blank cheque book to give me pay rises for the next 4 years.
I’m staying right where I am with everything I didn’t like taken out of my job.
