Is this career progression or nah?

thestaggy

thestaggy

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I've recently been [-]forced in to[/-] offered a new roll within my organisation and I'm struggling to see this as a positive in the long run.

Current situation:
- Large contract that encompasses four inter-related sites.
- I am currently in charge of one of the four sites.
- All four sites have production, software support and customer service elements to them.
- My background is in production but I know enough about the other elements to competently manage all of them.

My new offer:
- I will no longer be in charge of a site.
- I will be tasked with a short-term project focusing on improving customer service across all four sites. Right now this is the weakest of our 3 services and it also happens to be the most important part of our contract.
- Upon completion of the project I will then be transferred to our main site (no longer in a management capacity) and be moved in to software, where I will be exposed to it on a far more complex level. In this new roll with the software department I will carry out some of what I already do on my existing site with regards to software but will also be a part of a team that offers support to the other three sites. I will also continue to play a more limited roll in customer service on the new site.

TL;DR version:

- Right now I oversee Site 'X' and ensure production, software support, and customer service are running smoothly. If I battle with either there are specialists and senior managers I can call.

- The new task is basically me ensuring new procedures concerning customer service are implemented and run smoothly on Sites W, X, Y & Z.

- Beyond that I will focus primarily on advanced software support at site 'W' while also offering support to the other three sites when they need it.

I really am struggling to see this as career progression long-term. I am more than up for the challenge of taking on the new project as it could go a long way to improving my standing within the organisation if it is a success. Beyond that however, I see this as a demotion with more focus on a single area. There are positives with learning more about the software side of things, but that is something that can be added to my current roll, enriching it.

Am I being full of nonsense or are there legitimate concerns to be had here?
 
Legitimate concern, on the face of it.

The current situation sounds more management-oriented, i.e. can you juggle the different competencies and so on. Are you interested in pursuing management further or would you like to become a specialist in one of those fields?

In terms of payscale, title and overall responsibility is the new position higher or lower than your current one in the organisational hierarchy?

What industry is this in, btw?
 
Personally I would ask if I could do the project because it sounds interesting, but remain in management somehow. Either go back to your old job, or a new management job of equivalent or higher level.

Going from management back to software support is a demotion if you ask me. It depends to a certain extent whether you prefer management to software support. I know I would prefer management.

It isn't the project that is the problem, it your role afterwards.
 
Am I being full of nonsense or are there legitimate concerns to be had here?
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No, I am inclined to agree with your view that this is a demotion, at least on the face of it. Though, if the level of overall responsibility and ranking of the new position (along with pay) is similar to your current one, then perhaps the company feels that your skillset is better suited to a more specialist role.

Will there be someone else taking over your old role if/when you move to the new one?
 
sounds like a demotion. its weird because they trust you enough to fix customer service but then demote you afterwards from site manager to software support. however if you are intestrested in the new role and pay and level is unaffected then I don't see the harm. just ask what the long term plan is though.
 
cerebus said:
That earn more money?
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Nope :p there was a gentleman that posted that he was a senior internally but his payslip still showed Jnr Dev and when he goes for interviews he gets lumped into that section and not into senior. Found it strange but asked some mates and colleagues and it's happening quite a bit now.
 
Pho3nix said:
Nope :p there was a gentleman that posted that he was a senior internally but his payslip still showed Jnr Dev and when he goes for interviews he gets lumped into that section and not into senior. Found it strange but asked some mates and colleagues and it's happening quite a bit now.
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That sounds like a career trainwreck.
 
Maverick Jester said:
It is, if that is what you value.
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It might be a positive move for you, but it still isn't career progression. Sorry if I sound completely recaltricant on this but career progression is just by definition an upwardly mobile track within an organisation, or within your field of work, from the bottom to the top rungs. One could argue that changing a job title from junior to mid is progression, but if it comes without an increase, you've been shafted into believing that the title is meaningful when it's actually a pretext to load more responsibility onto you. If you escape that rut by going into a role that you enjoy more, you still haven't really progressed.
 
cerebus said:
It might be a positive move for you, but it still isn't career progression. Sorry if I sound completely recaltricant on this but career progression is just by definition an upwardly mobile track within an organisation, or within your field of work, from the bottom to the top rungs. One could argue that changing a job title from junior to mid is progression, but if it comes without an increase, you've been shafted into believing that the title is meaningful when it's actually a pretext to load more responsibility onto you. If you escape that rut by going into a role that you enjoy more, you still haven't really progressed.
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Understandable, but your example perfectly illustrates why career progression is not just cut and dried "upward progression within an organisation or field of work". Not that I disagreed with that, in any event.

I feel that a large aspect of career progression is career satisfaction, and the value attached to it. Some people may move upwards within their fields of work, but still not feel that they are paid enough to do it. Career progression can and often is used as a misleading pretext.

I suppose I am of the opinion that if you're going to be doing something for 8+ hours a day, for a period of 20-40 years, it should at least be something that you feel is worthwhile. You'll probably spend more time at work than you will living out the rest of your life- don't hate what you do. Your lifestyle is in any event centered around what your earn and the time spent earning- if elements within your lifestyle, or how you would want your lifestyle to be, are unattainable due to your career, it plays a part, too.

Money, titles, positional influence, etc.- those have their places, and they are perfectly legitimate elements tied to career progression. But let's not dismiss career satisfaction either.
 
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Look I agree with the whole idea that you should aim at career satisfaction, but it's not what we're talking about is it? The OP is being offered another position and he isn't sure if he's getting a raw deal or if it actually qualifies as a progression. My response to that would be that he should only consider it as progress if the company also does - meaning, he can either leverage the move to get a higher salary, or he will immediately get a higher salary. Anything else is just a pretext to get him to work on harder or less desirable areas.
 
cerebus said:
Look I agree with the whole idea that you should aim at career satisfaction, but it's not what we're talking about is it?
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Well, that's what I'm talking about, only because your initial statement was very non-specific to this situation.

The OP is being offered another position and he isn't sure if he's getting a raw deal or if it actually qualifies as a progression. My response to that would be that he should only consider it as progress if the company also does - meaning, he can either leverage the move to get a higher salary, or he will immediately get a higher salary. Anything else is just a pretext to get him to work on harder or less desirable areas.
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That we both agree on.
 
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