Good morning everyone,
I am at a bit of a crossroads here and was wondering if anyone else had run into a situation or had any advice. This is probably going to be a bit long, so thanks for taking time and reading.
I have been at my current company for just over 2 years as the main desktop support person. I enjoy almost everything about it: great people, good benefits, lots of freedom to pursue projects. I have gotten to a point where a lot of my old time consuming tasks are automated, so I do have a bit of “extra” time. I use that time to do research, browse SpiceWorks and other forums (PowerShell.org, ExpertsExchange, etc.) and do some training. Again, all of these things are great and I don’t want to sound like I am complaining because I know lots of IT pros out there are overworked and under-appreciated.
We have been developing a slew of new internal applications thus our developers have been swamped. I volunteered to take one of the smaller projects off the back burner and give it a whack. In a nutshell, I was tasked with doing some programming for the Raspberry Pi to control some embedded systems(which I currently support). Nothing ridiculous, but it is still challenging for someone who is new at programming. No time frame has been given for this project and there’s no real pressure to get it done since I have other duties that I am still responsible for.
Now here is my dilemma. We are a 2-man support team. My boss (Network/Sys Admin) and me (Desktop/User stuff). It doesn’t look like he is going to retire in the next 10 years, and that looks like my only room for advancement along my current track would be to take his position. We aren’t growing fast enough to warrant another person in our department in the foreseeable future.
However, if I switch over to the development route, I have lots of room for growth (career wise and salary). We currently have 5 full time devs plus a few consultants/part timers and there is always more work to be done. In the 2 years I have been here, we have doubled the number of devs on staff. We have one that is retiring soon, and another that may move away in a few years, so there should be room for me to move there if/when I want. My IT director even asked if I was interested in making the switch.
I am kind of leaning towards the development route after mulling it over for the past couple of months. The ability to grow and get a large pay increase is probably the biggest factor. I have a real shot at making a lot more money and becoming more specialized while staying at a great company. I know money isn’t everything. My wife and I are actually doing fine financially, but this would accelerate our plans and would give her an opportunity to be a stay-at-home mom.
I did mention that I was interested in making the switch to my boss, so he understands that a change might be happening. I’m just looking for some feedback or advice from you wise SpiceHeads.
-Ed
