Career question

[Marian Bailey <mbailey -at- ESRI -dot- COM>]

Anonymous wrote:

My question is: do you think that if I work as a senior writer for a
while, it will hurt me when I go job-hunting again and try to find a
manager position?

I don't think the big question is whether a future employer will understand
why you took a lower-level position but whether you will be happy in it.
 In my observation, people have a hard time adjusting to positions in which
they have less responsibility and authority than they had before.  I know
of one Ph.D. who was hired as a technical writer for a group that was
working in the field he had studied; he couldn't prevent himself from
objecting on philosophical grounds to the approach being taken toward the
project and after much internal strife was let go.  In another case, the
owner of one small business who was hired by another found it difficult not
to keep on evaluating the new company's business decisions.  I believe that
one worked out, but there was some hardship first.

If you are a group manager and enjoy it, you are probably good at it, so I
would suggest thinking about whether you would be able to go along with the
decisions your new manager made that you disagreed with, since there are
sure to be a few, and might be many.  If you would find it difficult not to
object, I would suggest continuing to look for a position in management.

Another caveat--if the job is in the Bay Area, evaluate its salary in view
of the price of housing and the rush hour traffic (which makes commuting to
less expensive communities unpleasant).

Marian

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