I worked for a Fortune 20 company for eight years, and attempted multiple times to move out of a position because I didn't feel technically challenged enough. I escaped twice, only to be recalled within months because my knowledge was valued. During my second recall, we had a downsizing and I volunteered to take on additional work in the position that I wanted to get out of, which was seen by many people as showing loyalty to the company and gained me respect by my peers and local management.
My position was then eliminated (offshored) and I was forced into a new position where there was a tremendous skills mismatch, and guess what? I quickly got fired due to "judgement issues". At the time I had a 9-month old son who had severe birth defects such that he had spent seven months in the intensive care unit at a hospital.
So, call me jaded or bitter, but respect really doesn't mean anything to me-- no matter how valuable your skills are-- and no matter how much respect people may have for you and your abilities-- you are still expendible.
Slashdot Mirror
I worked for a Fortune 20 company for eight years, and attempted multiple times to move out of a position because I didn't feel technically challenged enough. I escaped twice, only to be recalled within months because my knowledge was valued. During my second recall, we had a downsizing and I volunteered to take on additional work in the position that I wanted to get out of, which was seen by many people as showing loyalty to the company and gained me respect by my peers and local management. My position was then eliminated (offshored) and I was forced into a new position where there was a tremendous skills mismatch, and guess what? I quickly got fired due to "judgement issues". At the time I had a 9-month old son who had severe birth defects such that he had spent seven months in the intensive care unit at a hospital. So, call me jaded or bitter, but respect really doesn't mean anything to me-- no matter how valuable your skills are-- and no matter how much respect people may have for you and your abilities-- you are still expendible.