The next chapter...

I've been wanting to write this post for a long time. My days in support may be coming to an end. Since the turn of the year I've been concentrating on landing a development role and it looks like my current employer may help realise that.
Earlier this month, I did receive a job offer but decided to turn it down due to it just being too far. I am, of course, still looking for fresh pastures but following a chat with my boss on Monday, it looks like my fortunes may be changing for the better.

Having expressed my general discomfort and unhappiness working in support, and a desire to get into development, my boss and I talked about creating a new development role, and how the timing would be really good.
So, the role would generally be fixing bugs in the current version of the software which is in vb6, but could develop into more .net development - the software is currently being rewritten. To be honest, I can't imagine visual basic 6 skills to be in much demand these days, so the sooner I can be doing vb.net stuff the better.

As mentioned earlier, I am due to start a home-study course in vb.net with the final outcome being the qualification to put on my cv. It's great to say you 1, 2, 3+ years experience but I feel that is really cemented with a qualification - at least to prove you can cope with demands of a different position, and not just set in the ways my current employer operates.

Unfortunately, the transition to the programmer role could take some time, and my boss would still like me to do some support, at least for the short-term on appointment of the position. There is of course the time it will take to train who will effectively be my replacement and get them up to speed with the software. That process takes several months, so it may be a while before I truly leave the whole damned support thing behind.

I had come to the conclusion that whatever happens with my future employment, a new support person will need to be hired - if I was to leave in a month's time then someone new would be needed straight away. If I were to stay, but become a programmer, then as I said a replacement for my old duties will be needed. It's just a case of sooner or later for the new hire, and I felt some comfort that my boss reasoned the same.
I did express that I was concerned of "rocking the boat", you know upsetting the natural order etc but he corrected me and said that you cannot run a company and work for a company. I work for a company, so the running of the company should be no concern of mine. I'm not sure this role change will be a popular decision in the office, but then again I'm not really that popular at the moment, it's unlikely that it will get worse.

So, it doesn't stop me looking elsewhere for employment, there's still the issue of wanting to live closer to friends, and also not enjoying the company of my work colleagues - I am an introvert and for the most part I'm content with the person I am. I'm never usually the person to make the first move, say hi to strangers and start a conversation, so the fact that no-one reaches out to me doesn't incline me to reach out to them. It's become a status quo which has been in place for too long that it feels even more difficult to disrupt that. A new employer would be refreshing to swap out the regular faces and offer a chance to start over.

At any rate, the future is looking a little brighter and that makes me hopeful.