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It is divine to have this luxury. But changing your management under a bad boss is simply not that easy. My story: I was given the option to change my boss for

It is divine to have this luxury. But changing your management under a bad boss is simply not that easy. My story: I was given the option to change my boss for the first time in 2006 or so. At this company, I'd already been promoted several times, ostensibly on merit, which involved a different boss each time. This event was different. The team was growing and we simply needed more people doing similar things. I decided my relationship with a (somewhat older) peer-turned-manager would be better off if I didn't report to him. Had he been a bad boss? Not really, but he wasn't a good boss. The new boss wasn't any better or worse. Old boss and I both spent the next year slightly miserable, but I wouldn't have known how miserable he was until he suddenly left the company. And then he hired me away a few months later. He also fired me a couple years later. Why? I was sick of the job, and I mostly deserved it; we were also at a smaller company now, where more egos were crammed into one room. I'd also literally been given a second job and a second title, complete with a second boss, who was also my boss's boss. (No pay increase, of course.) Was it more work than I could handle? Not exactly. Was there a mismatch between my responsibility and my power? Absolutely. Did losing this job damage my career? Not in the long run, and I learned far more valuable lessons about the need to simply work differently with different people. I think stories like this are close to the best possible outcome when you have a bad boss. And I think the moral here, is that a Voltron Manager is something everyone should have regardless of how good their current manager may be.

ptero 9y ago
I would echo the comment you are responding to: if you have a bad direct boss, get out and work somewhere else. If you decide to stay, for example because you have golden handcuffs, make a clear decision on how long you have to / want to stick around and leave after that time elapses. If you cannot leave, understand why (e.g., does your resume feature COBOL as a top skill?) and try to fix this quickly. Having a mindset "I like working here, but I can find another job quickly if I have to" helps greatly in any job, e.g. by letting you take calculated risks at your job (and sleep well at night), which on success can give you great benefits. My 2c.
- dvanduzer 9y ago
  This is all very good advice. It costs me nothing to recognize my privilege as I endorse it. edit: My story is about developing the opportunities to leave several different mediocre bosses, sometimes more than once! It really did work out for me, even when I made the decision to go back to the devil I knew. All of these mediocre bosses were well-intentioned former engineers and I have no lingering ill will toward any of them. The part I left out of the story, is that behind the scenes in all of this, was the layer of management above and around them. I was incredibly fortunate that a Voltron had sort of built itself around me. Other engineers I barely got to know, noticed my work. The executive overseeing the departments at both companies paid attention to what his reports were doing. He didn't want to listen to me lament every possible bit I ever might have to twiddle, but he was a significant guiding force in my career for years before I even realized it. It is possible to develop relationships like this, through good faith efforts. But I honestly don't know how I would pass along any advice about this, other than by being as honest as possible about what happened in my life. Essentially: Look Around.
- ThrustVectoring 9y ago
  Skilled COBOL programmers have good job opportunities, IIRC. Lots of legacy systems, not many people who aren't retired who understand and can work with things. It's a different set of things you get to work on compared to having a sexier technology like React or Python or whatever on top of your resume, but there's lots of well-paid work out there.
  - ptero 9y ago
    > Skilled COBOL programmers have good job opportunities I am sure they do, but this is likely due to a funky supply and demand state: low demand but even lower supply which leads to good compensation but fewer opportunities. To acquire a freedom to move to a new employer I would emphasize my high demand skills instead. Just an opinion

ptero 9y ago

I would echo the comment you are responding to: if you have a bad direct boss, get out and work somewhere else. If you decide to stay, for example because you have golden handcuffs, make a clear decision on how long you have to / want to stick around and leave after that time elapses. If you cannot leave, understand why (e.g., does your resume feature COBOL as a top skill?) and try to fix this quickly. Having a mindset "I like working here, but I can find another job quickly if I have to" helps greatly in any job, e.g. by letting you take calculated risks at your job (and sleep well at night), which on success can give you great benefits. My 2c.

dvanduzer 9y ago
This is all very good advice. It costs me nothing to recognize my privilege as I endorse it. edit: My story is about developing the opportunities to leave several different mediocre bosses, sometimes more than once! It really did work out for me, even when I made the decision to go back to the devil I knew. All of these mediocre bosses were well-intentioned former engineers and I have no lingering ill will toward any of them. The part I left out of the story, is that behind the scenes in all of this, was the layer of management above and around them. I was incredibly fortunate that a Voltron had sort of built itself around me. Other engineers I barely got to know, noticed my work. The executive overseeing the departments at both companies paid attention to what his reports were doing. He didn't want to listen to me lament every possible bit I ever might have to twiddle, but he was a significant guiding force in my career for years before I even realized it. It is possible to develop relationships like this, through good faith efforts. But I honestly don't know how I would pass along any advice about this, other than by being as honest as possible about what happened in my life. Essentially: Look Around.
ThrustVectoring 9y ago
Skilled COBOL programmers have good job opportunities, IIRC. Lots of legacy systems, not many people who aren't retired who understand and can work with things. It's a different set of things you get to work on compared to having a sexier technology like React or Python or whatever on top of your resume, but there's lots of well-paid work out there.
- ptero 9y ago
  > Skilled COBOL programmers have good job opportunities I am sure they do, but this is likely due to a funky supply and demand state: low demand but even lower supply which leads to good compensation but fewer opportunities. To acquire a freedom to move to a new employer I would emphasize my high demand skills instead. Just an opinion