Switching jobs within a higher ed institution… good or bad idea after 12 months?
Just about a year ago I switched jobs on campus from one that focused on applying a broad range of web technology with a marketing and communications focus to a job where I was to focus on user experience of one particular project. I posted some thoughts on what I would have liked to have done in my previous job if I was still there. Have to say, after 12 months I have no idea if any of my list was achieved or even is a big deal to folks that are dealing with U of Waterloo’s web space but it is strangely still important me and I still feel a bit like I need to figure out how to achieve it.
What is truly strange about changing jobs and staying on the main campus is that I don’t really feel like I changed jobs, I just changed projects. Maybe it’s because in my previous job I had a pretty high profile across campus with regards to the web (being the first and only – for a number of years – person hired to work only on the web on campus) and with my current job we are working on a pretty high profile project.
When there was an opportunity for growth presented to me I felt like I had to take it but really wasn’t sure in my decision. However, I have learned a lot that I would not have learned in my previous job which makes the decision to switch jobs a good one a year later. Is my current position better or worse than my previous one? Neither, it’s just different. For me, the motivation to change jobs came from the desire to learn new things and gain from new experiences but there is always a risk in leaving the job you know (or established). I think for a lot of people that work in a large organization and are happy where they are, they can get trapped by the conflict between doing what they know vs the joy of learning something new vs the risk of finding yourself in a bad situation.
In my role as President of Staff Association I have tried to promote changing roles or jobs on campus is a good thing to do both personally and professionally. More needs to be done at Waterloo to encourage folks to move around and I have a feeling in higher education in general a culture of ‘moving around’ doesn’t exist. Given how phd’s don’t change departments… ever… it isn’t a surprise that would influence the culture of higher ed.
