JF Tapdancing Christ on a Cracker what a stupid week this has been.
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*deep breath*
Tuesday, the great PM who was supposed to be managing one of my current projects was pulled off to work on something else. Knowing that my team has already been told "no" when we asked for a PM for a different project a couple weeks ago, that effectively leaves me to be the PM (which is not my role). But that was just the beginning.
At my last performance review with the director of my department in early September, I brought up the subject of my salary, which is well below the average for my field. Truth is, my company has lowballed a lot of folks in the last 2-3 years because of the economy. In June, we received an injection of $$$ from a venture capital firm (they call it an "investment", but basically we got bought). Director (whose salary is also way below average, considering everything he does) told me they were going to finally bring everyone who is performing well up to the 50% percentile at the 1st of the year. I continue working my arse off for the last three months, accept a new role thrust upon me in early November, and take on all the ***** work no one wants to do.
Today, in appreciation for everything he's done for our department since I started (and he really has), I went out and bought Director a nice cigar (he's a big fan of them). Even bought one for myself, which is extremely rare. Director and I hit up the local cigar bar after work. First thing he tells me (assuming that I already knew), is that my current Manager is moving to another team in January. While I'm genuinely pi55ed off, the fact that Manager is bolting and failed to tell me is not a huge shock - he's a programmer at heart and a terrible communicator who I think found himself overwhelmed and dissatisfied when he was promoted back in June.
Second thing he tells me, is that he submitted my pay increase, and the investment guru/co-CEO (whom I've barely met, of course) came back and said he wouldn't approve it until I got "certifications". So, I've performed well above average on every performance review since I was hired, hold a Master's degree, but some stupid ****ing ceremonial/useless certifications are the excuse for holding me back yet again.
I genuinely like the Director, and I know this was not his call. That said, this all but confirms my decision to start looking for a new job back in September. I've gotten 3 interviews, and made it to the final round twice thus far (most recently two weeks ago). While I will begin pursuing whatever certs they want me to get, I'll be starting to look again on January 2nd. There is zero excuse for this, and it's not just me being a member of the so-called entitlement generation. I've more than proven my value to this organization.
/end rant
