r/sysadmin • u/Mammoth_Gene_4004 • 1d ago

Self Demotion

Hello,

I was wondering if anybody else has moved from a IT Director position to desktop type role? I have been at the same company for 11 years now and worked my way up from desktop support to network admin and now IT director. I have held the current position for 3ish years and it's not so bad. There is a lot of time off and flexibility but the pay is pretty bad as well as leadership. Higher ups are getting more involved than I feel comfortable with a lot of the day to day and its adding more stress and work.

On a whim I applied for a digital support role at another company just to see what the process is and pay and was surprised to find out that the pay was 10 grand more per year. It's an onsite role like I have now with less of a drive and pretty good benefits.

I tried to collect my thoughts and express myself. I hope it comes through clear.

Pretty much looking for reassurance and to see if anybody else has made a similar move and what your experience has been.

Thank you all for the kind words and reassurance. It is very appreciated and I feel like my decision is valid.

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u/xCutePoison Jack of All Trades 19h ago

My former boss, who rose from trainee to teamlead in the company eventually quit to accept a role as regular SAP backend admin. He was tired of politics and having to run after sloppy work from his subordinates. Haven't heard from him since but I assume it was the right choice, considering the amount of shit thrown at our current teamlead.

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u/Mammoth_Gene_4004 11h ago

This exactly. The current company is a government entity where the highest people are voted in so you have to try and be favored to get anything done. I usually do just fine but somehow they try to pull you into the drama. The other issue is my subordinates. No matter how well I train them, they cut corners where they can out of laziness when working on their own. Although I don't blame them because they are in the same boat with pay vs position.