| My random take from across the internet: Performing technical customer support alongside more experienced coworkers might be an unexpectedly valuable experience because it will show what actually matters in the products and why it matters versus some theory about what matters and why and that experience can inform your decision making throughout your career. Another potentially valuable lesson is that shifting reprehensibility during times of economic change is more or less a given and in the context of a corporate career the ability to adapt to business needs is key. Or to put it another way, the ability to see the value in the business decision (and to accept that it's not personal) is something that distinguishes professionals. On the question of the likelihood of layoffs, it sounds like there already have been: that's part of corporate life going back to the days of industrial manufacture. On the other hand, the fact that you were moved rather than let go, means that the corporation sees economic value in your potential over the medium or long term and so, aside from doing something stupid at the individual level or large scale business decisions, there's less relative chance that you will be laid off in the near term. And as you become familiar with the products via tech support, you become more valuable. And not just more valuable to your employer, but more valuable to its customers who have built businesses around the products you support...and here is my advice: treat those customers as valuable professional connections because they are a great source of future opportunity if you do a good job -- as potential employers and potential leads on work and as consulting gigs depending on your mood. Please be clear, I'm not advising you to be miserable at work. I'm suggesting that part of the job of a junior developer is to learn the places where their absence of experience creates a misinterpretation or a shallow interpretation or a misunderstanding of the facts on the ground. Or to put it another way, in a world where you left technical support and got a job just like the one you had right now today, then six months from now, you're year of experience would look more like the same six months twice than a year of diverse experience. Good luck. |