[timburus]

I cannot make general statements, but it's really hard to move when you are assigned to a project where you unhappy. I tried to transfer to several other teams in my area of expertise. I was quite close in a couple of places, but they usually run out of 'head count' at the last moment. There was just one team that could have taken me, but it was the same kind of boring custom coded BI I was doing in my project. Finally, I just had to give up. The bad part is that I did many 20% projects for these other teams, which hurt my chances for promotion.

[cromwellian]

It could be that the type of project one is one influences. I'm pretty sure if I tried to join the maps team, I'd be rejected, I have no experience in geo/gis.

But I have had the experience of co-workers transferring off my team to other teams and semi-regular turnover, so it may be a matter of finding the right place at the right time.

[VLM]

"I'm pretty sure if I tried to join the maps team, I'd be rejected, I have no experience in geo/gis."

Ah but from the linked article, if the only selection criteria is ability to answer weird 5-minute-depth trivia questions about data structures, not actually knowing anything about GEO/GIS wouldn't even be discovered, much less an impediment.

Of course, they might have a totally different, less pathological system for internal transfers than for external hiring...