I started my career in a non-IT technical department of a midsize manufacturing company, Acme. A troubled software development project drew me in, and within a few years, I was managing most aspects of my department's IT needs and was heavily involved with Acme's corporate IT. I had proven my breadth and depth of IT skills, but I was still a member of a different department. At review time, I talked to my manage I started my career in a non-IT technical department of a midsize manufacturing company, Acme. A troubled software development project drew me in, and within a few years, I was managing most aspects of my department’s IT needs and was heavily involved with Acme’s corporate IT. I had proven my breadth and depth of IT skills, but I was still a member of a different department. At review time, I talked to my manager about focusing wholly on IT. At Acme, the next logical step was the open IT Manager position. A short time later, I received an org announcement that a peer of mine within IT, Dave, had been promoted to the IT manager position. I was livid. Not only was I excluded from consideration for the open position, but there was no regard for how this would affect my role and responsibilities. Dave had less education and management experience, and less knowledge of the business. He could, however, make anything sound great, at least to the small group of low-tech leaders that made the decisions. His results were more show than go, and they came at three times the cost. His success, however, was mandated from the top.I wasn’t told how my responsibilities would change. Instead, I was disciplined each time I did something that Dave didn’t like. I was eventually told not to do anything without Dave’s consent, and to switch focus back from IT to my technical department. I know I could have overcome this in time, but as far as I was concerned, I was done. After fifteen years of giving, I’d had enough. Acme was smaller than when I started, and the leadership had not changed. Many people believed the owner was just holding on to the company until the leadership could retire comfortably. The problem was I couldn’t just quit. I had a family to support. I also had a resume that was hard to sell, coming from a non-IT department with a non-IT title. For the next two years, I worked just enough to get by and focused on improving my resume. I swallowed the problems at work, quietly kept up on IT, finished my graduate degree, and gained professional certification. It was painful. I watched core IT functions deteriorate under Dave’s rule as the CEO sternly told everyone that dissatisfaction would not be tolerated.I began my job search during my last graduate class. Before the course was over, I was offered an IT position at another company. There was no way I could turn it down.An hour after I mailed my acceptance letter, another org announcement was published. Dave resigned. I thought about filling the position, for half a second, and promptly headed upstairs to resign. Dave and I ended our employment on the same day and on friendly terms while the owner and CEO threw fits. At my new job, I was making twenty percent more and had the resources and reason of a much larger, more mature, and successful company. I was promoted after two months, and I am preparing for another promotion this coming year. I know that even if I am fired tomorrow, I am in a much better position to achieve my long term goals. I recently heard that Dave returned to Acme just days after he left. A warm org announcement welcomed Dave back to Acme, mentioning that the marriage with the other employer just didn’t work out. Lucky for him the old lady took him back. Data Management