Mr. Germain.
I have been in this situation more than once.
When I left teaching, I entered a 10% stats/90% data grunt job. When I took the job, they told me that it was a 50+ hour per week job. It turned out to be 60 at least. However, it was obvious that they NEVER had anyone with an shred of programming skills in the job before. Within 6 months I had the workload down to below 30 hours and within a year had it down to about 15 hours per week.
Did I get promoted? Did I get an increase in salary?
Well…they loved me to death. I even got ‘promoted’ twice. New titles and everything
Extra money? hell no. Change in duties? Hell no.
After a couple years I did get a real promotion to my bosses job…with a whopping 5% increase in salary. :rolleyes: I was so fed up I left. After 2 months they called me and asked me back but I had to fight like hell to get remotely near a reasonable salary. I took it because my other job was showing warning signs/not what I signed up for…but then I didn’t get any increases for the next 2 years because I had ‘already gotten mine’ and so my salary fell below what the market considered reasonable again. New rule - never take a counter offer…it is not worth it.
How does this apply to the OP?
ALWAYS do extra if it has prestige to it. Designing macros that save the company money? SURE. Staying after to run 2000 copies on a printer…well…Joe is really good at that.
The reason being is that there is a chance, though unlikely, that your company will recognise you and try to make it a win-win for you and them instead of just a win for them…but the main reason is that you take what you can get and then go out and get a real job doing that at real pay. However, you need the experience to do this…so take it.
As another poster said…they did leave the door open, though IMO not intentionally, by saying if you get too busy they will move you to the new stuff. (In reality, this is most likely a blowoff tactic of saying no to you while looking like they are saying yes and so can continue to get benefit out of you).
However, take them up on it. Embrace it with gusto. Don’t be surprised if they don’t really move you when you get too busy…but do both jobs if you can. My experience may not be typical…but I have NEVER been ‘truely’ promoted ever. I have basically done the ‘promoted’ job for many months at the same old salary and then went on to get a true job at a new company.
I have seen other truely get promoted…but it is rare…and these types were the complete workaholics that live at work/whole life is work…and they never seem to command the salary they should. There is a woman at my current work that started out as an assistant. She had no advanced degree…but she was so good and full of energy that they promoted her to what she was the assistant of…then a senior of that…that a project leader…and is now a project director! PD in this company make well north of $100K, closer to $200K. She makes…$90K…which is the starting salary of a somewhat experience ‘what she was the assistant of’. She is now looking for a new company and said she just rejected an offer for $190K thinking she can do better…
Companies never seem to pay right for internal promotions. Grab what experience you can and move on 