[legion]

Seven months into my new gig in Atlanta and I am at yet another decision point.

The long and short of it is that my current manager has neither the temperment nor the aptitude for managment. The work is not what I was told it would be. Things I was promised in the interview were denied by my manager once I was here. He is a micro-manager like I've never dealt with before. We have a 5-person team and only about 1.5 people's worth of work--because that is all he is comfortable micro-managing. He has told me to delay completing assignement for people he dislikes (which I have ignored). He has told me to take vacation/personal time so that I could do things like go home and pack for business trips. His biggest priority is that his people attend meetings where other managers see his people. (He likes to brag that HIS PEOPLE always attend department meetings, for example.) Actually completing work barely registers with him. (I have been told it is okay to let deadlines slip as long as I attend all of the meetings that he thinks bring him visibility.)

Add to this that Atlanta traffic is horrendous and my manager will not allow me to pick my own or adjust my hours in any way. Those that live close to the office hurry home and stay pinned-down in their house for 3-4 hours until traffic passes. Those of us that live farther away get to sit in traffic for our mornings and evenings. My drive can take anywhere from 25 minutes (no traffic and showing up 1.5 hours early for work--which does not earn me the ability to leave early) to 3 hours, one way. It is pretty unpredictable what each commute will turn out like.

I made the decision to leave this job about 2 months in, but I need to stay a year or I owe for relocation costs. I started contacing managers in my old department as I saw job posting go up this month. I reached out to my old boss last week. (Different department, same company.) He referred me to my old director, who essentially told me to decide where I wanted to work (Illinois or Atlanta) and who I wanted to work for, and he would make it happen.

My wife wants to return to Illinois. I kind of do too. Even though I dislike the state, I miss my old town.

I now have a choice between two jobs (applying for both would probably send the wrong message):

1) Work as an analyst in my old area whose responsibility it is to discover and document risk in our computer systems. These risks would then be prioritized and addressed. This job sounds interesting because it would bring visibility with management and allow me to work with a variety of teams. The one big drawback to being on this team is that one of my personal friends is on it, and we have very different approaches to work.

2) Return to my old team where I would become a lead and be responsible for a sub-team of analysts. I could probably walk right into this and start being effective right away. I know I could do the work. I liked my old team. The work was varied enough to keep me from being bored for the first 12 years I was on the team. (I only left to pursue a promotion.) The only issue, is that if I go back, I'm pretty much accepting that I am the "expert" on the team and it would be hard to leave again. I'm not sure that I would ever want to leave again.