I will on loan to another department for 6 month starting next week.  My old department does not have any new project for the time being, so can’t really complain being on loan to the other department where has lots of work and short on staff.  Today we have the welcome meeting with the new project team.  The new department seems to have a bright future, the product line is ramping up and expect to have exceed 100 million revenue per year if the project I will work on ships on time.  Somehow I picked an interesting straw in task assignment.  I will be working on the SATA and SAS protocol, which half of the products in the new department are built upon on.  I will take over some work from some engineers who are leaving the company.  It will be a steep ramp up for me to learn the new standards in a short period of time.  No kidding, it is a tough and demanding assignment.

On the bright side, every crisis is also an opportunity.  If I step forward and did a good job, the result should will be rewarding.  This is mostly technical work, I can just do my best and not having to worry about stepping on someone’s toe.  It would be quite difficult to shine on leadership skill like I have done in my previous project being a loaner.  That would involve some politics and not familiar with the technology is definitely a handicap for me.  Strive to be the technical expert gives me more control on my own destiny.  I have acquire the domain knowledge so valuable to the new department, I will have the option to transfer to the new department after the on loan period.  It is better for me to be in high demand﹐ since I don’t see any future in my old department right now, at least not in the current ruin state.

The new department seems a nice place to work at, challenging work, good growth potential, everything sounds alright except one thing, the manager.  He is one of the worst manager in the company, well known for slaving his sub-ordinary without giving fair compensation.  On a second thought, maybe a permanent transfer is not such a good idea.  I would rather take my chance in the old department then working for a heartless manager.