Return back to old company?
Posted by Wabbyyyyy@reddit | sysadmin | View on Reddit | 57 comments
Have any of you in your career left a company and come back ? Left my last company last March to go into the MSP space. I did enjoy the MSP work but boy is the company a fucking shit show. They lied to me about various things throughout the hiring/ onboarding process just to get me to sign, they’ve been letting people go frequently and luckily I wasn’t affected by this and my boss quitting 3 months after I started. One thing they did not mention originally was the 1 week a month 24/7 on call rotation which fucking blows…..
A year goes by at this new job and nothing is changed. Started looking for job postings and stumble across a job posting for a senior role at my last company. I applied, they were interested, we had several good conversations back and forth and it seems like there were a lot of positive changes (at least they say) .They sent me an offer letter for $20k more than I was making there when I left a year ago
Point being, I’m in a fucking dilemma right now. Have and of you left a company, joined back and regretted it? The only pro of working at my current company is that’s it’s 100% remote with the occasional client visits.
Grass is not always greener on the other side
unknwnerrr@reddit
Yup left and came back, now I'm leaving again here soon. That's just how the game goes. Follow the work.
ghostnodesec@reddit
I haven't but know people have and were successful. There is always risk when you change jobs that new job isn't what you thought it was. Do your pro/con list and make the decision based on that.
evantom34@reddit
I would entertain it. The decision is up to you. Why did you leave old company in the first place? I think it’s always important to maintain good relationships for this exact reason.
Your new company lied and sold you a bill of goods, I’d personally be resentful of that, and the extra pay on top of your old salary is a cherry on top.
Wabbyyyyy@reddit (OP)
Various reasons but my old department got a massive overhaul after I left. My boss ended up quitting on the spot 6 months after I left and the company signed with an MSP for day to day support. I’d be handling some internal IT stuff but mainly working on projects . One of the main reasons I left was due to extended hours every summer. Would be working 50-60 hours every week in the summer and never got to enjoy the season. Since my boss quitting, they’re no longer doing it
It also seems like they made a lot of positive changes and are moving more into the cloud instead of on prem/hybrid.
tdhuck@reddit
I never understood working 50-60 hours if there isn't OT.
I do understand that things need to get done and that people don't want to lose their job, but if the company is constantly having people working 50-60 hour weeks then there is something wrong.
Likely understaffed since you are working more hours or proper staff but others aren't doing their part and management isn't doing anything about it.
Replying to your question, I would entertain going back since it sounds like you have a slightly different role (now) and you didn't leave on bad terms.
If you were going back to the same position, same rank with better pay, I would not go back (I know that's not the case, just stating the situation that I would not go back to).
Corgilicious@reddit
If I were in your shoes, I would take it. It sounds like a lot of things there have changed, and you probably too have changed after having this experience.
evantom34@reddit
It sounds like the choice is clear in my eyes. Sometimes companies need a little push in order to change (you + manager leaving). I would be happy to go back to my old companies if changes were made + they offered more money.
Solkre@reddit
I was at my old place 18 years. There wasn’t anyone who didn’t understand me leaving lol. I could go back but they’d wonder why.
jedimaster4007@reddit
I worked at a small city government as an IT Specialist, eventually promoted to sysadmin, for about 4 years. It was the best job I ever had, small team with all really good people. The city manager retired and the new city manager made everything terrible. Huge mass exodus of employees including my boss. The new IT director was genuinely a fraud and embodied every negative trait a boss can possibly have. I left for two years until that city manager was finally fired, shortly after the IT director was fired, and they called me asking if I would come back. They brought me in as assistant director because I didn't quite have enough experience to lead the department, but they wanted to make sure I had the authority I would need to fix all the problems and mismanagement during the two years I was gone. The old team had all left but the new team is all good people too. It was a no brainer for me, plus now I make 40k more than when I worked here before.
Jaxberry@reddit
I've done it before. For me I was back with several of the people I worked with previously and it was a more senior role than I had been at. I had previously left due to business changes to insurance that were corrected after my leaving.
jupit3rle0@reddit
I'd say go back with the confidence that they are desperate for your expertise - use that to your advantage and recognize any early signs descensus.
My main concern would be: Will you have the same boss as before? If so, be very wary. If not, have high hopes.
Wabbyyyyy@reddit (OP)
Nope. He ended up quitting shortly after I left. My boss would be someone that is not in the technology department but an executive. They are also partnered with an external virtual CTO consultant and an MSP handling their day to day support.
I’d be coming in handling some internal tickets but primarily working on project work
RobKFC@reddit
Just be weary of reporting to executives, they can be very demanding with little to no tech knowledge. That can make it rough when you start getting the “why can’t you just do it now?” Or the “it seems easy why is it taking so long to implement”
Evs91@reddit
left my helpdesk gig for an MSP sysadmin role for a 8k pay raise and the promise of opportunity. Worked for 14 months and burned out fast after "we need you to get your MCSA in two months so we can keep our platinum status" and I countered with "but I need more dollars" All I got was: No and here is a crappy micromanager for you instead of the cool one because you should be thankful for job All I did was: heeeey (former helpdesk boss) so I see you have an opening. His boss: so want to make a gentleman's agreement that you won't leave for at least two years? 8 years later: still there, multiple promotions later still love it. Caught former co-worker at conference and it's still the same.
tkbutton@reddit
Left a company because of fears over consolidation, came back three years later to work with the same people for a 50% raise from what I made before I left, and then I've stuck with the company to now be a Team Lead of the same group I started as an intern with.
Personally, I love where I work and what I do, so it worked out great for me.
- VMware admin/Team Lead for a company with 10k VM's 1000ish hosts.
chesser45@reddit
I’ve left and come back to the same company. Good reason to not leave on bad terms if you can avoid it.
If I leave again I hope I’d be welcome back again.
Wabbyyyyy@reddit (OP)
Thanks for your insight!
chesser45@reddit
Sometimes you just vibe / connect well with people there and it’s a good place to be. I definitely feel like leaving again would be scary because other places aren’t as chill.
Training_Yak_4655@reddit
OP's replies are beginning to look like... a bot.
Wabbyyyyy@reddit (OP)
Nah I’m not a bot lol…… look at my profile
Hollow3ddd@reddit
You say grass is greener, but returning to the same patch of grass, you already know the color
Mindestiny@reddit
I've onboarded and offboarded a lot of people in my time in IT. I can say pretty certainly - I have never seen someone across my career leave a company, come back, and then stay for any meaningful amount of time.
The comfort wears off, they remember all the reasons they left, and they leave again within a year or so. Every single time.
Wabbyyyyy@reddit (OP)
Funny enough you say this and I 100% believe you.
My old company has had a lot of people come back, while some have left again, a majority have actually stayed since returning. Some even stayed for 10+ years since coming back.
I know there’s a lot of factors to this so it will vary company to company or maybe even industry to industry
MeccIt@reddit
Same in my old company, we called them 'boomerangs' (the Australian hunting tool, not eh generation). Our company would have been tough but fair, and I assume the places they left for were rich and dumb, so they came back in (or were hunted back) with their eyes wide open. I was asked back but politely declined.
gakule@reddit
Flip side of this is I have seen it numerous times, but almost never in a small business. ~300-500 person companies seem to be the sweet spot for long-term returning employees.
nme_@reddit
I had the option to go back to an MSP that I had worked for for 7 ish years before jumping ship to another MSP for bump in pay and role. A year after I had been back in the job market as they had been acquired and I was offered severance.
Had another job offer from 2 other places, one of which was the first MSP I worked at.
I was really just torn on which direction I should go.. so I flipped a coin. Heads I was going to go back to the first company, tails I was going to go with this new gig.. my wife made me promise id take whatever job the coin landed on. And I said out loud, “yea, but what if it lands on tails?”
She looked at me and said, well, there is your answer!
ethnicman1971@reddit
I agree that it depends on why you left the first time. I left because I had an opportunity present itself I could not pass up. I was gone for several years when I saw a position open up. Turns out it was what my position turned into. I wound up on what was 75% of the same team. No ragerts at all.
Boring_Strength_6094@reddit
I did it. Went from infrastructure team to another MSP company and missed infrastructure. They offered my job back with a huge raise and I stayed there until my director left for a small company and brought me with him. lol.
PappaFrost@reddit
One of the risks to walking into a new company is that it's not a known quantity, so returning to an employer that is a known quantity might be good. I say go back for more money, and less surprise 24/7 on call BS. I can't believe you are on call 3 months out of the year by surprise. That is bait and switch BS.
Recent_Perspective53@reddit
I mean you left, so ask yourself why did you leave. If the reason you left is still an issue there what makes you think it would be better? If the issue you left there is less than the shit show you're doing now and it doesn't bother you as much then go back.
rubbishfoo@reddit
Sounds like a great opportunity from my pov; if your current company isn't interested in making changes, they are getting by on outsourcing burnout to the market. I've been there before, it's not worth it. Moving on would be my suggestion based on what you've written.
Wabbyyyyy@reddit (OP)
Thank you for the insight .
rubbishfoo@reddit
Best of luck to you. I know what it means to be frustrated & sometimes miserable at work also. You'll find the right way forward if you just stay true to yourself. Hang in there!
sleepthetablet@reddit
I left for 6 months for a contract job in a different state where some family lived, full didn't intend on coming going back, but contract was up and couldn't find meaningful work in high cost of living area. Old post was still open so I was welcomed back which was a great feeling in itself. I did end up leaving around a year and a half later though because of the big covid/tech hiring boom.
Training_Yak_4655@reddit
Returning to my first major IT employer is a recurring dream I have. It's a pleasant relief to wake up knowing it didn't actually happen. However a thoroughly fed up colleague did leave, retrained for a year as a teacher then couldn't find any teaching job despite having a degree in the relevant subject plus the teaching certificate. Because council pay scales meant he'd be too expensive. He returned and it was a pit of the stomach omen: You could leave than have to return, tail between your legs.
Wabbyyyyy@reddit (OP)
Thanks for your insight
DonFazool@reddit
One of my old companies called me to come back after they got ransomwared. I wasn’t happy where I was so I took the offer for 50% more than I was making, stayed a year to clean up the mess and re-architect things and then left again. Was win/win. They got me out of a shit place for more money and I helped them fix the mess.
Ironically I left because they didn’t listen and I saw signs of impending doom in their network logs. I knew they were going to get owned. Sure enough, a month or so after I left , Conti came knocking.
Wabbyyyyy@reddit (OP)
Thanks for your insight
ImpressionTiny6770@reddit
Completely depends on the reasons you left, and if you're going to be working on the same team. I went from executive branch, judicial, back to executive in state government as IT and my initial experience at the executive branch was the worst of my entire career and it lasted 2.5 years, but after going to the judicial branch for 3 years, and then back to the executive branch under an entirely different IT division (think desktop to sys admin) I can confidently say it was the best decision of my life.
Wabbyyyyy@reddit (OP)
Thanks for your insight
Adam_Kearn@reddit
I left a job I really enjoyed because there was not a lot of progression available at the time.
I was really in two minds about it as I enjoyed working there a lot.
After moving to the new company about 3 months in I experienced the same exact situation as you.
A lot of what they promised was soon very clear wasn’t going to happen anymore. Multiple people leaving soon due to the changes they enforced on everyone and new management doing everything possible to make it a shit show.
Then about 6mo in the company acquired and stated merging with another company. A week later the redundancies started happening…. As I had only been there about 11 months I was on the list…. (Last in, first out)
I was still in contact with my previous employer as we left on good terms and I was already considering moving back as soon as possible. So I kept dropping hints in our messages.
I dropped my previous manager a message the day after getting made redundant and about a month later I was able to work again in my previous role.
(I had a month to just chill and relax a bit before I started which was really handy)
One thing I’ve learned from this experience as you said yourself the grass is not always greener.
Wabbyyyyy@reddit (OP)
Thank you for the insight. I hope you are in a much better spot right now and everything’s going well
MalletNGrease@reddit
Leaving my last place was hard, I liked my colleagues, benefits were good, work was engaging but they didn't handle raises well so I bounced when a similar but better paying opportunity came around.
To illustrate how poorly it was handled, my employer offered me less than I was making as a counter offer 😅
If I found out they were hiring again, the pay matches my target salary and they want me back I'd be all over it. I'd slot right back in.
Wabbyyyyy@reddit (OP)
Thanks for your insight.
bitslammer@reddit
I'm now in my 5th year at a company I left about 11yrs ago after an initial 6yr run. No regrets at all.
Wabbyyyyy@reddit (OP)
Thank you for your insight
TheGenericUser0815@reddit
I didn't do it myself, but a colleague did. I think he is satified with his descision.
Wabbyyyyy@reddit (OP)
Thank you for your insight
SknarfM@reddit
Am in this situation now. Went back to the company I left for several years. Have a new position with better pay. The same issues and challenges remain that were there when I left. I initially left on good terms. Just needed a change of scenery. I'd say it's fine to go back. But make sure you go back to a better role.
Wabbyyyyy@reddit (OP)
Thanks for your insight. I left as a systems admin and they offered me a senior IT role. The benefits in general are much better at my old company and the better pay is nice too.
Laearo@reddit
I went back to my old MSP after 3 months, got a promotion as part of it, then left a year and a half later again
If they're happy to take you back, there's no harm in it, even if it's just while you find a similar position as what you'll be going back into elsewhere if there were other issues with the place
Master-IT-All@reddit
On call, I'd be already gone. This to me is a no brainer. On call rotation can fuck right off.
Wabbyyyyy@reddit (OP)
This. It was an interesting experience but never again. Nothing worse then getting woken up at 2am for a switch going down and taking longer to come up due to firmware upgrades and I get woken up because of it… plenty of times where I couldn’t fall asleep after and had to work a full 8 after
ThisIsMyITAccount901@reddit
A linear move is okay. But I'd never encourage a backwards move.
BadSausageFactory@reddit
Never go back. Relationships, neighborhoods, jobs. There's a reason you left in the first place.
The grass is always greener over the septic tank.
ConstructionSafe2814@reddit
I don't know. There might be mild reasons why he/she left. If you parted in good ways, why not?
Wabbyyyyy@reddit (OP)
I left originally due to various reasons. One of them being this project my old boss had us do during the summer. I’d be working 50-60 hours weeks all summer with no time to enjoy it. Various other reasons but my boss ended up quitting shortly and they have an MSP for day to day support. I’d be working more on the project side and not handling tickets as much