[Discuss] What is my work title?

Jack Coats jack at coats.org
Thu Mar 29 16:48:16 EDT 2012


On Thu, Mar 29, 2012 at 3:25 PM, Richard Pieri <richard.pieri at gmail.com> wrote:
> Your title has little bearing on the work you do.  It's what your box on the
> org chart is called.  It may also be a pay grade reference.  Check with your
> HR people if you've forgotten your formal title.
>
> --
> Rich P.

The 'title' thing has been used over the years initially as a
description of your job function,
now it is a legal moniker that takes a blue-screen-powerpoint-from-HR
to describe, then
it normally doesn't make sense.

For Sysadmins, the group SAGE came up with titles and definitions of
what it takes to have that title years ago.
A few organizations use it, but not many in the grand scheme of
things.  Also the term 'engineer'
in many states is a legal term, as does 'doctor' or 'architect' or
'Reverend' (and the various ministerial titles),
making it illegal to use them without appropriate credentials (as
defined in state laws).
And the term 'engineer' has bee so overloaded with people trying to
add prestige, it has lost most of its meaning to the general public.

Also, I have seen (and occasionally used) functional titles at work,
vs the HR titles needed to fill
out a hierarchical org-chart for payroll/legal reasons.

... Jack
Grand Poobah of Being HMFWICH



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