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I am working in the IT as a java developer for 2.5 years now. During the lockdown period, my productivity got a little low due to which, I think, my boss has put me on customer support role which primarily deals tickets with utmost priority when there is a request from customers. But most of the time there are no requests and I only get to work on lower priority tasks.

A senior colleague of mine just said that there would not be much learning here but I should be available whenever there is a request. My boss also confirmed that I should continue on this role for 2 months. Is looking for a new job at this time a good choice right now as I feel I have been almost put on bench in my company?

How do I discuss about this with my boss that this current position is not helping for any growth for my career?

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    You said you'll be in this role for 2 months... Do you not think that will be the case?
    – Gregory Currie
    Commented May 24, 2020 at 13:54
  • @GregoryCurrie The thing is if I add this role into my resume I felt this will not project me as a complete techie person to the recruiters.
    – Aravind S
    Commented May 24, 2020 at 14:12
  • "Is looking for a new job at this time a good choice right now?" No, of course not
    – Guillermo Mosse
    Commented May 24, 2020 at 15:24
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    Too many developers get this attitude when put into support roles. This is a terrific add to your resume. Diagnostics and customer interaction are huge. If there's not a lot of tickets, use that time to learn new things.
    – Joel Etherton
    Commented May 24, 2020 at 15:56
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    @Rich oh I get that. One of the keys to building a successful career is turning a setback to a primary goal into an opportunity towards achieving that goal. This is just one such opportunity.
    – Joel Etherton
    Commented May 24, 2020 at 16:10

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It's not clear why you don't like this role. If you think it will look bad on your CV, think again. Imagine reading:

I handled all the most important and top priority customer requests.

That sounds like an important person whose valuable time is not spent on fixing typos or changing background colours.

If you think you won't learn much, and there isn't much to do, then fill your time with learning! Take an online course or work on some automation thing that will make some other part of your job go more quickly. If they don't care how you spend your time, spend it in a way that makes you more valuable to them.

If you think you've been demoted and they don't value you any more, but you don't actually want to spend time becoming more valuable, then sure, look for a new job. That might be difficult with the lockdown, but it won't hurt to try. Continue doing your best where you are, because it helps your attitude stay positive during the job search. You might get to the end of the two months and see things improve where you are, or you might find a better job and move on. Either way is an improvement over your current situation.

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  • Thank you for the response. It did help me think about different perspectives on how to move on. If I could learn anything specific to project, yes, it will add some value but not very much from a career perspective is what I felt. As in, it won't be helpful if I move to new company. Because of this I find it difficult to manage learning things specific both to my project and to my career.
    – Aravind S
    Commented May 24, 2020 at 15:11
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Is looking for a new job at this time a good choice right now as I feel I have been almost put on bench in my company?

Not until you fix your productivity problem. Your current company knows you can be better than right now and it's lockdown related. They are probably willing to move you back to projects after the lockdown. Your new company however will see your current productivity as their baseline. They will not know you can do better and you might never get the chance to go into projects there.

So fix your productivity problem. Only then, if your company does not transfer you back, look for a new job.

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  • "Your new company however will see your current productivity as their baseline" Why would they? OP should talk about his role before the lockdown. Even if he mentions "my current company has me running the support desk during this slow period" as a good reason for leaving, that doesn't mean the new company will go "ah, he's a tech support guy now"...
    – Lilienthal ♦
    Commented May 24, 2020 at 15:39
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    @Lilienthal I'm not talking about the interview, I'm talking about their actual performance on the job, which they themselves said got worse during lockdown. It will not magically get better when switching companies.
    – nvoigt ♦
    Commented May 24, 2020 at 15:42
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    @Lilienthal OP says they believe they were moved to customer support because their productivity dropped. So if they get put on projects in another company and their productivity is still unusually low, what will the new company think? OP won't be trusted with interesting and important work if they can't be productive, no matter where they go.
    – Kat
    Commented May 24, 2020 at 15:45
  • @Kat Thanks for that bitter fact. Didn't think about that though. It finally gets to the point that looking for a job change right now, as in, until I improve my efficiency and productivity will not be a good gamble.
    – Aravind S
    Commented May 24, 2020 at 16:03

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