Background
My formal training was generic (Systems, Dev, Project Management) - no particular expertise, just "good enough" to start and learn on the job.
I started off as an ops guy in a small company for about two years: very small team, wide array of clients. I got to do some programming, be it small modifications for clients or writing a new tool for the team to use.
Job ended, but I could afford to take the necessary time to re-orient my career.
Fast forward almost a year, I got on hired on a 3-month "Java/Angular Fullstack" crash course (aimed at people radically switching fields) after which a company (let's call it A) was to extend offers to the trainees.
Work
First day with all the new hires in a room (company A), a list of our names and postings: DevOps. I went to see the higher-ups the second day, and the situation was eventually corrected. Got to work on a small in-house project, which was great.
Right when the in-house project ended, another company (let's call it B) contacted my company and extended an offer, as company A had already shown them my profile.
Wonderful! Except the position was part ops. The offer was extended to me directly, and my response was expected later the same day.
My manager's (comp. A) stance on it was: "It's great, and otherwise you don't really know what fate awaits you once your profile is out there for all managers to see".
Current Situation
Fast forward a few months: So far I have worked (at company B) a grand total of 15 days actually doing something related to software. The rest has been deployment, testing and documentation of other components. Dev/Ops ratio is the inverse of what was advertised.
I found out recently that a piece of software I was told I'd work on had actually been scheduled for decommissioning before I took the job.
TL;DR
Was Ops, wanted to be Dev. Did what I thought was necessary, had one nice little project. Got baited / forced into mostly Ops again. Am currently ever-so-slightly irritated.
The question(s?), at last
- What steps can I take to salvage the current situation and (hopefully) get a healthier work distribution at company B?
- How (if at all) should I address this situation with my current manager (at company A)?
- Faced with similar "offers" in the future, how do I "play ball" while still preserving my own interests?
Thank you for making it through this wall of text, I look forward to reading your advice!