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Similar questions have been asked before, but I feel my situation is slightly different so I would like to hear someone else's opinion.

My employer is looking at adopting a new piece of technology, and through the project that I'm involved, I'm the one who has been designated to pick this up. They are looking at having other colleagues also pick it up, but as I'm the only one in this project, I'm the one who is starting it all. This means I've been spending some figuring out how to best adopt it and I'm also expected to attend some courses. Now, I don't mind doing this, the technology is interesting and it sounds like fun.

The problem I am facing is that I am trying to switch to a different field within my industry, so I am not planning on staying at this company. I don't have a lot of experience in this new field, so I'm currently working on some side-projects to brush up on my skills before I start applying for jobs, so I have no idea how long it will take before I feel comfortable making the switch.

On the one side, as I don't know when I'll be leaving, I don't really want to mention anything as I don't want to suggest I'm leaving before I have anything lined up. On the other side, I feel bad about been given this responsibility knowing I want to leave and I wonder if I should just make up some excuse as to why I don't want to do it.

Should I just keep it to myself or is it worth mentioning anything?

See these other questions for reference:
How best to handle leaving a company when there is training already booked and paid for in advance?
Company has been highly invested in my training. Is it okay to leave?
Changing jobs shortly after expensive training

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  • What's the timeline on the adoption? When does your employer expect the new software to be widely used?
    – xyldke
    Commented Aug 1, 2022 at 14:15
  • 1-2 years, so the expectation is to be in this role for quite some time.
    – user3420224
    Commented Aug 1, 2022 at 16:10

4 Answers 4

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Should I just keep it to myself or is it worth mentioning anything?

Since you have no idea how long you will still be there, keep it to yourself until it's time to give your notice.

After doing some side projects and/or getting some interviewing under your belt, you may even decide that you don't actually want to change fields.

There's no need to commit to anything now. Save that for when your plans are definite.

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  • Thanks for the answer. I agree with you, I am probably just overthinking this!
    – user3420224
    Commented Aug 1, 2022 at 16:12
  • 1
    @user3420224 If you want to avoid leaving your employer in the lurch, you can talk to your manager about cross-training other staff as a contingency plan. Even if you weren't thinking of leaving, it's good to have redundancy in case of illness/leave/etc. and you can lean on those contingencies to make the case for training somebody else.
    – G_B
    Commented Aug 2, 2022 at 3:19
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Look at it this way.

They have chosen to set up this new technology transition with a Bus Factor of 1. If you get hit by the Magic Bus over the weekend before they bring someone else up to speed, they are screwed, and it will be THEIR OWN FAULT.

This kind of thing is not hypothetical. My former employer lost a critical electrical design engineer to a car wreck, and they lost their ONLY components engineer to a nasty flu virus. Losing a key employee to a job change is essentially the same thing.

If they were smart, they'd have about three people all coming up to speed at the same time, and they'd be talking to each other, so that, if any one of them became suddenly and permanently unavailable, they would not be totally screwed.

They've shown you they aren't that smart.

As the others all said: Don't say ANYTHING until it becomes NECESSARY to say it.

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  • I always prefer “if you win millions in the lottery “…
    – gnasher729
    Commented Oct 16, 2022 at 10:33
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The way to change jobs is always the same: Find a new job. Together with the new company, sign a legally binding contract. Give the legally required notice to the old company.

It shouldn't happen, but some people/companies react badly when you announce that you want to leave. The safest for you is to give the minimum required notice when you need to give it. The rest is not your problem.

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  • This is exactly my concern. Although I do feel like my manager wouldn't mind too much if I mentioned I am leaving, I am not 100% sure and I don't want to shoot myself in the foot, especially with the current job market.
    – user3420224
    Commented Aug 1, 2022 at 16:13
  • Without revealing your intention to leave, you can suggest your manager to assign one more person to take on this new piece of tech. People can take extended leave, get sick or be in an accident, so the company should have a backup plan. Keep notes on what you've learned to pass down to your replacement. This way you don't have to feel guilty.
    – KC Wong
    Commented Aug 3, 2022 at 4:30
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As a general rule (and this has already been stated many other times in many other answers), never, ever, ever say anything to your current employer about your "intention to leave" until you have a signed contract from a new company.

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