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I am a software engineer for a big company. I will be leaving the company in about 6 weeks. They asked me to learn new technologies which will take about 2 weeks to learn. They want me to then be the lead in that technology. If I only give 2 weeks notice, this means I will learn the new technology, work for 2 weeks, then give my 2 weeks notice. This seems like a loss for the company as well as my time, as I would never use this technology again.

Should I just keep going as though I am going to stay at the company? Or should I let them know the plan?

If I tell them in advance, do I run the risk of losing employment sooner than I am ready? It seems to me the ethical thing to do is inform them, but I am afraid it could backfire.

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    The professional thing is to inform them asap. People leaving is as common as sunshine. It will give them time to hire your replacement. They might decide on you learning the technology then(mostly no).
    – Koushik Shetty
    Jun 14, 2015 at 16:41
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    Suppose you give 6 weeks notice now. They may decide that you should go after only 2 weeks from now, leaving you with 4 weeks of nothing to do before you start your next obligation
    – Brandin
    Jun 14, 2015 at 17:16
  • @KoushikShetty This training has nothing to do with the need to hire a replacement.
    – paparazzo
    Jun 14, 2015 at 17:19
  • Where are you located? Cultural factors may come into play here.
    – Myles
    Jun 15, 2015 at 19:06
  • Can you meet in the middle and tell them you don't feel you're the right person to be the lead of the new technology?
    – Dean MacGregor
    Jun 24, 2015 at 4:57

3 Answers 3

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Its tough to say...

It really depends on your relationship with management. How long you have been there, whether other employees have given longer notice periods, etc will impact this.

Ideally you'd give more than 2 weeks but if you have reason to believe management may let you go in the meantime you are under no obligation to do so.

Unfortunately, I can't really give a better answer without knowing the office politics of your company.

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If your next position is a 'sure thing', you should let your current employer know ASAP.

Your personal reputation is a very valuable asset. Even if you think you won't have dealings with this manager/company in the future, you could be surprised. People change jobs, you may want to go back to this company, or you may end up working with someone from there at a completely new place. You never know.

They may still want you to complete the training and do the remaining four weeks of work, it just depends on what it is and how valuable it may be to the company.

Doing the 'right thing' (and it sounds like you already know what that is) is the way to go. You will leave with a better reputation, connections you may be able to use to your advantage in the future, and you will just feel better about the whole thing.

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Wow tuff call

Don't know where you live but a longer notice is probably not the best route. In many locations they can terminate you immediately once they have your resignation.

If you want to give them a heads up talk to the person that is scheduling the training and let them know that you are considering other employment. Especially if you are on good terms with that person. They would have to outright fire you and depending on local law that may not even be a valid cause for dismissal.

In the overall scheme of things two weeks of training is not that big of a deal. The bigger impact to the company is they are losing a person they want to be lead in a technology. Having the replacement put in 2 weeks of training is just not that big of a deal.

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