Is this a promotion or demotion?

[Adagio_Leopard]

I pitched a major change in the way we do quality control of our boards at the company I work at.
The process I pitched will integrate a lot of the manual tasks the guys downstairs keeps forgetting to do, like program the production firmware on boards shipped to America.
It will also provide a lot of metrics to the people that need it like pass/fail rates and provide tractability so we can figure out whos asleep on the job.

My boss approached me and told me he wants me to sign a paper that names me "Head of testing and repair" though, I doubt this will come with any kind of pay increase, and I'm concerned that if I do move to a different job in the future they will have questions on why I want to get a job in engineering if my old title had nothing to do with engineering. (My title at the moment is junior hardware engineer)

Will they be offended if I offered a different title? Like QC engineer?
I don't know. I'd appreciate some advice.

 

[HolyCowImAnoOb]

Lead Quality Control Engineer

Sounds sweet to me.

https://www.pnet.co.za/jobs--Quality-Engineer-Industrial-Engineer-Johannesburg-KingsleyIrons-Recruitment--3661539-inline.html?rltr=6_6_25_seorl_s_0_0_0_0_0_0

 

[Adagio_Leopard]

Lead Quality Control Engineer

Sounds sweet to me.

https://www.pnet.co.za/jobs--Quality-Engineer-Industrial-Engineer-Johannesburg-KingsleyIrons-Recruitment--3661539-inline.html?rltr=6_6_25_seorl_s_0_0_0_0_0_0

That does have a nice ring to it doesn't it? XD

 

[ovisser1]

Why not just ask the guy who handed you the paper ?

Are they looking to tick a compliance box with the title or do they actually want you to do some good ?
His attitude when he asked you to sign would have given the answer away.

Sitting you down and smooth talking you means they appreciate the extra work (most likely promotion), if they literally just asked "sign here" i've got my money on a legal reason.

 

[Adagio_Leopard]

Why not just ask the guy who handed you the paper ?

Are they looking to tick a compliance box with the title or do they actually want you to do some good ?
His attitude when he asked you to sign would have given the answer away.

Sitting you down and smooth talking you means they appreciate the extra work (most likely promotion), if they literally just asked "sign here" i've got my money on a legal reason.

The CEO hinted at having me sign papers though they haven't given me anything yet.

I really struggle reading him.
I doubt it's nefarious. Don't think they want to get rid of me. I have too many responsibilities and knowledge. They'll have to hire at least 3 people to replace me.

And it's not a mega corporate area. We're a teeny tiny company.

 

[el3venth]

I am also in Engineering.

The last time I submitted my CV (successfully) for a dream job, that I was underqualified according to the ad, I did not even bother to list any of my previous titles.
I redesigned my CV to just list the projects that I completed, and my roles in the those projects. Got to the interview and they asked my highly technical questions around the projects and I could answer it.

Stop calling a receptionist the "Director of First Impressions," a school lunch server an "Education Center Nourishment Consultant," a garbage collector a "Sanitation Engineer," or a dishwasher a "Gastronomical Hygiene Technician." - Quote from here

 

[ovisser1]

I am also in Engineering.

The last time I submitted my CV (successfully) for a dream job, that I was underqualified according to the ad, I did not even bother to list any of my previous titles.
I redesigned my CV to just list the projects that I completed, and my roles in the those projects. Got to the interview and they asked my highly technical questions around the projects and I could answer it.

Stop calling a receptionist the "Director of First Impressions," a school lunch server an "Education Center Nourishment Consultant," a garbage collector a "Sanitation Engineer," or a dishwasher a "Gastronomical Hygiene Technician." - Quote from here

Something I noticed recently that I liked was King Price's mail signatures, they have the "formal" title at the bottom, scratched out with a layman's terms next to it.

Some aren't even layman's terms, some are even funny alternatives. Was quite cool to see.

 

[D3TTOL]

Something I noticed recently that I liked was King Price's mail signatures, they have the "formal" title at the bottom, scratched out with a layman's terms next to it.

Some aren't even layman's terms, some are even funny alternatives. Was quite cool to see.

I've seen little funny things on emails like "Lets break it until it works" or "Five coffees fixes everything"

 

[ovisser1]

I've seen little funny things on emails like "Lets break it until it works" or "Five coffees fixes everything"

Not quite like that.

eg my brother's signature shows "Motorcycle assessor Wheelie assessor' - and yes you guessed it, because he loves to wheelie his company bike.

 

[Scrooloose]

I also insisted on a better title in the past and it was given to me, I think it was in 2006 or thereabouts when I thought titles meant something.

FWIW, titles don't hold you back when applying for jobs. A good CV is a good CV. Where I work, my official title is Systems Engineer. No mention of Virtualisation, Storage, Kubernetes or being the technical architect, yet that's what I do. Don't focus on the fancy words.

I pitched a major change in the way we do quality control of our boards at the company I work at.
The process I pitched will integrate a lot of the manual tasks the guys downstairs keeps forgetting to do, like program the production firmware on boards shipped to America.
It will also provide a lot of metrics to the people that need it like pass/fail rates and provide tractability so we can figure out whos asleep on the job.

My boss approached me and told me he wants me to sign a paper that names me "Head of testing and repair" though, I doubt this will come with any kind of pay increase, and I'm concerned that if I do move to a different job in the future they will have questions on why I want to get a job in engineering if my old title had nothing to do with engineering. (My title at the moment is junior hardware engineer)

Will they be offended if I offered a different title? Like QC engineer?
I don't know. I'd appreciate some advice.