It Is Not Uncommon For The Job Description To Deviate From The Actual Job — And Can Be Annoying — But Think Carefully Before You Take Any Action

Ask anyone in a professional setting and you will probably hear the same thing – they joined a company with a specific role and over time, or perhaps even almost right away – their job duties changed until the point where they no longer matched what the person originally was hired to do.

Shifting job roles is a common conundrum in professional settings, especially when working in fields like data science where technologies shift quickly, but it can also happen a lot when working for small companies, where it is common for one person to jump in and help out with many tasks.

If you were hired to crunch data but suddenly find yourself in charge of keeping the staff kitchen clean, it may be natural to speak up – but first of all, let’s cool off for a sec.

What To Do if Your Data Science Job Description Does Not Match the Work You Are Doing

Finding yourself tasked with doing work you did not expect to have to handle can be frustrating and annoying, but it does not have to be something you quit over. In fact, it can be an unexpected boost to your career. Let’s look at some things you can do when this happens.

• Think before you act: If you are a new hire, keep in mind that it can take weeks, months, or even more to really get into your work role and become an effective and contributing team member. There’s also a good chance that for your first 90 days, you are in a probationary period, and that at the end of the 90 days, you will meet with your supervisor where you can bring up an issue like this.
• Keep in mind that your job description is not a binding document: If you were hired to crunch data but are instead sweeping the floors, you may not have much say in the matter. That said, if you think you were deliberately misled about your job duties, you may have a legal issue on your hands.
• Schedule a meeting but be open to what you hear: If you think bringing this issue up is a good idea, ask your manager for a meeting to talk about it. There may be a simple misunderstanding, or this could be done on purpose since you are new. But you may also learn that your employer is not someone you want a long-term relationship with – and finding a new job may be in order.
• Stay positive and keep in mind that change is inevitable: In the end, the only thing you can control is your attitude – and if your job never changes, you might be in a dying industry. Gaining new training to succeed in your new role could be just the thing that lands you the next great job.