I have to wonder if this is some kind of record

As of next week, I will have been working with the same company, more or less, for 10 years.

When I joined, the company was in the process of merging with another company based in a different state (and in a completely different line of business). I started with the original company name and an email address based on the original name.

So that’s company name 1 and email 1.

Once the merger finished, we moved to company name 2, then changed email address to the first of what would end up being three email addresses - we’ll call those email addresses 2, 3, and 4.

A few years later, the entire conglomerate was sold to $MEGACORP$, who mainly wanted our sibling groups, not us. This led to company name 3, and email address 5.

Then, late last year, our group, which was originally company name 1 and included a fair amount of the same people I started with 10 years ago, which brings me to my current situation: company name 4, and email address 6.

So, is this some kind of record for changing company name and company email address while still working for (mostly) the same people?

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That sounds like a record to me! :trophy:

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I’m curious, what has been your journey of job titles over the 10 years? And how has that had an impact on the “gravitas” of the role within each version of company name n?

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My job title hasn’t changed much. It’s been either Software Quality Analyst or Software Quality Engineer, depending on the whims of the parent company.

I’ve been the only tester in my group the whole time, so there hasn’t exactly been much (any) upward movement available, especially since I have no desire to be in management. I wouldn’t mind technical team lead, but as a team of 1, that’s not really happening.

As far as impact on the “gravitas” of the role, once I’d asked enough awkward questions that led to major rework, my team leadership started treating me more like a valuable asset than a button pusher. The title didn’t make any difference to that - I routinely introduced myself as a “tester” the whole time anyway.

I think that’s the highest I’ve heard!

I was at 3 companies with 3 email addresses at the previous place I worked.

Startup to one big company to sold off to a second big company!

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I can relate to that.

In my previous company, it was bought 4 times over the 14 years I was there, all for similar reasons you stated (they wanted the other company groups and we just tagged along with the sale) - So I had an email when I joined, which changed 5 times during my time with them.

I was in IT support then though, not Testing.

The changes expose a few issues, don’t they?

When I started, I got an MSDN account that was tied to email 1. The confusion that happened with every email change mad life decidedly interesting - I think at one point all of the prior email addresses were being accepted somewhere in the MSDN system. It didn’t get better when they renamed themselves to Visual Studio Subscriptions, either.

Then there’s the other work tools we use that are online… I quickly learned to loathe any and all organizations that use email address as the username. When you’ve been on a platform for 5 years and can’t use the reset password tool because the email address you started with has been retired, it’s a major pain to get anything done!

Sounds like a record to me. Personally I would likely have lost my toys at some point. Acquisitions often require tool changes, and I just find some changes to be like so many coats of paint. Good on you for sticking it out.