Taking a non-senior role after having a senior job title?

aderon

Is there anything I should be worried about in taking a regular non-senior role if my current job title has "senior" in it?  Will it be seen as a downgrade by future employers?  I currently work as a senior security engineer, but will be job hunting soon.  Ultimately, I'm going to take whichever job offers the most, but I'm worried that if I take a non-senior role it could hurt me in the future and could be seen as me wanting a downgrade in responsibilities.  Thoughts?

LionelTeo

No issue at all. Just take the role that pays the most - good hiring managers will know that this is a norm in the industry, a higher paying job usually means your role is more difficult and you can end up learning more and be more valuable in the industry.

Some industry pays a lot but gives a really trivial title to their employees to prevent them from leaving. Similarly, some industry pays really below market but hands out impressive titles to their employee prevent them from leaving to a lesser title. Some industry pays for a very high budget range, but willing to cut headcounts when needed. Don't really worry about the title, just go for the highest paying offer available. 

EANx

I pay very little attention to a title, I've seen people who were "senior" at the current job that might qualify to be junior in my location. Then there are the jobs where everyone is "senior". If the work being applied for is more complex or at least lateral to the work you're doing now, it's all good.

paul78

Depending on your current employer, title inflation may be a common occurrence. A seasoned hiring manager should be able to spot it and generally will consider those types of circumstances.

Good luck in your job search.

LonerVamp

I've actually done this. The subsequent job paid more, had better responsibilities, more freedom, and bigger team.

The titles ultimately don't really matter much, imo.

Infosec_Sam

I'd say @paul78 is correct here. The type of place that would disqualify you solely based on title is not the kind of place you'd want to work anyways. It sounds like you've gotten plenty of great advice already, and I would agree that title is not everything to many employers. There's nothing wrong with chasing a bigger paycheck!

mikey88

If you have this concern then I can assure you that some hiring managers will have the same concern.

Ultimately do what you think is best for your career.

JDMurray

What is "senior" at one business is "mid-level" at another and is "vice president" at Goldman Sachs. As a hiring manager, I would raise an eyebrow at a crossover from technical to management titles (or vice versa) if there was no prior experience, but not too much at a difference in technical title. If there were any interesting differences in titles on the resume I would ask about it in the first-round interview but not with any great concern.