New Job

My boss paged me today at work with the following message: "I need to talk to you ASAP." That was it, and of course his name and number followed. I called him immediately, and he asked if I could see him in his office right away. Ok.

It was a long walk up from the plant to his office, wondering what in the world was going on. I seriously thought for a minute that I was about to be fired. Then I realized that I really hadn't done anything wrong, so I felt a little better. But I still thought I was going to be in trouble, however unjustified it may have been.

Well, I got up there and there was another guy in the office. The first thing my boss said, probably due to the estranged look on my face, was "you're not in trouble." Whew! The other guy left, and then my boss asked me to close the door. I sit down, and he says he wants to make me the Plant Chemist. Just like that, effective this Saturday. He proceeded to explain that I will be taking the guy's place who had just walked out, that guy is basically being promoted, and the other guy (who's place he is taking) will be moved to my position. Basically, the explanation for all this is that I have gotten entangled in a job swap designed to take away responsibility from someone else who is doing a poor job. Personally, I don't think I am qualified to be the Plant Chemist, who is the technical expert for all things Chemistry at the plant. Secondly, I don't think the guy who is being "moved" to my current position will handle it well at all. He just doesn't play well with others, and that's all I do all day. So I'm not really sure how all this is going to go. I don't know what I would do if I were put in my boss's position, because he is absolutely right that some people aren't doing their jobs well. I really hope it doesn't screw our department up even more, because as much as I can't wait to leave, I want to see them improve and work well together and be successful in the long run.

For those who have lost track, my job titles have changed as follows so far:
System Engineer --> Chemistry Engineer --> Chemistry Foreman (aka Lab Supervisor) --> Plant Chemist --> ???

Oh, I almost forgot the best part about this... I will have my own office - that's right office, not cubicle - AND it has a window!