Doing Two Jobs for One Salary: When to Push Back on Unrecognised PM Work
3 August 2026 2 min read
Doing PM-scope work under a Coordinator title for a while is a reasonable way to build evidence toward a title change or a new job. Doing it indefinitely, with no path toward recognition, is a different thing entirely — and it’s worth being honest with yourself about which one is actually happening.
The difference between building a case and being taken advantage of
Building a case looks like: you’ve raised the gap directly with your manager, there’s a real (if imperfect) plan or timeline toward addressing it, and you can point to signs of progress. Being taken advantage of looks like: you’ve raised it and been told “not yet” more than once with no concrete reason, the goalposts move each time you get close, or the response is some version of “we already know you’re doing great work” used as a substitute for actually changing anything.
Why this happens, structurally
It’s rarely a single person being deliberately unfair. More often, it’s simply that nobody is financially incentivised to fix it — your manager gets the PM-level output at a Coordinator-level cost, and unless there’s a specific trigger (you leaving, a formal review, a policy change) there’s no natural moment that forces the conversation. Understanding that this is structural, not personal, makes it easier to push back without it feeling like a confrontation.
What pushing back actually looks like
It doesn’t have to be dramatic. A direct, calm version: “I’ve raised this twice now and I want to understand specifically what needs to happen for the title and pay to reflect the work I’m doing. If that’s not realistic here, I need to know that too, because it affects decisions I’m making.” This isn’t a threat — it’s a request for honesty, and it’s a completely reasonable one to make after you’ve already tried the softer version once or twice.
Know your alternative before you have this conversation
This conversation goes better when you’re not depending entirely on the outcome — see internal transfer or external job search for building a parallel option before you need it. You don’t have to be ready to leave to have the conversation, but knowing you could changes how it goes, even if you never say so out loud.
It’s fair to protect your own time, too
If the unrecognised work is expanding well past your actual job description with no compensation attached, it’s reasonable to start scoping your effort back to what you’re actually paid for — not as punishment, but because indefinitely absorbing more responsibility with no corresponding recognition isn’t sustainable, and it isn’t your job to subsidise a gap someone else should be fixing.