> Choice 1 - without a contract a handshake means nothing, and as you've said they'll let you apply for the jobs, but that still doesn't guarantee you'll be given them (especially if you become very useful in L2/L3 support).

Yeah, that's literally the situation I'm in with my current role. I asked about moving across to the development team (even as an intern for a month unpaid) and was told "your role is too difficult to fill".

I expect that is a serious possibility. As a plus, I did come into the business with a clear mandate so it won't be much of a surprise if I leave for a dev role after a year.

> Will the Choice 1 job make you work less hours? If so that frees up more time to work on dev projects on the side, and you could use that to your advantage.

The hours are fixed (9-5), which is better than my current position.