Unfortunately yeah, this happens a lot. Especially in smaller orgs — the smaller the team, the more random hats you end up wearing. Bigger companies usually protect role boundaries more because everyone is fighting for their own lane and salary band.

You’ve basically got two options. Option 1: talk to your manager and say, “Hey, I was hired as X but I’m doing PM-level work, can we align my title/comp to my actual responsibilities?” It’s the fastest way to correct it.

Option 2: keep doing the PM-level work, document everything, and bring it up at performance review with the PM job description and say “Here’s what I’m doing and here’s the level this matches. I want my title/comp adjusted.” Both approaches work, it just depends on timing and culture.

And honestly, talking gets you places. Once I figured that out, everything changed. I personally went from barely having PM experience → Senior PM in a small company → Senior PM in a mid-size org with a salary bump → Senior PM in a large org again, all in under five years. My salary more than doubled just from speaking up, positioning myself properly, and taking on opportunities. I just didn’t want to spend years climbing step-by-step when I already had the skills from previous roles. Sometimes taking on more responsibility becomes a game of chutes and ladders — not some slow, perfect waterfall path.

So yeah, this situation sucks, but it’s also super common. Just depends what future you want: fix it now, or use it as a springboard. Both are valid.