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General comments: I have stayed too long when things were crummy. They didn't start crummy; they became crummy as things changed. (Companies are only good to work for until they're not. Just about nowhere is good forever.) You can tell when things have become crummy, but you can remember that it used to be good, and so you're tempted to ride it out. Do that, but only for a few months. After, say, 3 to 6 months of no improvement, it's time to have your resume hit the street. On the other hand, if you have good pay, good people, and good working conditions, think hard before you leave that. It's not easy to find a place that will be an improvement. My advice would be to ride that out as long as it keeps being good (but see previous paragraph). Specific advice: Are you concerned that you're not growing, or do you feel that you're not growing? That is, is this a head issue, or a heart and gut issue? If you feel that you're not growing, if you feel that you need to be doing more for your own sense of satisfaction on the job, then go to your boss, and tell him/her/other that you feel that you need more responsibility. On the other hand, if it's not bothering you at a gut level, if it's more a "should" or expectation that you think other people have for you, then maybe take a look at what you can actually do now. Are you really not better than you were a decade ago? Five years ago? Do you still write the same bugs you did then? Do you still get stumped by the same questions you did then? Can you handle bigger designs than you did then? Are you really not growing, or are you just not seeing that you've grown? It's really easy (especially on HN!) to see "yeah, I started Facebook at 19" or whatever, and feel that at 30, I should be able to do more than I can. But that's not a realistic standard of comparison, and not a realistic expectation to put on yourself. |