[Apreche]

The easiest way to move up is to change jobs. The biggest mistake I made was staying in one place too long. Then I changed employers a couple times. Got big upgrades in compensation and negotiated a four day work week.

If you don’t climb the ladder at your current job, and you don’t see co-workers climbing, that means climbing is not possible at that employer. Do not stay there more than 2–3 years.

I was afraid to change jobs because I felt safe and secure in my current position. I thought that going elsewhere would be a horror show. My friends often complained, truthfully, about how terrible their jobs were. Mine was way better than that, so I stayed put. But then when I eventually got the courage to change, every time I moved it got better and better.

[scarface_74]

The original poster doesn’t seem to be just looking for increased compensation though. They want more “autonomy”. The preparation you do for interviewing is different than what you do for more autonomy and I assume he means leading projects.

It’s hard to both change companies and get a promotion if you haven’t demonstrated working at the next level. By promotion, I don’t mean more money. I mean increased responsibility.

I agree with you though about not staying at a job too long. I did the same thing for many of the same reasons between 1999-2008 and it took me 6-8 years to recover both to be competitive in the market and locally compensation wise.