[crpatino]

The title says it is about Dead End Jobs, but it is not. It is about People That Cannot Stay Put In a Damned Place. Look at this quote:

> "Yes, unfortunately, even good jobs can be dead-end jobs—or positions with little to no room for advancement."

This is the massive obsession our culture has developed around growth and progress. The whole premise of this article is that if you are not eager to make it big and shoot for the starts in your chosen profession, there's something flawed inside you and you should take immediate action to fix it.

There might be a bit of hyperbole from my part, but the article actually suggest to switch careers and follow your passion if you find yourself unable to keep moving ahead. As if the work of a lifetime can be thrown down the window every other day.

Another petite peeve is that you shouldn't want to "still [be] doing the exact same work today as you did two years ago when you first started with the company." If that is the case, it either took you just a few weeks to master your position, or you have never taken the time to actually master anything. Whichever it is you better keep hopping, because sooner or later someone like me is going to come and automate that job from under your feet.

[verisimilidude]

If you ever find yourself in a dead-end job that you love, you'll understand.

In my case, I had to leave a position I really liked because it simply didn't pay a livable wage, with no raise or promotion in sight. Taking low pay to engage your passion is great when you're single, but the game changes once you get married and/or have kids. For me, leaving had nothing to do with the rat-race and everything to do with meeting the basic needs of my family. I suspect others who've found themselves in this situation would be able to give other reasons, too, that are not related to growth for the sake of it.

[crpatino]

I have found myself in that situation too, and I also decided to jump ships.

My original point was that it is a qualitatively different position to be stuck in a job that prevents you from reaching your goals (or even get a paycheck above poverty line), than to be "stuck" in a job that fails to challenge your intellectual curiosity.

[goodcanadian]

I agree with you to a point. I do think that society is obsessed over "growth" and "progress." If you are happy where you are, then stay.

The trouble is that I am one of those people who feels a drive to keep "moving forward," whatever that means. I have had a job that was by most measures great, but after 5 years, I was still doing exactly the same thing. I was very good at it, and could do it in my sleep, but that meant the challenge had gone out of it. I needed something new. Sadly, I expect that I will spend most of my life like that. As soon as I master one challenge, I will be seeking a new one.

[crpatino]

I think there is a time for everything. Early in your life (professional or otherwise) the heuristic to grow/progress/move forward makes a lot of sense, because you have limited resources. So whatever are your goals, you are better off if you start moving ahead in a somewhat general direction as soon as possible.

But as you make progress, you hopefully gain experience and insight. You learn what it's like out there and what role you want to play in it. Otherwise, the world comes and tell you who you are and who you should be. At this stage, course correction and precision triumph over raw speed. There's a song I like a lot which says: "I don't know which goes faster, the mountain or the crab".

At the end of day, every life form starts with rapid growth. Some of those reach stability, others reach the carrying capacity of their environment.

[roc]

> " The whole premise of this article is that if you are not eager to make it big and shoot for the starts in your chosen profession, there's something flawed inside you and you should take immediate action to fix it."

It seems a reasonable premise, given the audience of that site.

Though they might want to have considered prioritization. E.g. If you're constantly networking, job-hunting, and proving yourself at new firms, that's necessarily less time for you to 'hack' other areas of your life.

A 'good' dead-end job is a pretty great place to be if your spare time is focused on writing a book, building a house, training for a triathlon, etc.

[skylan_q]

Personally, I don't advance solely because of the money. My main motivation is facing and overcoming new challenges. I've worked for a couple startups and another small company. In my experience I face challenges at the start and overcome them while leaving my imprint. Soon after, things are better then when I showed up and the place starts feeling stale. I suppose I just hunger for more punishment. :p The increases in pay are just an added bonus that makes the other stuff in life slightly easier.