[bethling]

This is very true - at one point when I worked at Amazon, my manager told me that if I was already the next level, I'd easily be exceeding expectations. But the work I was doing wouldn't actually get me there.

It ran contrary to what I had been told - do the work of the next level, and you'll be promoted to that level. It was tough adjusting, and I ended up moving into management. I got lucky in that I enjoy it, but I do miss doing the hands on work from time-to-time.