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In case you find yourself in the situation, tell your employer. It may sound awkward to them at first that someone wouldn't want to be promoted, but in the end it is in their best interest to keep employees who ARE good at doing their jobs, instead of creating a situation where the same employee is suddenly no longer able to do a good job. This is no shallow talk by the way, but a well-documented, scientifically proven effect called the Peter Principle (which basically boils down to "everyone gets promoted until they reach the point of maximum incompetence and then get stuck in that position")
We as a society are trained to percieve "climbing the corporate ladder" as the main/only goal of working jobs with a hierarchy, but there is absolutely nothing wrong with staying at the level you're comfortable at. ;)
That’s a good point about the Peter Principle. What I’m referring to though is more like the ladder of existence. The hierarchy of stations in life.
Earlier I was a homeless man. Now I’m a single guy living in a small apartment, saving a tiny bit of money from a pretty hard and low-paid job. If I push a bit more I can be a single guy in a medium apartment, with a car, and a slightly higher-paying job.
But not a new job within the same company, just some totally different job that of a totally different nature. Hopefully more meaningful. Right now I’m making retail wages and doing retail work, so low pay for low meaning. But hopefully I can move up to something like social worker salary (not high in the overall scheme of things, but higher pay than retail work).
That corporate ladder is a microcosm of the overall ladder I’m describing. In both hierarchies successful execution, smooth surfing, is the path to the next layer up. And the responsibilities get more complex.
And yes, I appreciate you reminding me to face it and communicate, instead of just backing away silently, when I don’t feel that I’m ready to face the problems of the next level.
Growth requires discomfort and a big part of that discomfort is taking the risk of trying things I feel like I can’t do.
One of my problems in my career is I interview extremely well. I’ve talked my way into jobs I can’t do, then failed badly.
And it’s not by lying or anything. I just sound really smart because I’m a good talker and sound extremely confident.
But interviews are sprints and jobs are marathons, and I’ve burned myself by failing to acknowledge what I can and can’t do.
Ohh okay. I really misunderstood your point then, but thank you for clarifying ;)
Failing at something is not the end of the world. Sure it sucks at first, and possible setbacks in life aren't exactly cool either, but you DO sound like someone who refuses to stay down whenever life decided to knock you down, and that is something not everyone can do. That requires an inner strength and determination that a lot of people simply can't muster.
And you know what? Your idea of working in the social sector sounds like an excellent goal - it IS a hard job with little pay, but since you fought your way up from the bottom already, you have a completely different, deeper insight into related issues than someone who knows homelessness and its struggles only from a textbook. You will be able to understand clients in similar situations on a completely different level, and they in turn might be more inclined to trust your advice. You might be able to actually help people that simply fall through the cracks elsewhere.
Good luck, friend. May your spark never fade.