Posting here for continuity.
A few weeks ago I posted that I got snubbed for a promotion and instead was given a new role/title but it was not necessarily official in the sense of going all the way to HR. To me it felt like a consolation prize.
We've finally met as a team, and I know that not all of the promotions are bound to happen (mine has but again isn't necessarily a real promotion).
I was also told that I could apply for another internal role that in theory would have loved. However they decided to make that role fairly junior, so not right for me. My manager also confirmed (through her own experience) that they don't jump titles at this company.
So in a nutshell, there's no real room for growth. I also finally realised why I don't fully love my role. I'm very inquisitive and my brain is always analysing something (I'm in the process of being diagnosed as ND).
My "new" role can potentially have more of this, so in that sense it's premature. However the lack of growth will remain.
I really like the company as a whole and don't want to move. Knowing that I'll have to wait for another two years to feel safe in a role fills me with dread. But also knowing that I'm doing something that doesn't fulfill me, and that has limited growth makes feel like I'll end up unhappy long term.
Thanks for reading that whole mini novel. I've also thought of retraining or doing another masters or maybe even an MBA but I'm not convinced about that path either.