Company you love but zero promotion opportunity?

[carolinesfrog]

Laying here awake fretting so I wanted to canvass some outside opinion.

I work for a lovely company. A promotion was due to become available soon but is now no longer available and is unlikely to be for ~5 years. It's a specialism so there is only that one single job role possible for me to move into if I want to progress.

So now I'm faced with... do I leave for a new job or stick with a company I know and love and just wait for hopefully/possibly a promotion in a few years.

Pros:
I am paid well, although this is just at market rate for my skills and experience
My benefits and bonuses are excellent, above market rate. This year circa £18k, next year will be in the region of £30-50k, the year after probably a lot less, circa £5k.
Hybrid working.
I never get the Sunday night blues. I genuinely (mostly!) enjoy my job and the people, and this is the first job in a long time that I feel like this.
My colleagues are mostly wonderful, the company is buzzy and a great environment.

Cons
My boss is inexperienced and leans on me heavily and often takes the credit. There is no one here for me to learn from.
It's a long commute but that's likely to be the case wherever I work.
Family-wise, my plan was to focus on career/money for the next 5 years, then to consider having a baby. If I stay put, I feel I'm "wasting" those 5 years!? Im mid 30s.

Anyway... WWYD?!

There is absolutely no harm in having a look around at other jobs, applying and seeing where you get.

Until you sign a contract, you don't have to accept a job if you get an offer...

And you never know - you may find a different company with a lovely team/attitude to staff where there is opportunity for promotion/learning/you may enter at a higher level.

Without looking, you'll never know!

Just don't quit before you find somewhere else, and I wouldn't advertise that you're looking elsewhere

Definitely start looking for other work just to get a feel what else is out there but don't feel like you have to jump into the first one you get.

It's a really tough decision really and I think it comes down to whether you'd prefer to just have an easy life or whether you want to climb the career ladder.

Sounds like you've peaked at your current place and there is nowhere else for you to go. At the same time, it is really hard to find a workplace where you genuinely like your colleagues and enjoy being there. Also, if you've been there for a long time, how do you think you would cope with the change?

There is a lot to consider.

For me, if I was in my mid 30s with decent salary and wanting kids, I'd stay put. However I am sure that there are a lot of personal factors for you that I don't know about it.

At mid 30s I wouldn't be waiting 5 years to have a baby....you do realise your close to the age when it's medically proved that fertility starts to decline....I'd start planning a family now and go for the promotion in 5 years

If you are mid-30s and want a baby you can't wait 5 years. Almost all of the women you see having first babies after 40 have had fertility treatment, they just don't talk about it.

Don't do it to yourself. Have the baby now and enjoy the maternity leave from your lovely company. You might want to go for promotion after maternity or your priorities might have changed and you'll be glad you're in a well-paid stable job you enjoy that is well within your skill set.

Have a look around at what's out there, save job descriptions and use the skills required to sort out any gaps in your knowledge/skills so you're in a great position to apply for a job. It's also absolutely fine to apply for jobs that sound interesting - going for an interview enables you to see other work places, find out what they're like. Even if they offer you the job it's common for candidates to turn the offer down if it isn't right for them - you don't get a 'feel' for the place as much before the interview. Interviews now are quite different to how they were even a few years ago and I've had to practice my interview skills to be able to land a better job.

If you're mid-30s now and planning to start a family it might well be sensible to do that sooner rather than later. We started trying when I was 31 and DD eventually arrived when I was 36! It can also be helpful to be in a stable, good job whilst trying, especially if you end up needing fertility treatment, as you don't need any extra stress or be trying to 'prove yourself' at the same time. It's also helpful if you do have a baby as current employer knows you, you're already past the 26 week wait to apply for flexible working etc. Check what maternity package you'd get from current job. I moved job twice whilst trying to get pregnant but first job only provided statutory minimum maternity which meant no incentive to stay, whereas if they offer a good package worth staying. I eventually ended up having my baby somewhere that offered 5 months on full pay, so was worth it for me to move!

Thanks all. Fertility concerns, we have frozen embryos so I'm not hugely concerned, perhaps naively. We can't do it now for a variety of reasons, hence wanting to climb the career ladder now.

Maternity package at current place is poor and opportunity for flexible working also poor.

I'm ready for the next step up, and they acknowledged this some time ago. Like someone said, great colleagues and a fab company where you're genuinely happy to go every Monday morning are sometimes hard to come by though!

Move, for the pay increase then move back in 5 years when the role becomes available. Don't stay, you could be easily as happy else where. Most worrying is that you don't feel you're learning.