Do you feel stagnant in your career? Or maybe the better question is do you care if you feel stagnant in your career?

You might need to define what that means to you, as what might feel stagnant to one person could be comfortable to another. Apparently, there was a study of tech professionals, who despite a tight labor market, are citing lack of salary increases and dim promotion prospects as reasons to leave their jobs. The survey was across a number of larger technology companies, and likely answered by more talented employees. After all, good talent can usually find jobs and is less worried about leaving. Less talented people usually cling to their jobs.

A lack of salary increase could be a problem. Everyone, or most everyone, wants regular raises. However, depending on where your salary bracket is and your living expenses, you might not rate this as a very important criterion for sticking with a job. Someone making USD$40,000 might be more concerned about a raise every year than someone making USD$200,000, but perhaps not.

Having a career progression was more important to me at 30 than it is after 50. Again, the varies among people, but I find a lot of people like their jobs and don't really want to change. Many of them would likely be happy to keep working at their level as long as they can get raises. I see people complaining about their current position when they've bumped up against a salary limit for that position, but otherwise, they're satisfied.

The work matters. I do think there are plenty of people who are unhappy with the work they do and want to be challenged, or at least interested, in the work. At the same time, lots of people are happy to just do a minimal variety of work day after day. I think this is why I encounter lots of people who seem to have 4-6 months of experience repeated 10+ times.

My view is that you ought to make your career what you want, and that means actively managing it. Spend time thinking about what you want, ask others about their work, and make plans to move in the direction that matters to you. Implement those plans and find a balance between advancing your skills and living your life. It's easy to do too much of one or the other, but often that's not the problem, it's the motivation and effort to actually improve yourself.

I can't tell you how to structure you career or what to learn or what to improve. You have to decide what is interesting to you and what fits in your life, and then make an effort to move in that direction. Sharpen your saw, improve your craft, and learn those soft skills that help you work with others. That's how you find the career you want, which will never be stagnant.

Note: We do have a career forum on SQL Server Central. If you want advice or have questions, post something and I (or someone) is happy to answer.