Where I work at, I have been there for a long time now. In fact, at the end of this March, it will be three years since I got hired there. Also, for these past several months I have been pushing like crazy for a promotion, and I am so close I can taste it.

But it's been that way for a while now, and I grow weary of waiting. I see other job opportunities where it is a lot easier to advance in pass me up as I sit on my hands and wait for the big boss to say "yes" to what I've been wanting for quite some time now.

I'm not about to start going over his head and start brown-nosing my boss's bosses for it, nor am I going to be a toady to him. I've always been an independent and strong employee capable of making decisions affecting both myself and the people I work with (and direct to an extent), but I can't seem to make enough of an impression to make all of this work out--ever.

What direction should I take? Should I ditch my job and go somewhere else where I can put myself into the spot I have always wanted? Or shall I plod along and hope for the best?

Sure, earning nice wages is good...(A potential $9+ an hour is great for a 19-year-old in this part of America.)... But I'm not the sort of person who would prefer stand on the bottom of a totem pole only to get a bigger and better shovel every few months...

Any advice on this?