It's an interesting thing. I can always tell when I run across someone who has actually been rewarded and can trace that back to what they've personally done. There has to be more to it than you suggest though. Or some magical confluence of luck and effort. I think that because up until I was about 35, your advice would have been directly in line with my own life experience. I worked hard, and I was rewarded in kind. I started at the bottom, and invariably found myself at the top of whatever food chain I was currently working in. But after leaving the military, getting a degree, and securing factory employment, that hasn't been the case. In fact, I've met nothing but resistance and sabotage in manufacturing. After a few years of "not getting any training", I went back to college for a second degree. I was hoping the effort of doing so might be noticed or appreciated. It wasn't. In fact, it was down played by my supervisor and the engineering department as pointless. In general, the people I've seen move up, were remarkably good at tooting their own horn, stealing credit, and lying. So I left with the hope that this wasn't just the way the world is now. I found this job. I applied because it was advertised as a day shift job. I was so fed up with the last place and the skeevy people who'd become my bosses (and other reasons), that even when I was offered a night shift job, I accepted.
Since leaving the military, I have helped three people on their journey to bettering their futures. I can say this because these people will tell you themselves that I was instrumental in their success. It's rewarding to be told that "I couldn't have done it without you." But as far as getting ahead by getting noticed and rewarded. That's just not what I'm seeing. What it takes is someone else to stand in your corner, loudly telling everyone how smart and valuable you are. I know this, because I have been that person. I am the person who can get you noticed. I can make you indispensable. But I can't be in my own corner. And I haven't ever met another person who would do this for me in manufacturing. Sadly, even one of my "beneficiaries", when called upon to help me secure a teaching position at a college where he had some influence, failed to come through for me. He couldn't have gotten me the job. But he could have at least mentioned my name...So look, I'm fairly cynical. I have seen that all this "pull yourself up by your bootstraps" stuff is only half the picture. So in the meantime, I've been working on my escape. I'm done with it. I'm almost there. I of course, would love to hear that I'm not being childish, or that it seems like I could "coast". I would really like to hear from someone who has some regrets about leaving too soon.
If you're curious, my knee jerk reaction to your suggestions wasn't positive. And after thinking more on them, I have little interest in pursuing any of them. I already have those skills, but not the certs. I am supremely and comically over qualified for this job. That doesn't mean I couldn't get better at things. Learning never stops. The certifications would maybe move me up, but that's not what I'm here talking about. I didn't ask how I can be better at my job, or what I could do to succeed, or make this place "better". I asked for people with regrets about leaving their job too soon, to talk about it. Either those people don't exist, haven't seen the thread, or are too embarrassed to talk about it.
I'm looking for a different job, and have the ability to live on MUCH less than I earn. I wanted to see if anyone was like, " NOOO, don't quit till you're FI, because I did and this is all the bad things that happened." Making more money is about as low on my list of priorities as it could be. I'm talking about quality of life, job satisfaction, camaraderie with my fellow humans....That's what I'm after, and sooner than my FI number would allow. If you've got some reasons why I shouldn't do that, I'm all ears. But no thank you to any further chasing of the dollar, professional recognition, or "making a difference" at work. I might happily be a floor cleaner. At the end of the day, you have a clean floor to show for it. Get it? I want to see a result from my effort, OTHER than the paycheck. Anyways that's off topic too. I just wanted some cautionary tales about leaving too early, with anecdotal evidence against it.