History Main / LimitedAdvancementOpportunities

** The (reluctant) king (and he'd refuse the title) of this trope, however, has to be Vimes himself. When first encountered, he's a captain of the three-man Night Watch, who hide from criminals. The next time we see him he plans to retire after getting married. However, intrigued by the notion of a Watch that truly ''matters'', he accepts the rank of Commander--and, though he has to grit his teeth, the knighthood which goes with it. Later, after stopping a war (by arresting the armies involved) and demonstrating his willingness to do his duty no matter the consequences (by arresting the Patrician), he's made Duke of Ankh, rendering him the most powerful nobleman in the city (save Vetinari himself, though he isn't really a descendant of a noble family, as far as we know).

* Granted, he's at the top of the NCO rank ladder, but Master Chief Petty Officer John-117 of ''Franchise/{{Halo}}'' hasn't received a promotion for over two decades, despite being one of the main reasons why humanity hasn't gone extinct yet. On the other hand, he's also a SuperSoldier who was created precisely because the UNSC needed extra-badass spec-ops operators; as an officer, he would have to stay in the back-line more often, which would arguably be a massive waste of his combat abilities, especially during a war where humanity needs every extra soldier it can get.

* Adachi, of {{Persona4}}. [[spoiler:This is the reason why he snapped.]] [[spoiler: Apparently he made a [[NoodleIncident 'mistake']] that got him sent to Inaba as an informal punishment. Also the characters call him out on the fact that he killed two people because he snapped over not getting promoted. If this was true, frustrated office workers would be killing everyone left and right.]]

*** O'Brien clearly states that he has no interest in being an officer, he loves his position as Chief Engineer of DS9 (a promotion from his time on the Enterprise). It should be noted that his time as tactical officer aboard the Rutledge was during combat in a war zone; it's likely he took over the post during a firefight and simply remained there because he did well and there was nobody else of suitable rank to replace him.

** Jean-Luc Picard, as well. He spent 22 years as commander of the ''Stargazer'', followed by 7 years on the ''Enterprise''-D, with 9 years in between. One can see how the production staff would be unwilling to promote characters past their beloved Captain. Picard did however take over the ''Stargazer'' at the rank of Lieutenant Commander. It being a smaller ship he may have been able to command it at a lower rank, getting promoted to Commander and later Captain during those long years. It's also clear that when he lost his ship the resulting inquiry took more than a few years to clear him of wrongdoing.

* Justified on ''Series/{{The X-Files}}'', especially with Mulder. Though he was advancing quickly up the VC's career ladder, once he became involved with the X-Files he was shut away in the basement just to get him out of everyone's hair. And since he runs that department, there isn't really anywhere up he can go. Not to mention he doesn't really give a damn whether he even keeps the job, let alone gets promoted. However, he does often lament that Scully's involvement with him on the X-Files essentially kills any opportunity she has for advancement, since it will be seen as a dark mark on her record. However, Scully never seems to express any desire to climb the ranks and eventually becomes just as invested in the X-Files as Mulder.

** Subverting this particular trope with the TOS crew created another sort of problem. By ''[[Film/StarTrekVTheFinalFrontier Star Trek V]]'' The ''Enterprise'' had three crew members--Kirk, Spock, and Scotty--who held the rank of captain. It was also non-canonicly suggested that Mr. Sulu had been granted command of the ''Starship Excelsior'' by this time, but retained his commander rank until he actually transferred to the vessel; making him an unofficial fourth captain.

** Even Yeoman Rand, an enlisted crewman, eventually becomes an officer. Due to several costuming and scripting errors, it's unclear ''how'' high she rises in the ranks, but let's be generous and make her Lieutenant Commander and First Officer, as depicted in the ''Voyager'' episode "Flashback".

** Played straight with Shepard, who never goes beyond the rank of Commander. [[JustifiedTrope Justified]] in that Shepard was officially reported KIA at the beginning of ''MassEffect2'', and spent the entire game post-resurrection officially AWOL, although Hackett was still willing to pass down the Alpha Relay assignment. After said assignment, Shepard submitted to the chain of command, and was confined due to the Alpha Relay's explosion killing 300,000 civilians, and was only reinstated due to the extreme circumstances of the Reaper attack on Earth. While it is plausible that Shepard was promoted to full Commander following the events of the first game, there was very little official opportunity for advancement.

** Played straight with Shepard, who never goes beyond the rank of Commander. Of course, after becoming a ''[[TheMenInBlack Spectre]]'', why would they ''need'' too? Shepard ''does'' seem to have advanced from Lieutenant Commander to full Commander by the third game after being recommissioned during the attack on Earth; maybe two years dead and working with a terrorist organization (and optionally blowing up 300,000 civilians out of vile necessity) is good for promotion opportunities?

** Gibbs could have been director but hates the paperwork and politics involved[[hottip:*: Jenny admits he would deal with politicians in more efficient ways than her, by just shooting them.]]. He regularly becomes acting-director when the regular director is away for an extended time or incapacitated.

* Granted, he's at the top of the NCO rank ladder, but someone should probably have thought to give [[{{Halo}} Master Chief Petty Officer John-117]] a commission before they sent him off to save the world for the fourth freakin' time. Yet, as an officer, it would be Master Chief's (or rather, Ensign's) job to send and lead other people in saving the world, rather than doing so himself so there may be gameplay reasons for this. This may also be a reflection of real life Master Chiefs essentially being the "gods" of the real life Navy. Master Chiefs cannot be "promoted," make way more money than low-level officers, and basically run the ship the way they want since their careers no longer hinge on "making nice" with the officers.

* In the [[ComicBookTime sixty-odd years]] that BeetleBailey has been in the Army, ''nobody'' at Camp Swampy has been promoted.

* Averted in ''MassEffect''. Depending on who survived Virmire, in the third game, Ashley has been promoted to Lt Commander (the same rank as Shepard) and Kaidan has become a Major (the Army/Marines equivalent).

** Also averted in the case of Tom Paris, who bounced up and down from "observer" to full Lieutenant and pretty much everywhere in between.

* In the ''HarryPotter'' series, Albus Dumbledore, the most powerful wizard alive and a shining light for the anti-Voldemort movement, is content to spend the rest of his life working as the headmaster of a school. It's mentioned that he's been offered the position of Minister for Magic a number of times, but turns it down even as it continues to go to annoying {{Obstructive Bureaucrat}}s. In ''DeathlyHallows'', it's revealed that this is because [[spoiler:Dumbledore doesn't trust himself with power due to a tragic incident in his youth.]]

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* ''TheNavyLark'' both averts and plays this straight. Certain characters are introduced at the same rank they finished with ([[CMOTDibbler C.P.O. Pertwee]], [[TheDitz Sub-Lieutenant Phillips]]), but others such as Commander, then Captain, then Commodore [[PointyHairedBoss Povey]] and [[SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute The 2nd]] [[UnfazedEveryman Number One Cmdr. Murray]] rise up the ranks as much as they would in the real navy.

* ''VideoGame/WingCommander'': The one time [[LeroyJenkins Maniac]] makes it past Major, at the end of ''VideoGame/WingCommander IV'' (more in [[Literature/WingCommander the novelization]] than the game), off-screen he gets busted down again. Primarily he stays in the service in spite of this lack of advancement because he's just that damned good, starting his career during a long genocidal war where the Terran Confederation couldn't afford to dismiss him from service.

*** It is even worse, in "Best of Both Worlds" Riker was promoted Captain. Count the pips on his collar, he's got four. Then in "Family", he's back to Commander again. [[FridgeLogic The only explanation]] is that he's somehow engineered a demotion for himself. Maybe he got Troi to say he was psychologically incapable of command or something. It'd explain why it took so long for him to get back to captain again.

* The producers of ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'' had the foresight to introduce Sisko as a Commander, just so he could have a dramatic promotion to Captain later on. Kira Nerys also had a promotion in-series, from Major to Colonel. In her case it was a promotion in the Bajoran militia, rather than Starfleet. Kira was also temporarily given the rank of Commander in Starfleet, when she was sent to Cardassia as part of a covert team and assist the Cardassian underground against the Dominion.

** Spock begins in the original pilot "The Cage" as a mere Lieutenant, is a Lieutenant Commander and First Officer in the first season, becomes a full Commander by the second season, and has reached the rank of Captain by ''[[Film/StarTrekIITheWrathOfKhan The Wrath of Khan]]''.

** Chekov has the largest (and fastest) chain of promotions, starting off in the second season as an Ensign and making it to full Commander in time for ''[[Film/StarTrekIITheWrathOfKhan The Wrath of Khan]]''.

** Subverting this particular trope with the TOS crew created another sort of problem. By [[Film/StarTrekVTheFinalFrontier Star Trek V]] The ''Enterprise'' had three crew members--Kirk, Spock, and Scotty--who held the rank of captain. It was also non-canonicly suggested that Mr. Sulu had been granted command of the ''Starship Excelsior'' by this time, but retained his commander rank until he actually transferred to the vessel; making him an unofficial fourth captain.

** In fact, only two regular cast members have not been promoted: Daniel Jackson a (civilian) and Teal'c. Daniel ''did'' get that whole ascension thing going, though, and Teal'c's "promotions" may be the permission to intermingle with human society. Neither, though, is part of the normal US Military structure (formally, at least), so they're not in any position to get promotions.

* In ''Series/StargateUniverse'', O'Neill is now a Lieutenant General (three stars).

* Justified in ''Series/CriminalMinds'': As the page quote indicates, this is due to deliberate interference by the [[TyrantTakesTheHelm tyrannical new boss]] as revenge. In season five, though, [[spoiler: Morgan temporally replaces Hotch as team leader because of the whole Reaper fiasco. Hotch voluntarily stepped down because he wanted the Reaper to think he was losing control]].

*** O'Brien clearly states that he has no interest in being an officer, he loves his position as Chief Engineer of DS9 (a promotion from his time on the Enterprise). It should be noted that his time as tactical officer aboard the Rutledge was during combat in a war zone; its likely he took over the post during a firefight and simply remained there because he did well and there was else nobody of suitable rank to replace him.

** {{Justified|Trope}} though, since ''Voyager'' was stuck on the other side of the galaxy with no outside hierarchy to either hand down promotions or move high-ranking ships officers off into. They also provided both exceptions and further justifications: Tuvok becoming Lieutenant Commander might be said to be overdue, while Chakotay retained his rank through the whole of the series likely because it was an acting rank due to his being Maquis (also, Janeway was only one rank higher than him, and wouldn't be authorized to promote him to Captain, even if she had wanted to). Still, it did seem pretty harsh on Ensign Kim who would probably have otherwise been on the fast-track to command positions but got stuck on the one crappy ship that was isolated from Starfleet. Not even a Junior Grade? [[ResetButton If only they'd done something with this fascinating character dynamic...]]

** Exceptions: Geordi La Forge (promoted from Lieutenant Junior Grade through full Lieutenant to Lieutenant Commander fairly quickly; a future episode of ''[[Series/StarTrekVoyager Voyager]]'' shows him as a captain), Deanna Troi (eventually promoted from Lieutenant Commander to Commander in the TNG episode "Thine Own Self") and Worf (started as a junior grade lieutenant and eventually promoted to Lieutenant Commander in the movie ''Film/StarTrekGenerations'', where his career apparently stalled on Deep Space Nine thanks to his own misjudgments).