History Main / LimitedAdvancementOpportunities

* Nobody gets promoted in ''Series/HogansHeroes'', but this is understandable. All the major Allied cast members are [=POWs=], who generally would not even be considered for promotion until they either escape, get exchanged, or get rescued (and they don't ''want'' to escape or be exchanged because they can do more good for the war effort at less risk to themselves by running an intelligence/sabotage network out of the camp). As for the German cast members, Hogan's people go out of their way to make certain they stay right where they are because if Klink or Schultz got promoted or demoted out of their current jobs, they might be replaced by somebody competent.

** It's also not really an issue for Shepard: as a Spectre, the protege of Admirals Hackett and Anderson, (at one point) Cerberus's most impressive field agent, TheCaptain of the now-technically-independent(-ish [[note]]The Alliance took it and modified it between the second and third games, when it was technically private property, albeit of known terrorists[[/note]]) ''Normandy'', and, not least, the galaxy's foremost expert on [[DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu killing Reapers]], Shepard's importance and influence far outstrip his/her actual rank.

* ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'': Several Space Marines with decades of combat experience choose to remain at their current rank to serve as instructors to the new Marines, such as Tellion and [[VideoGame/DawnOfWar Cyrus]] (Scout Sergeants in the Literature/{{Ultramarines}} and Literature/BloodRavens respectively).

** [=McGee=] starts as a Probationary Agent and it is a big deal for him to get promoted to full agent (although Tony still calls him 'probie' for a while). Timothy [=McGee=] has been promoted twice after that, first to senior field agent after Gibbs left and Tony became supervisor. The other was when Vance took over and made him head of cyber-crime. However, he willingly to a demotion back to junior agent when he had the chance to.

* Donald Cragen of ''Series/LawAndOrder'' and ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit'' has been a Captain in the NYPD for a quarter of a century. By the later seasons, it's clear that he's never going to advance because of his unit's tendencies to [[CowboyCop bend the rules]] and his unwillingness to do favors for politically-connected suspects.

** Bud Roberts starts off as an Ensign, is promoted to Lieutenant JG (and the opening credits) when he joins JAG in the second year, reaches Lieutenant in the fourth season, and is promoted to Lieutenant Commander in Season Nine.

** Eames is actually offered the position of captain but ends up declining partly because it was a bribe and partly because to accept it she had to throw Goren off the force.

* Followed in ''LightNovel/FullMetalPanic'' with Sōsuke, who, throughout the entire series, despite being incredibly competent and singlehandedly saving the day numerous times, stays a [[AlmightyJanitor sergeant and receives no promotions]]. Most likely, however, he actively avoids moving up ranks, and apparently prefers to simply [[ObfuscatingStupidity keep a low profile]] and do his work. Interestingly, Mao gets promoted to SRT second in command (despite not doing ''nearly'' as much as Sōsuke).[[note]]This is because officers like Mao are managers, and [=NCOs=] like Sōsuke are specialists. The higher up the chain you go, leadership becomes more important and personal badassery less so.[[/note]]
* Played straight in a canon chapter of ''Manga/OnePiece'' made to promote the tenth movie: Vice-Admiral Garp refused promotion to Admiral, despite having the strength and renown for such a promotion to be possible, because being an Admiral would give him less freedom to do what he wanted.

* In the [[ComicBookTime sixty-odd years]] that ComicStrip/BeetleBailey has been in the Army, ''nobody'' at Camp Swampy has been promoted. Though one could make the case that nobody there deserves to be promoted. In fact many of the characters (including Beetle) appear to still be in boot camp.

* In ''Film/TheATeam'', the movie starts out eight years in the past with Face being a lieutenant and Murdock being a captain. Hannibal is referred to as a colonel, but it's not expressed in the beginning of the film whether he's a lieutenant colonel or a full-bird. When the movie moves to the present, apart from BA, who is now a Sergeant instead of a Corporal, they're all still the same rank.

* In ''Film/ThePhantomMenace'', Obi-wan tells his master Qui-gon Jinn that he would already be on the Jedi High Council if he would just stop arguing with them. Qui-gon doesn't mind, since he prefers following his own interpretation of the will of the Force.

*** Tycho Celchu has a weird case of it as well: he gets plenty of promotions, but always ends up one step behind Wedge, as [[TheLancer his eternal second in command]]. Thus he remains a Colonel into and through the New Jedi Order, so that he can be Wedge's strategist. Granted, they work so well together that it seems like a waste to split them up.

* Averted in ''Literature/HonorHarrington''. The books start with the titular character as a Commander taking her second command. As of book 11 there's literally only one serving military officer who outranks her, the First Space Lord, and that's not a rank but an office. She couldn't get another promotion without receiving ([[TryToFitThatOnABusinessCard yet another]]) political appointment or staging a coup. Most associates have advanced many ranks as well, with the exception of Sir Horace Harkness whose promotion was involved getting the Medal of Honor and being so awesome.
** Short stories featuring Harrington have filled in some of her back-story, showing promotions: her first post-Academy assignment, being the Executive Officer on one ship (Lieutenant-Commander), and the incident that caused her to be removed from her first faster-than-light capable command.

*** It gets {{deconstructed}} in "The Best of Both Worlds". Admiral Hansen notes in the page quote that Riker frequently turning down command opportunities reflects poorly upon him. Commander Shelby outright states that she wants Riker's position and suggests that Riker is holding up the careers of other qualified officers by refusing to move up, since First Officer is a necessary springboard to receiving a command. Shelby also states that, after the fleet is built up again, Riker will doubtless have his choice of commands (since he just got done, you know, ''saving the Earth''). It inexplicably never happens.

* 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. By the end of the series this trope still applies, since he's doing the jobs of pretty much the entire admiralty and representing the Federation during planning with their allies. 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 (which is technically lower than her Bajoran rank, but given Starfleet's far greater size, power and importance, it's effectively a promotion anyway), when she was sent to Cardassia as part of a covert team and assisted the Cardassian underground against the Dominion, since working with a Starfleet officer is politically more palatable to them than working with a Bajoran soldier.

* ''Series/StarTrekEnterprise'' takes the cake. In the (not so) DistantFinale (which was actually a holodeck simulation), we see that everyone has ''remained at the same rank''. The crew of humanity's first ever Warp-5 ship, that basically opened up the rest of the galaxy for Earth, saved the planet numerous times, made a ton of allies, and intimidated both the Vulcans and Klingons, and NO ONE has gotten a '''single promotion'''. The only mention we get is that Archer has been ear-marked for Admiral.

* In ''Series/StargateUniverse'', O'Neill is now a Lieutenant General (three stars, the second highest rank an Air Force officer can attain).

** Apollo, originally CAG aboard the Galactica, finds himself promoted to the rank of major and assigned as Pegasus' XO, and later becomes its commander outright. After Pegasus is destroyed he goes back to being Galactica's CAG, but retains the rank of major.

** Starbuck is promoted from lieutenant to captain and becomes Galactica's CAG when Apollo is reassigned, and retains her rank when Apollo returns to the ship.

** At the end of the 2010/11 season, Danny Messer took and passed the Sergeant's exam. In the beginning of the current (2011/12) season, Danny had obviously decided to take the position, leave the lab and become Sergeant Messer. [[spoiler:However, after an incident in which one of his subordinates shot an unarmed man and blamed her actions on Danny, he decided to go back to being Detective Messer and rejoin the lab.]]

* Long-running soaps can avoid this by following the progression of the characters as they grow. ''Series/HomeAndAway'''s Sally Fletcher appeared in the show's pilot as a nine-year old schoolgirl; by the time she left twenty years and four thousand, six hundred and nine episodes later she was the school's principal.

** [=McGee=] starts as a Probationary Agent and it is a big dealt for him to get promoted to full agent (although Tony still calls him 'probie' for a while). Timothy [=McGee=] has been promoted twice after that, first to senior field agent after Gibbs left and Tony became supervisor. The other was when Vance took over and made him head of cyber-crime. However he willingly to a demotion back to junior agent when he had the chance to.
** When Ziva left Mossad and applied to join NCIS she had to go through the application process and then starts out as a probationary agent even thought she has been part of the team for years. The fact that she was not a US citizen complicated things even more. She passed the citizenship test in late season seven.

* In the eleven-season course of ''Series/{{Mash}}'', only Mulcahy and Klinger get promoted, despite having an episode where Hawkeye, B.J., and Charles serve as the promotion board. Mulcahy actually spends an(other) episode lamenting the lack of advancement opportunity. This is largely TruthInTelevision. Klinger makes Sergeant at some point, which is as high as he can expect to go, since outside of very unusual circumstances, non-commissioned officers are rarely promoted to commissioned officers. Not to mention that the main characters are almost all draftees, who wouldn't expect to be promoted to high rank only to lose it in a year's time.

** Foreman was given a promotion at one point just so that he technically outranked House and could overrule him, a power he seldom exercised. In between seasons 7 and 8 he was promoted to Dean of Medicine.

** Jamie is just a rookie cop but given his intelligence and he could be police commissioner himself one day. His family connections haven't helped much though - he's still a beat cop while his Academy classmates are making detective, because Frank is adamant in not showing his sons any favoritism which unfortunately means while Jamie is deserving of one, he can't get it because Frank knows people will think it's because of nepotism. Finally averted as of Season 9, where he gets promoted to Sergeant -- something which was long overdue.
* Donald Cragen of ''Series/LawAndOrder'' and ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit'' has been a Captain in the NYPD for a quarter of a century. By the latter seasons, it's clear that he's never going to advance because of his unit's tendencies to [[CowboyCop bend the rules]] and his unwillingness to do favors for politically-connected suspects.

** When Michael leaves the company for good, the new manager is brought in from the head office. When that fails [[spoiler:Dwight]] is given a shot at the job but also fails spectacularly. A wider search is conducted and Dwight, Andy and Darryl compete for the position against outsiders. [[spoiler: Andy is promoted]]

* ''Series/{{Suits}}'' plays with this. In the pilot Harvey is promoted to Senior Partner which highlights his rapid rise through the firm's ranks. It is clear that he aims to become a Named Partner and might even challenge Jessica for Managing Partner. At the same time Louis is still stuck as Junior Partner which is a major source of frustration for him with various factions using the promise of promotion to lure him to their side. Mike's prospects at the firm are initially presented as being unlimited as long as he does not screw up but then RealityEnsues and it becomes clear that the lies that allow him to practice law also make him unpromotable. He needs to keep a low profile unless someone decides to dig into his past and discovers the truth. However, without winning high profile cases he will never make partner.
* Justified on ''Series/TheXFiles'', 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.

* Discussed on ''Series/BarneyMiller'' when Captain Miller chooses to withdraw from candidacy for a promotion to Deputy Inspector, having been passed over twice before. His detectives talk him into trying, since as long has he's stuck "in there" (his captain's office) they're stuck "out here" (the squad room) - "and Levitt is stuck ''waaayy'' down there." They convince Barney to go for it, and in the GrandFinale he gets promoted.

* Averted on ''Series/{{Farscape}}'', of all places. Braca's first appearance is at the Peacekeeper rank of Lieutenant[[note]]a Peacekeeper Lieutenant is roughly equivalent to a naval Commander; actual junior officers are literally called Officer[[/note]] and serving as Crais's lackey. At first he remains at this rank once Scorpius takes over, but by season 4 he's been promoted to Captain, a rank he maintains through ''The Peacekeeper Wars''. In the continuation comics he ultimately attains the rank of Admiral.
* Largely played straight in ''Series/TheWestWing'' with a number of characters who remain in the same jobs for years, even when doing so is unrealistic (e.g. CJ is Press Secretary for 7 years, when real-life Press Secretaries tend to have much shorter tenures). Begins to become a plot point late in season 5, primarily for Donna (who everyone has noticed is staying in her job much longer than she should due to her devotion to Josh, who in turn isn’t promoting her or helping her career due to some mixture of dependency on her and lack of respect for her potential), but also for Charlie, who is reluctant to finish law school because he knows the President will force him to look for a new job when he does, and CJ, whose promotion to Chief of Staff is a significant arc in season 6. For the most part, where promotions/career advancement did happen, the show either moved focus to include characters who changed jobs (e.g. the focus on election campaigns in season 6 and 7 allowed characters like Josh to stay involved), or just had the character hang around without explanation (e.g. Will, who moves from POTUS’ staff to be VPOTUS’ Director of Communications, in an entirely different building, and yet is still always around the White House, and attends all the same senior staff meetings the main cast do despite his predecessor very definitely not attending them)
* ''Series/{{Flashpoint}}'': Sergeant Parker warns warns a new member about this when she first joins Team One. Team Leader Ed Lane has been a Constable for almost a ''decade'' when the series starts, [[spoiler: and he's only a Sergeant in the finale because Greg was medically retired from SRU, which freed a slot for him to move into]].

* Nobody gets promoted in ''Series/HogansHeroes'', but this is understandable. All the major Allied cast members are [=POWs=], who generally would not even be considered for promotion until they either escape, get exchanged, or get rescued (and they don't ''want'' to escape or be exchanged because they can do more good for the war effort at less risk to themselves by running an intelligence/sabotage network out of the camp). As for the German cast members, Hogan's people go out of their way to make certain they stay right where they are, because if Klink or Schultz got promoted or demoted out of their current jobs, they might be replaced by somebody competent.

* ''Radio/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. Then there was that time resident WElsh ethnic stereotype Able Seaman Goldstein was mistakenly promoted all the way to Commodore...

* Series/BrooklynNineNine managed to avert this with Santiago, promoting her to Sergeant in Season 5, but played it straight with the rest, despite all being competent or exceptional detectives, the only one ever offered a promotion is Diaz, and even then it's to Captain a small town precinct. Jeffords does attempt to move up, but fails his Lieutenant Exam

** Invoked by other characters in the UNSC too. Edward Buck and James Cutter, a spec-ops gunnery sergeant and a small ship captain respectively, both have skills that could propel them far beyond their ranks but refuse to take promotions because [[AFatherToHisMen they don't want to leave their crew behind]]. In both cases this is noted as a problem by the higher-ups, though Buck has been occasionally asked with command-level work after becoming a Spartan-IV (which is rather ironic, give that he's now a SuperSoldier).

** 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 ''VideoGame/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.

** Also averted by several members of Shepard's crew. Garrus in the first game is a low-ranking C-Sec officer, quits to join Shepard, and assuming he survives to the third game, his experience and knowledge in fighting Reaper forces is so highly valued in the Turian military that he has ''generals'' reporting to him. Tali in the first game is known as "Tali'Zorah nar Rayya"[[note]]"nar Rayya" refers to the ship she was born on, the ''Rayya'', as a Quarian must complete their Pilgrimage to properly join the crew of a Quarian ship[[/note]] and is still undergoing her [[RiteOfPassage Pilgrimage]]. In the second game, she is known as "Tali'Zorah vas Neema"[[note]]"vas Neema" means she is a full crew member of the vessel ''Neema''[[/note]] and is a fairly public figure among the Quarian Fleet. Depending on certain actions, in the third game it's possible she's "'''Admiral''' Tali'Zorah vas Normandy", and is one of the five members of her race's governing council.

** Invoked by Warrant Officer Thurl. Thurl is the oldest member of Tagon's Toughs, and the only reason paychecks go out and supplies come in when they're supposed to. He is very happy as an NCO, and has threatened to resign the minute anyone offers him a commission.

* This is increasingly the case due to the practice of outsourcing non-core business functions. Previously one could break into a large organization by gaining an entry level position in the "mail room" or as a janitor, food service or clerical worker and then apply to other positions internally. Now, despite working within the walls of the larger organization, these low-level workers are only employees of the narrowly-focused outsourcing agency that have practically no pathways for advancement.

** Similar to the military "up or out" policy mentioned above, the [[UsefulNotes/BritishCoppers UK Metropolitan Police]] had a policy for most of the 20th century called "tenure" which was designed to avert this. It pretty much amounted to forcing plainclothes detectives who hadn't significantly improved their careers within a certain period (i.e., somebody who had been a Detective Sergeant for a decade or more without having advanced up to Inspector) to have to go back into uniform. The purpose of this was to stop them getting complacent, as well as allowing others within the department the opportunity to advance in rank in their wake. It often had the opposite effect, though, as many detectives were said to have chosen to resign rather than face the "indignity" of being put back into uniform. UsefulNotes/ScotlandYard officially abandoned the tenure scheme in the early 21st century.

** And now, with the emergence of Ted Danson's character, CSI Supervisor DB Russell, Catherine (and presumably Nick, too) has been demoted. [[spoiler:Of course, this is due to Marg Helgenberger wishing to leave the show during the current (2001/12) season.]]

* Defied on ''Series/ParksAndRecreation''. During Season 6, Leslie is offered a job in the U.S. National Parks Department supervising the midwestern national parks in Chicago. A good portion of the season finale is spent showing why she shouldn't take the job and move - the show couldn't possibly continue because none of the characters would want to or be able to go with her. She then turns the whole thing around and convinces the head of the U.S. Parks Dept that she would actually be able to do the job better if she just stayed in Pawnee. So, she gets a massive promotion and still gets to stay in her hometown.

*** Teal'c is a leader of the Free Jaffa Nations, which makes him like some sort of Senator. Before joining SG-1, he was First Prime of Apophis, which is the highest rank a Jaffa could achieve before that. Also, given that Jackson is more of an Academic than a soldier, it could be said that he considers the chance to study alien cultures and unlocking the secrets of the NeglectfulPrecursors quite the promotion track from where we first saw him (that is to say, recently homeless.)

** Cyrus is specifically mentioned to stay in his position because it offers him power well beyond his reponsibilities. His focus on stealth and evasion have recieved criticism from traditionalists within the chapter, but Cyrus knows his methods work (they got him pegged for the Deathwatch, an organisation which is to the Space Marines what the 75th Ranger Battallion is to the Dental Corps), and that if he just stays in his current job and doesn't screw up epically, there won't be a single Blood Raven who hasn't grown into Space Marine-dom by learning from him in a few centuries.

* This is increasingly the case due to the practice of outsourcing non-core business functions. Previously one could break into a large organization by gaining an entry level position in the "mail room" or as a janitor, food service or clerical worker and then apply to other positions internally. Now, despite working within the walls of the larger organization, these low level workers are only employees of the narrowly focused outsourcing agency that have practically no pathways for advancement.

** Employees may also find themselves "tracked" in that someone in a technical or support position is not able to break into a management track due to a perceived lack of experience.
* The US Military's "Up or out" policy is designed to avert this, though this wasn't always the case. In the past, promotions were less focused on forcing officers to progress their careers upward. A good example is Eisenhower who spent 16 years as a major before being promoted to lieutenant colonel. In practice this means forcing a good portion of personnel to retire as options are fewer the higher one goes. Below certain levels one is not even allowed to reach the 20-year mark to qualify for retirement benefits.\\\

** Similar to the military "up or out" policy mentioned above, the [[UsefulNotes/BritishCoppers UK Metropolitan Police]] had a policy for most of the 20th century called "tenure" which was designed to avert this. It pretty much amounted to forcing plainclothes detectives who hadn't significantly improved their careers within a certain period (i.e. somebody who had been a Detective Sergeant for a decade or more without having advanced up to Inspector) to have to go back into uniform. The purpose of this was that it was supposed to stop them getting complacent, as well as allowing others within the department the opportunity to advance rank in their wake. It often had the opposite effect though, as many detectives were said to have chosen to resign rather than face the "indignity" of being put back into uniform. UsefulNotes/ScotlandYard officially abandoned the tenure scheme in the early 21st century.

* 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 (which is technically lower than her Bajoran rank, but given Starfleet's far greater size, power and importance, it's effectively a promotion anyway), when she was sent to Cardassia as part of a covert team and assisted the Cardassian underground against the Dominion, since working with a Starfleet officer is politically more palatable to them than working with a Bajoran soldier.

*** His status is a bit... fuzzy. In early TNG, the lowest rank was Ensign, he was a Lieutenant. When they later decided to make him the token enlisted man they never really bothered to change the habit and the total number of enlisted crew in that era can be counted on one hand. So he's technically an NCO, but somehow has junior officers reporting to him.

** Similar to the military "up or out" policy mentioned above, the [[UsefulNotes/BritishCoppers UK Metropolitan Police]] had a policy for most of the 20th century called "tenure" which was designed to avert this. It pretty much amounted to forcing plain clothes detectives who hadn't significantly improved their careers within a certain period (i.e. somebody who had been a Detective Sergeant for a decade or more without having advanced up to Inspector) to have to go back into uniform. The purpose of this was that it was supposed to stop them getting complacent, as well as allowing others within the department the opportunity to advance rank in their wake. It often had the opposite effect though, as many detectives were said to have chosen to resign rather than face the "indignity" of being put back into uniform. UsefulNotes/ScotlandYard officially abandoned the tenure scheme in the early 21st century.

** Jamie is just a rookie cop but given his intelligence and he could be police commissioner himself one day. His family connections haven't helped much though - he's still a beat cop while his Academy classmates are making detective, because Frank is adamant in not showing his sons any favoritism which unfortunately means while Jamie is deserving of one, he can't get it because Frank knows people will think it's because of nepotism.

* On ''Series/LawAndOrderCriminalIntent'' despite being 50, having spent two decades on the force and being one of the most brilliant officers at one PP, Robert Goren is still only a Junior Detective. This was lampshaded by a CorruptBureaucrat that was in cahoots with a CorruptCorporateExecutive, she said that because of his instability he would never be promoted to senior partner and that Eames would never make captain because of him.

*** In "The Best of Both Worlds", Riker was promoted to 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. Why the writers felt the need to demote him is unclear; ''[[Film/StarTrekIVTheVoyageHome Star Trek IV]]'' shows that there's no rule against the ship's commanding officer and first officer both holding the rank of Captain (and the ''Enterprise''-A actually had ''three'' captains, due to Scotty's promotion to "Captain of Engineering" in ''[[Film/StarTrekIIITheSearchForSpock Star Trek III]]''), [[note]]The ending of ''Star Trek IV'' showed Scotty wearing a commander's rank badge again, anticipating his promotion being nullified, but as Kirk was the only one officially punished, the next three films and "Relics" confirmed he kept the promotion[[/note]] and Picard would still have decades of seniority over Riker.

** In the prequel comic to [[Film/StarTrek the 11th movie]], Picard has become Ambassador to Romulus, Riker commands the ''Titan'', and Data is now captain of the ''Enterprise'' itself. It means that Data's gotten further ahead than Riker, as he's now captain of the flagship.

* As is the Royal Navy's Captain's List. You either got promoted to Rear Admiral after nine years or retire.
* Similar to the military "up or out" policy mentioned above, the [[UsefulNotes/BritishCoppers UK Metropolitan Police]] had a policy for most of the 20th century called "tenure" which was designed to avert this. It pretty much amounted to forcing plain clothes detectives who hadn't significantly improved their careers within a certain period (i.e. somebody who had been a Detective Sergeant for a decade or more without having advanced up to Inspector) to have to go back into uniform. The purpose of this was that it was supposed to stop them getting complacent, as well as allowing others within the department the opportunity to advance rank in their wake. It often had the opposite effect though, as many detectives were said to have chosen to resign rather than face the "indignity" of being put back into uniform. UsefulNotes/ScotlandYard officially abandoned the tenure scheme in the early 21st century.

* Followed in ''LightNovel/FullMetalPanic'' with Sōsuke, who, throughout the entire series, despite being incredibly competent and singlehandedly saving the day numerous times, stays a [[AlmightyJanitor sergeant and receives no promotions]]. Most likely, however, he actively avoids moving up ranks, and apparently prefers to simply [[ObfuscatingStupidity keep a low profile]] and do his work. Another possibility is that his organization is GenreSavvy enough to know that to promoted him would take him out of situations that only he can resolve. Interestingly, Mao gets promoted to SRT second in command (despite not doing ''nearly'' as much as Sōsuke).[[note]]This is because officers like Mao are managers, and [=NCOs=] like Sōsuke are specialists. The higher up the chain you go, leadership becomes more important and personal badassery less so.[[/note]]

*** His status is a bit... fuzzy. In early TNG, the lowest rank was Ensign, he was a Lieutenant. When they later decided to make him the token elisted man they never really bothered to change the habit and the total number of enlisted crew in that era can be counted on one hand. So he's technically an NCO, but somehow has junior officers reporting to him.

* Followed in ''LightNovel/FullMetalPanic'' with Sōsuke, who, throughout the entire series, despite being incredibly competent and singlehandedly saving the day numerous times, stays a [[AlmightyJanitor sergeant and receives no promotions]]. Most likely, however, he actively avoids moving up ranks, and apparently prefers to simply [[ObfuscatingStupidity keep a low profile]] and do his work. Another possibility is that his organization is GenreSavvy enough to know that to promoted him would take him out of situations that only he can resolve. Interestingly, Mao gets promoted to SRT second in command (despite not doing ''nearly'' as much as Sōsuke).[[note]]This is because officers like Mao are managers, and [=NCOs=] like Sōsuke are specialists. The higher up the chain you go, leadership becomes more important and personal badassery less so.[[//note]]

*** In "The Best of Both Worlds", Riker was promoted to 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. Why the writers felt the need to demote him is unclear; ''[[Film/StarTrekIVTheVoyageHome Star Trek IV]]'' shows that there's no rule against the ship's commanding officer and first officer both holding the rank of Captain (and the ''Enterprise''-A actually had ''three'' captains, due to Scotty's promotion to "Captain of Engineering" in ''[[Film/StarTrekIIITheSearchForSpock Star Trek III]]'' [[note]]The ending of ''Star Trek IV'' showed Scotty wearing a commander's rank badge again, anticipating his promotion being nullified, but as Kirk was the only one officially punished, the next three films and "Relics" confirmed he kept the promotion [[/note]]), and Picard would still have decades of seniority over Riker.

** Most characters have undergone several promotions, but Schlock was promoted rapidly to corporal and then sergeant early on, and then stopped there, because no-one wants him to be an officer, especially Schlock himself. He has deliberately stayed a Sergeant even in periods where he technically owned the company and could dictate his own terms. Compare Breya, who made herself an Admiral in the same position. The closest he ever got to wanting to progress was being disappointed by the fact that only officers get "epaulet grenades".
** On the other hand, Maxim 2: A Sergeant in motion outranks a Lieutenant who doesn't know what's going on. Officers, including company commander Tagon and almost-godlike Petey will listen to him because he's combat savvy and has kept his memories through certain plot events.

** Bones goes from Lieutenant Commander to full Commander in the movies, and by the time of his [[TheCameo cameo]] in the TNG pilot, is an Admiral.

*** In "The Best of Both Worlds", Riker was promoted to 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. Why the writers felt the need to demote him is unclear; ''[[Film/StarTrekIVTheVoyageHome Star Trek IV]]'' shows that there's no rule against the ship's commanding officer and first officer both holding the rank of Captain (and the ''Enterprise''-A actually had ''three'' captains, due to Scotty's promotion to "Captain of Engineering" in ''[[Film/StarTrekIIITheSearchForSpock Star Trek III]][[note]]The ending of ''Star Trek IV'' showed Scotty wearing a commander's rank badge again, anticipating his promotion being nullified, but as Kirk was the only one officially punished, the next three films and "Relics" confirmed he kept the promotion[[/note]]), and Picard would still have decades of seniority over Riker.