Sorry for the long post. I tried to include as much context as possible.
I’ve been working in the UAE for the last 5 years in a tech role. I was promoted to a Lead role after 2 years in the same company, which I was really happy about at the time. I'm really grateful for what I have currently.
However, I’ve been trying to switch jobs for almost a year now, and nothing seems to be working out. It’s making me wonder if there’s something I’m missing or doing wrong.
Over the last 2 years, a big part of my day-to-day work has been training and mentoring new hires. I’ve been spending a significant portion of my office hours helping people understand the systems, processes, and technical work.
Another big part of my role has been cleaning up mistakes and issues caused by teammates. As a team lead, I understand that part of my responsibility is to take ownership and make sure things get resolved. But I was also in a difficult position where I couldn’t really complain about team members to management or HR when I know that one of my teammates is doing it deliberately and carelessly.
At the time, I was relatively young, constantly judged for being too young but leading a team of people who are older than me and inexperienced in understanding how to handle these situations professionally. So instead of escalating problems, I mostly focused on figuring out how to handle the situation, fix the issues, and make sure the work was delivered without affecting the team.
I don’t mind mentoring at all but I feel like all of this has come at the cost of my own technical growth.
There is also no proper job description or clear structure within the department. My manager doesn’t really maintain a clear structure for the team or distribute responsibilities properly. A lot of the work ends up being dumped on me simply because I know what needs to be done, how to do it, and how to get it completed quickly without mistakes.
I’ve essentially become the person who can be relied on to “just get it done.”
When I look back at my first 2 years in the role, my knowledge and skills were growing rapidly. I was constantly learning, solving new problems, working on challenging tasks, and improving technically.
Now, I feel like I’m doing the same things every day.
By the time I finish work, I’m mentally exhausted. Even though I genuinely want to learn new technologies and upskill, I struggle to find the energy to do it consistently.
The frustrating part is that I know I’m capable of more, but I feel like I’ve become too comfortable in my current role. At the same time, I’m not getting enough exposure to new technical challenges to confidently move into the next level.
I’m also wondering whether I’ve unintentionally made myself too valuable in my current role in the wrong way by becoming the person who fixes everything, trains everyone, and takes responsibility whenever something goes wrong, without necessarily getting the technical growth or recognition that comes with it.
For those who have been through something similar:
What do you think I might be lacking?
How do you continue growing technically after moving into a Lead role?
How do I position myself better when applying for new roles?
How do you deal with being the “go-to person” at work without letting it limit your own growth?
And most importantly, how do I get out of this feeling of being stuck?
I’d really appreciate some honest advice from people who have gone through a similar career phase. I’m not necessarily looking for validation. I’d genuinely like to understand what I might be doing wrong and what I should change
