Evil programmer's tip: avoid “easy” things (2016)
Ouch. This hits close to home.<p>I _constantly_ get passed over for the interesting work, despite being _extremely_ qualified for it.  (e.g. I keep getting told I don't "have a scientific background", so I'm not qualified to work on problem X, despite the fact that I have a PhD in the field and extensive experience on closely related problems)<p>It's because I'm seen as a technician, not an engineer or a scientist.<p>That's because I'm the person everyone picks for the "hey, just whip up this quick demo / generate this report / prototype this idea for me", and therefore I get critiqued when it's not fast enough / polished enough, despite it being a "drop everything and have this done by 10pm" situation every time.<p>The big things I've accomplished, other people have _always_ gotten credit for.  The things that fail, I get the blame for.<p>So serious advice from someone who's too old to change it now:  SAY NO TO URGENT ONE-OFF REQUESTS FROM MANAGEMENT!!!  Once you start, it's a trap that's really hard to get out of and gets you nowhere career wise.