More seriously -- when you become the smartest person in the room, assuming your job isn't being a researcher (or a similar level of autonomy).
This is interesting, could you elaborate on it? Certainly within any group someone would be the 'smartest' providing the most leadership or context. Following this would have that person leaving, then the next and so on.
Or is this another way of saying when you're not learning from your co-workers anymore (as mentioned in another comment)?
I find myself trending to learning more about people and teaching even though staying on the individual contributor track. It's not that there isn't more to learn but the development methods become well known.
Basically, if you're working at a firm which doesn't specialize in networking, but you really care about networking, you'll probably be the smartest person in the room with regards to that. In general it's when you're not learning from your coworkers, but also when you're not doing things that push forward your knowledge as well (hence the research caveat) or with lots of autonomy.
That said, it depends on what your career goals are -- if you're dedicated to craftsmanship, then managing people isn't necessarily your interest. If you're interested in being a leader, then that is somewhat at odds with focusing only on craftsmanship, etc.
> I find myself trending to learning more about people and teaching even though staying on the individual contributor track. It's not that there isn't more to learn but the development methods become well known.
Another platitude/saying is that teaching is the best way to learn -- reaching mastery that enables you to teach is great, and if you like to teach then it's fantastic, but what lies beyond mastery is research, so it's more of a question of if you want to do that or not, or if you're at a local minima (or really a local knowledge boundary) in relation to your knowledge. If you think it's a local minima then maybe it's time to move to a company which does more of what you're interested in, if not, then you spend your time researching (and/or teaching others).
[0]: https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/7854941-if-you-are-the-smar...
Also assuming that there are other rooms - once you really work your way into a niche, and are the most senior guy in the room... you may also be the most senior guy in the world for your niche.
At that point, you need to think about whether it is time to go to a new niche, or if you are OK just sitting on top for a while.
This is played off as a joke, but this 100% resonates with me. I always find myself in denial when I know that leaving is the best choice and I always seek advice and validation elsewhere, be it an old mentor or a HN thread. I have yet to regret leaving a position, but I still fall for the same trap every time.
It might not even be a new job, but maybe a new hobby project, a new side gig, or a new stream of income that you might need. Maybe you just need to blow off some steam, loosen up, get on track with your exercise or quality of food or time with yourself or people you care about.
It varies.
A stagnation of challenging projects can also indicate a general stagnation in the company. That will eventually show up in business results. If see this, it makes sense to start looking around and joining a business that is more driven and aims high.
It's not clear cut. It's not always about better pay or not liking your boss or not getting that promotion. Sometimes you just outgrow your job. Sometimes you feel like you should be playing as a small player in a higher division, than a key player in a lower division.