You can only advance so far until you are stopped by the team leader. level Unless they leave or the company grows, you can't have their jobs. I felt that the company was taking advantage of the small town employment situation asking people to work long hours regularly for low pay. At the time there weren't many better jobs to choose from.
I started looking for a different employer and every single employer paid more and I received several offers. I eventually settled with another employer making $20K more, working less, better benefits and long term employment outlook. I left when I was ready. I watched productive, talented people get pushed aside so more senior people could back slide when they were not able to fulfill expectations. When that happened in engineering, I knew it was time to leave. A few months later I did.