I was high skill/low will up until the beginning of this year. Overqualified for my job and bored as hell. Attempts to move me to another project which was more challenging, but not out of my grasp, were made. They failed. I got fed up quickly.

"WHAT the FUCK? HOW can they not see I RULE?! Blahblahblah wasted talent lalala stupid management OMGWTF."

As it turns out, it was simply that the Man in Charge didn't /know/ I had a second skillset; a simple lack of anyone knowing was what was preventing my migration to Hot Shot Nerd.

The biggest thing (for my case) in avoiding Fezitude is a proper assessment of your team's skillsets. It was clear that I was bored--my complaints to co-workers were perhaps too vocal at times, and that was my fault entirely--but no matter how to try to demonstrate your Extra Value, you have to make sure it's /seen/ and not simply an aside in a conversation about how you tried to leave your job one day and was talked out of it by co-workers.

In other words, if you /want/ to be more, outside of corporate sabotage (ROFLTINFOILHAT), you have to get off of your lazy ass and /make/ the change happen; no one's going to promote someone who doesn't clearly want to be promoted. Kicking ass and taking names says, "You're missing out by not challenging me, Mr Boss Man."

Fez is dangerous, and I was lucky enough to see it before it my actions and abilities had no relevance anymore.

And now, I'm off to be Hot Shot Nerd for the day.