This is a topic close to me, and one I have problems expressing my thoughts about without coming across as cynical. My bottom line is "not my job" is a way to a

This is a topic close to me, and one I have problems expressing my thoughts about without coming across as cynical. My bottom line is "not my job" is a way to avoid companies taking advantage of you. I'll give you a real specific example. My wife joined a company as a junior fresh grad. As she grew into the role, started to expand her responsibilities to get to the next level. The first time she got passed for a promotion she decided to take in even more responsibilities to strengthen her case. She was performing at the next level while getting paid the absolute lowest salary for her role. By the end of her tenure she was literally mentoring a newly hired Senior, and still got passed for a promo for the third time because "she wasn't ready yet". Stretch assignments are a great way to grow, but there is a clear asymmetry of power here. Companies will easily extract as much value as they can from you and give nothing in return. I think it is perfectly reasonable to set boundaries and say not my job. The difficult part is choosing where that boundary should be.