Many many years ago, I dreamed about moving from engineering into a management position. I was getting baited for a long time that "I had potential, if I do X a

Many many years ago, I dreamed about moving from engineering into a management position. I was getting baited for a long time that "I had potential, if I do X and Y, maybe next year, yada yada", but it never actually happened - maybe I didn't try hard enough, or it was one of these things someone tells you to give you something to look for, but they never happen - whatever. Anyway, few years passed, I changed jobs a few times, and one day I realized I actually just wanted to be compensated fairly, without my employer taking a large cut (my hourly rate in the beginning used to be way higher than what customers were billed for my work, so I knew it was attainable). Or, to not have to go above and beyond because my employer came up with "great" ideas that crept up into overtime territory "if I wanted to make it". Getting promoted was just a workaround for the actual goal, but it would increase my responsibilities a lot, and I never considered myself as someone made for management position (despite promising feedback). I'm glad it turned out this way. So, the surprise was that I hit the goal, but realized it was something else all along (or I'm just coping).