Hate to say, but these days, over-achievement in a company like S&N will typically get you nothing but exploited by your boss and resented by your peers. By UM you mean University of Memphis? If you're looking to make a real career change, look to leave the company, the industry, and the metro area. If you insist on staying in the device industry, try to get experience in Compliance, because these skills are in demand for obvious reasons. Otherwise, get experience that you can leave the industry with. Whatever you do, don't kill yourself for some half-ass promotion then go get a huge mortgage for a house in this metro area, expecting to hop as needed between the local device companies, because the entire industry is in a downward trend. S&N will cut your throat tomorrow and these other companies are no different. The days of staying local and easily moving between S&N, MDT, Wright, and start-ups like Nuvasive are basically over. If you stay local, you're better off looking for advancement in local HQ's like Fedex or Autozone.
