For the uninitiated/unintuitive types out there, timegating is defined as using time as the deciding factor for when you advance to the next level.
In World of Warcraft (and other games as a service, I'm sure), you have events and quests that are artificially timegated as a means to keep you playing—and thus, paying—longer. Makes sense, but it's shitty.
Various streaming services timegate episodes of their original content. Again, to keep you paying longer. Same as before: it makes sense, but it's shitty.
The Navy uses timegating a lot, as well. Time in grade is a thing that exists to add to the bottlenecks keeping you from that next higher paygrade. Things have changed recently, but when I first entered the service, it was 9/9/6/12/36/36/36/36. Nine months between E-1/2/3, six months between E-3/4, a year between E-4/E-5, and then three years for the final E-6/7/8/9.
You could, of course, bypass some of the Petty Officer requirements via getting an Early Promote (EP) evaluation. But that doesn't necessarily mean you get promoted early; just that you get a chance to take the advancement examinations a year early.
Not an elegant system—and one I think is in desperate need of deep review—but it mostly(ish) works.
Current job has me in a junior role.
Which is fine because I've never actually done it before.
That said, it didn't take long to realize that the job isn't overly difficult.
And a friend of mine brought up the fact that in order to progress to the next level, I'm timegated.
By five years.
Lady, if you're reading this but please take no offense by what I'm about to say next.
The idea of doing this job for the next five years of my life fills me with existential dread.
I'm happy to help.
I love people-pleasing.
Metaphorical tail be waggin' each time I'm a good boi.
But just because "five years of experience" was what the system required years/decades ago doesn't mean it fits now.
Or even that it always fit when it was first conceived as a thing.
Given the apparent work ethic of a lot of people I've worked with in the past and even here in the moment, I can understand why five years of experience may have seemed like a comfortable milestone.
But the people it applies to—or should apply to—are the ones that take forever to produce results. That see a task come in and sit on it or just outright don't even see it for hours.
Produce as fast as you can as often as you can.
If it's not great, refine until it is.
...And then I guess there's also the money savings of a junior slot over a mid/senior slot.
Meh.