Only people who chase around corporate ladders care about "ranks". It's all a game that ends up taking over your life and causing stress. Show up to your job, do the job for the time you're being paid for, get paid, and go home. Don't do more, and don't do less. A job is just to pay the bills and is an unfortunate necessity in the way the system works but don't let your life revolve around it. OT is not a bad thing but only if it's actually paid. I jump on all opportunities for OT or callouts, but I get paid for it. If you don't get paid for OT, don't work it. As for client projects it's your management's job to set decent deadlines and manage resources properly. If they keep setting deadlines that get blown it's not on you or at least it shouldn't be.
The more unpaid OT you work the more projects they'll dump on you as well. It's a vicious cycle. Companies play games to try to justify having as little employees as possible, if you work too efficiently they just stop replacing employees who leave or even lay off people. You of course still need to do your job and not actually purposely work less hard, but don't work harder than is normal and don't work more hours unless you get compensated for it. Lot of people fall in this corporate trap and it takes over their lives.
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