re: Random career advice, tell me yours

Make a real effort to learn how to talk in professional settings like meetings. If you can clearly, accurately, and convincingly present your views, asks, answers, etc., people will look to you as leadership material. I'm not saying to just talk to talk (those people are typically hated) or to learn every corporate buzzword, but definitely pay attention to how you present yourself in meetings. Humor helps.

You've got to learn the culture of the organization you serve; this includes understanding the cliques that form. Make mental notes of who gets along with who and which senior management clique actually runs shite. If someone from that clique asks you to jump, you ask how high. Reputations built with people who truly matter can go a long way in building your own success. Office politics suck but I've learned they're a large part of career advancement.

Write down ideas that pop into your head when you're not working. People who come up with ways to cut work cycles and save money are people who quickly earn attention from people who matter. There's some process you see which would benefit greatly from a new approach....the solution pops into your head for some reason at 1am on a Sunday morning after you've had a few beers...write that shite down and revisit it on Monday. Build on the idea. Present the idea.