I'm a Big Tech executive. My journey here has felt like falling forward — painful stumbles and detours, yet still progress.

Wainwright Yu.

Courtesy of Wainwright Yu Wainwright Yu's unexpected journey at a Magnificent 7 company led to a director role, despite setbacks.

Not landing a return offer after an internship and unexpected team assignments were part of his journey.

Yu said what he had to let go of was the perfect career path he had crafted in his head.

The email came in on a Tuesday.

It was an announcement that I had been promoted to director, an executive position at the Magnificent 7 company, where I had worked for eight years.

Follow-up congratulatory emails started to pour in.

I sent brief but genuine replies, "Thank you." A few weeks later, another email went out.

My manager was leaving the team.

Having just been promoted, I thought this was an obvious next step for me.

That didn't happen.

They were hiring someone else instead — another director from another team was coming in to take his place.

My role and title stayed intact, but there was no scope expansion for me.

I earned the title, but I didn't have what I thought it signified: readiness for more.