Ask MM for career advice? I know, silly.

[Apoc]

It's clear your current situation is somewhat of a dead end

Why is that? If he's gained enough experience in ~2 yrs to be the "MVP" of the group it seems like things are going well.

Being the MVP doesn't mean shit if your company doesn't recognize or reward you for it. It quite clear his current boss doesn't give a shit or is incapable of helping him get that promotion and/or pay raise he thinks he deserves. Contrary to popular belief, some companies do pay their top talent and switching jobs stops becoming the answer. If his current employer doesn't do that in his current job, it's going to become systemic throughout his career there and now is the time to change that.

I left Allstate because length of service was all that mattered when it came for review time. I was better than most everyone else, I was helping people who had been there longer then me and even doing some of their work for the sake of the team. Come review time they got the promotion because they had been there longer. (I know because I was told that everyone got promoted in the order they were hired.) I finally found a job where my quality of work is what determines my success and not only has my salary increased 35% in 3 years, it's actually quite empowering (read: warm and fuzzy) to know I'm on the same level as people approaching 40. I know if I exceed expectations, am a leader in my field and help the company then I'll be rewarded in return. It sounds to me like Mike has the former and he wants and belongs in the latter.