When TNG started in 1987, Jonathan Frakes was 35.
As of 2002's Star Trek: Nemesis, the last of the TNG-based Trek films, only four of the regular crew members had gotten a promotion since the debut of TNG -- and none of them had advanced more than a single pay grade.
In fifteen years.
Far from being the "Flagship of Starfleet" and a highly-honored posting, it's obvious that the Enterprise-D was a career killer.