The Corporate Ladder - MAC017

Managing A Career

For the majority of people, their career is going to last somewhere in the ballpark of forty years depending on when they start and when they decide to retire. While there are no hard and fast rules about how your career should or will progress, there are some generalized trends and milestones that you can expect to hit. Just note that each company is different and that these levels may not equate one-to-one with job titles at the companies you work for -- for example you might be promoted from an "Analyst 1" to an "Analyst 2" and still be considered junior level.

Unless you are an exception, you're going to start your career at a junior level. While you may have learned a lot of concepts as you trained for this position, your focus in this junior role will be to learn how the real world works compared to the theoretical world of school projects. You are usually following the direction of a more experienced team member. For the most part, you are expected to be competent at your job and generally do "good work". The biggest factor in getting promoted is usually just "time in grade". Depending on the industry you're in and the company you work for, you should expect to be in a junior role for 2 to 5 years.

Next will be mid-level positions. As you gain knowledge and experience, you will begin to be more autonomous, able to complete regular tasks without much guidance or supervision. By gaining the trust of the leaders, the scope and impact of your assignments will increase. You may even be given full responsibility for smaller projects allowing you to showcase some of your leadership potential (Check out Episode 016 for insights into how to be a good leader). You will also begin to guide and mentor junior team members. In order to progress from a mid-level position, it will require more than just "doing good work". You will need to showcase your ability to have a deeper understanding of your work and perform your work at an advanced level. You will also need to show solid leadership skills, being a senior member of the team means leading projects.

As far as how long you can expect to be in a mid-level role, it's going to have the most variability. Some people will move through this range quickly -- as fast as two years -- while others will feel like they are languishing at this level "forever" -- potentially as many as 10 years or more. At some companies, there is the additional complication that there may be fewer senior positions such that you must wait for a spot to free up or for the company to expand creating additional positions.

When you do finally reach the senior level, you will be responsible for leading larger projects and owning the relationship between your team and other teams. You will have an important voice in how projects are addressed by the team. For many, holding a senior level position will be the bulk of their career. You usually reach this level before your career is half over and if you decide not to pursue a management position, it's where you will finish your career.

For those that choose to transition to management, your focus shifts from doing the tasks of the team to almost exclusively leading the team. Personally, I think the most important responsibility of a manager is to support the career growth of their team. Other responsibilities could include managing budgets, prioritizing projects, and ensuring that the team is achieving the team's goals. But, if you build a good team and allow them to grow, everything else will take care of itself.

The final rung on the corporate ladder is the executive rung. This is a part of the ladder that few people actually reach. As an executive, you are setting corporate strategy and making decisions with a significant impact to the overall business.

The amount of time you spend between a senior role, a management role, and an executive role will really depend on your aspirations. You may aspire to reach any of the three levels, but you may also find your climb stalled due to the limited number of opportunities at these levels. Regardless of where you find yourself, in order to progress, look for a good mentor and make some of your own luck (Episode 013).

Have you mapped out your career plan in an IDP (Episode 002)? If not, access ManagingACareer.com and request your free IDP Template via the contact form.