I think most of us, at one point or another, have fantasized about how our career will progress. Maybe you have some 300-point plan to get you to where you want to be, or perhaps you just have a general idea of where you want to end up. Whatever you currently think, and wherever you currently are, there are some universal stages of your career that you’ll experience. Knowing what they are, recognizing them, and seeing the benefits of each can help you further your career and your professional development. Of course, developing additional skills to further your career won’t hurt either.
Beyond that, make sure you round yourself out with hobbies, supplement your income if you need to, and be sure you don’t rely on passion alone to get your through your working years.
1. Exploration, Investigation, And Basic Development
The first stage is basically the exploratory phase. You’ll also do some investigation when it comes to your options and abilities, as well as some basic development. Let’s break it down.
Explore
You’ll explore your career options. What I mean by this is pretty simple – we’re at the starting point of your career here, after all. This is where you’ll be considering completely different careers and weighing the pros and cons as well as whether you’re suited for them and the lifestyle they’ll require. Maybe you’re interested in a career in HR as well as a career in electrical engineering. This is the point where you’ll figure out what the options are, what sounds interesting to you, and how you can try them out or learn more about them.
Investigate
When you find a career, or set of careers, that you’re interested in, you’ll need to do a deep dive. How far this goes is up to you, but this is where you’ll ultimately decide what you want to do and begin pursuing it. Be careful in your decision-making process, but don’t take years to decide. In my opinion, it’s better to start learning the ins and outs of a trade to decide partially through that you want to do something else.
At the very least you’ll have learned some skills, know more about yourself, and finally find yourself on the right track. Detours are part of life, don’t be so afraid of them that you’re too petrified to do anything.
Continue To Develop
At this point, you’ll have picked a career to start working towards. You’ll need to figure out what you need to do in order to break into it and get started. For example, if you want to be an engineer or lawyer, you’ll find that you need to go to college. However, if you want to become a plumber or work with your hands, you may end up going to a trade school instead. These days there are still many ways to make money without a degree.
Don’t get caught up in what people say you should do. Instead, focus on the best way to actually develop and learn the skills you need so that you can market yourself properly during the interview process and actually land your first job.
2. Solidification
Second up is the solidification phase. Per the name, this is about finally breaking into your career and solidifying yourself as a professional. Think of this as the period, after something like college or trade school, where you’re in the first few years of your profession. This is where you see some of the work from the first stage start paying off, and actually get real-world experience that takes your skills up a notch.
First Job
During this process, you’ll need to land your first job (in the industry). Perhaps you’ll have to do an internship to get in, but I’m referring to your first permanent role – that leads to a lot of the training you’ll receive. There will be training on the job, continued training and studying you may have to do, and knowledge gained from raw experience. Enjoy this part. You’ll get your hands in a lot of things, learn about them, but you won’t have too much responsibility. That means you can focus on learning and getting better, without all the extra headache. Make this time count.
Basic Experience And Competency
By the end of the solidification stage, you should be competent at your job. I’m not saying that you have to be the best, but you need to be able to perform it by yourself. The better you are by the end of this, the better your career will go. Work hard, learn as much as possible, and become as amazing as you can.
3. Advancement And Job Opportunities
The third stage is all about advancing your career. This may be where you see a lot of turbulence. You may change positions, get large raises, see promotions, and so on. This is another major crossroad, which you likely won’t have seen since the first stage. The second stage sometimes has major choices, but it is mostly straightforward. However, this third stage is where you start seeing a lot of options. What you choose will vary wildly based on circumstance, your interests, and even your desire to start a family.
It’s okay to choose an abnormal route, or one that leaves you with less money. Not everything is black and white, so be sure you consider your options carefully. Do what will make you the happiest and most secure with your decision in the long run. Try not to live a life of regret. Blindly following passion isn’t good, but neither is ignoring your mental and emotional needs.
Stay Where You’re At – With More Seniority
The first option, which is one many people like, is to stay in the same type of role. Now, this may seem bad or lazy at first, but it doesn’t have to be. This can come with a minor promotion, but it’s basically leaning into your seniority for the role. You will have moderate pay raises with this route, and you’ll likely get a few extra responsibilities that come with experience.
The good part about this is that it is usually far less demanding than many of your other options. You can still have good pay, but it won’t compete with the positions for those who were more ambitious. At the same time, you’ll have a much lighter workload and a better work-life balance. If you have a family and need to slow down, this can be enticing. You may need to do it, if only for a little bit, but make sure you don’t get lazy and let yourself coast too much.
Major Promotions
The other option is that you can work your way up through promotions within your job role. For example, if you are an engineer, perhaps you’ll become a senior engineer or technical architect. There are many different names for this type of thing. The crux of it is simple – you’re going up the ladder as far as possible in non-management roles for your career. This will result in much more pay than if you had been stagnant and decided to coast, but it may also require far more hours and immense responsibility. It comes with it’s perks, but it has downsides too.
Management
The last option I see people go for is the management track. Instead of staying in the role they were in, they start climbing up the management ladder instead. Usually this presents itself as an opportunity to manage a team doing the type of work you’re accustomed to. Many people try to go this route only to find they don’t like the headache and bureaucracy that comes with it. Do yourself a favor – if you decide to go the management route, make sure you have realistic expectations and know what you’re getting yourself into.
4. Finalization And Stability
Stage four is where you really get to see the fruits of your labor. You’ll finally be where you want and achieve some level of stability. You may have a lot of work on your plate, but at the very least you should know what to expect at this point. This is where your salary will peak. Enjoy it!
Coasting
Coasting can be a danger in this stage as well as the last. It isn’t always bad, and depending on where you’re at in life you may need to take a bit of a relaxed approach with work.
However, if you’re coasting for a long time, or you’re putting off work because you hate it, reevaluate and try to change things up. It’s never too late for a career change or shift – many people do it multiple times throughout their career. You can completely change industries, or change to a job with many overlapping skills.
5. Decline & Retirement
The final stage is decline and retirement. You may’ve gotten too comfortable in the last stage, or you may not be up to date anymore. It could be your age and the desire to not have so much on your plate. Whatever the case, this is usually when you slow down and enter retirement.
I’ve discussed retirement extensively many times. It honestly looks different for everyone. If you’re the type who wants to kick back and basically take a permanent vacation, do it – but be aware that you may find yourself bored if you have nothing to do. An increasingly common thing I find retirees doing is leaving their old career and pursuing an endeavor that’s more philanthropic. It keeps them sharp, and gives them a continued purpose in their life.
Conclusion
Hopefully understanding the stages of your career will help you make future decisions. If you have any thoughts of your own, or tips on career progression, let us know in the comments. For more content like this, and a free budgeting template and financial goals worksheet, be sure to sign up for the Bitter to Richer newsletter!
