Career Growth Tools

Career Path Suggester

Discover where your current role can take you — realistic career paths with timelines, skills to develop and salary progression. Plan your next move with clarity.

Your Current Situation

Career Goal *

Where You Are Now
Your Preferences

Your Career Paths Will Appear Here

Enter your current role and career goal, then click Show My Career Paths to discover realistic next steps with timelines and salary progression.

Career Planning

How to Plan Your Career Move Strategically

Talk to people in your target role
No tool replaces real conversations. Find 3-5 people who hold the role you want and ask them how they got there, what they wish they had done differently and what skills matter most. LinkedIn makes this easier than ever.
Build skills before the title change
Do not wait for the promotion to start doing the work. Volunteer for projects that give you the experience of the next level. Companies promote people who are already operating above their current grade.
Make your ambition visible
Your manager cannot advocate for you if they do not know what you want. Have an explicit career conversation — "I want to move into a product manager role in the next 2 years. What do I need to demonstrate?" Plants the seed and creates accountability.
Fill your skills gaps deliberately
Identify the 2-3 skills that separate you from your target role. Certifications, side projects, courses and stretch assignments are all valid. One targeted skill gained beats ten 'learning' tabs left open.
Build your network before you need it
The best time to build relationships in your target field is before you are job hunting. Attend industry events, contribute to online communities and stay in touch with former colleagues. Most senior roles are filled before they are posted.
Review your progress every 6 months
Career planning without review is just daydreaming. Every 6 months, assess: are you closer to your goal? What has changed? Do you still want it? Adjust the plan based on what you have learned, not what you originally assumed.

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Frequently Asked Questions

The suggestions are AI-generated based on common industry progression patterns. They reflect typical paths observed across many organisations but cannot account for your specific company culture, the opportunities available to you, local job market conditions or individual performance factors. Use them as a starting framework and validate with people actually in those roles.

A vertical move is a promotion — moving up in seniority, scope and typically salary within your function. A lateral move is a role change at the same level, often into a different function or industry. Lateral moves can build breadth, access different opportunities or serve as a stepping stone to a vertical move that would not have been available otherwise.

It depends on whether your skills are transferable and how much of your value is industry-specific. Technical skills (coding, financial modelling, data analysis) transfer easily. Industry-specific knowledge (healthcare regulations, legal expertise) is harder to transfer. The biggest risk of staying is a shrinking industry; the biggest risk of switching is starting over in seniority.

In most industries: entry to mid-level takes 2-3 years, mid to senior takes 3-5 years, senior to manager or lead takes 3-6 years depending on opportunity availability. These are medians — high performers move faster, those not intentionally developing themselves move slower or not at all.

Studies consistently show that external hires receive higher starting salaries than internal promotions for the same role — sometimes 10-20% more. However, internal moves preserve relationships, institutional knowledge and reduced ramp-up time. The optimal strategy is to use external offers as leverage for internal advancement, or to move externally every 4-6 years to reset your salary baseline.

A complete career change typically takes 2-4 years and usually requires one of: additional education, building a portfolio through side projects, starting at a lower level in the new field, or finding a bridge role that uses your current skills in the target industry. The "Career Pivot" goal type in this tool is designed specifically for this scenario.