Stages of career growth

I saw an interesting video today courtesy of good ol' Tik Tok. Normally I use Tik Tok purely for laughs, but every once in a while I find a gem here or there. I may even send one to

abrahamKim

, who pretends that he cannot watch the videos because "he doesn't have Tik Tok" even though you can simply watch the videos on the website.

The discussion topic in the video is determining whether your skills match your level in terms of your career path. The premise is that a career can be divided into levels, and each level corresponds to a particular pay range and set of skills. The context of this discussion is a traditional, white-collar employee career path.

Stage 1: Entry Level ($30-50K)
When you first start your career, your success is defined by following directions and how well you do that. But you won't make it to Stage 2 until you start learning on your own and demonstrating that you can do things without being told.

Stage 2: Seeing and Solving Problems ($50-75K)
At Stage 2, you need to be able to see problems and solve them on your own with only broad goals defined by your manager. You have to be able to put a plan together and not just individual steps to complete objectives.

Stage 3: Interdependence ($75-100K)
At Stage 3, you evolve from working independently to relying on team members. You're asking a lot of questions but not questions of what to do. You are asking for experts from other areas to gather the information you need to make good decisions. You learn to surround yourself with good people and not to be afraid to ask questions.

Stage 4: Director ($100-200K)
At Stage 4, you are typically managing a team or you are a very high-level individual contributor. At this stage, you have to be comfortable with conflict. You cannot postpone or slowroll tough conversations, and you cannot be afraid to engage with people who disagree with you or have different viewpoints. You have to cooperate with people, compromise, and work on large-scope and usually high-profile projects and deliverables.

Stage 5: VP, SVP, C-level (Above $200K)
At Stage 5, you have reached the executive level of an organization. This role requires you to get buy-in and sell your ideas. You have to become a salesman for your ideas to get funding and move the organization in the direction of your vision. You have to think ahead not in weeks or months but strategically plan years in the future. You are no longer managing day-to-day but managing for the future.

For those who are curious, I would be classified in Stage 4 currently.