[Ashartus]

Originally Posted by flamesfever

As an old retired geologist, if I was to give my son some idea of how he should look at his career path, I would probably say something like this:

1. the educational stage
- going to technical school or university and graduating with a
diploma or degree

2. the experiencial stage
- apprenticing, training
- working in a particular trade or field for an extended period

3. the cashing in stage
- taking on more responsibilty and sharing in company profits by
way of partnership, bonus, stock option, etc.
- starting your own consulting company
- starting your own business

Of course there are many other important factors like finding a suitable trade or profession, networking, taking risks, etc. that have been discussed above, but it's important to know it's a long process, that requires many years of hard work, dedication, perseverence, and faith that you will eventually succeed.

This is an excellent summary and pretty much exactly what I've done - and am now at the "cashing in stage" having risen to partner in my company. There are other routes, but in most of the professions and trades this is the most likely path to success in my opinion. The most important part is that you won't generally get there by switching careers every few years; you have to stick with it for a long time to get to the top in most fields. You need to be happy with your career choice to do this though; you don't want to be spending 10 or 15 years (or more) doing something you don't like before you even get to the stage where you start to reap the benefits.