Career paths

64 role-by-role guides. Each one is a "How to become a [role]" deep dive — cert sequence, salary table, 90-day plan, day-in-the-life, FAQ.

Paths
64
Format
Role-by-role
Source
Deep Dive/Career_Paths/

Not sure which role is the next one up from yours? The flow diagram lays these roles out by domain and seniority and names the documented move between each pair.

Open the flow diagram →
Data & AICP46

AI Engineer

→ AI Engineer (LLMs, GenAI focus)

18–30 months$95,000+
$1,200–$1,800
Open path →verified 2026-05-02
Data & AICP43

Analytics Engineer

12–18 months$80,000+
$900–$1,500
Open path →verified 2026-05-02
Software EngineeringCP52

API / Integration Developer

→ API / Integration Developer (mid-level)

12–18 months$70,000+
$1,000–$1,500
Open path →verified 2026-05-02
SecurityCP33

Application Security Engineer (AppSec)

→ Application Security Engineer

18–24 months$85,000+
$1,600–$2,400
Open path →verified 2026-05-02
Software EngineeringCP49

Backend Developer

→ Backend Developer (mid-level)

12–24 months$75,000+
$800–$1,200
Open path →verified 2026-05-02
Data & AICP48

BI Developer

→ BI Developer (Advanced)

9–15 months$65,000+
$600–$900
Open path →verified 2026-05-02
SecurityCP28

Chief Information Security Officer (CISO)

N/A — 10–15 year progression from entry-level months$150,000+
$3,500–$5,500
Open path →verified 2026-05-02
DevOps / PlatformCP37

CI/CD Engineer / Build & Release Engineer

→ CI/CD Engineer

12–18 months$75,000+
$600–$1,200
Open path →verified 2026-05-02
IT ManagementCP64

CIO (Chief Information Officer) — Career Track

→ Chief Information Officer (CIO)

180–240 (15–20 years) months$150,000+
$3,000–$7,000 (over career)
Open path →verified 2026-05-02
CloudCP24

Cloud AI/ML Engineer

18–30 months$100,000+
$2,600–$3,800
Open path →verified 2026-05-02
CloudCP18

Cloud Architect (Solutions Architect)

Variable (requires 3–5 years cloud experience) months$120,000+
$900–$1,500
Open path →verified 2026-05-02
CloudCP23

Cloud Data Engineer

18–24 months$95,000+
$2,800–$3,800
Open path →verified 2026-05-02
CloudCP21

Cloud DevOps Engineer

15–24 months$90,000+
$2,400–$3,200
Open path →verified 2026-05-02
CloudCP17

Cloud Engineer

12–18 months$75,000+
$800–$1,400
Open path →verified 2026-05-02
SecurityCP29

Cloud Security Architect

24–36 months$130,000+
$2,700–$3,800
Open path →verified 2026-05-02
CloudCP19

Cloud Security Engineer

18–24 months$95,000+
$1,400–$2,100
Open path →verified 2026-05-02
IT ManagementCP63

CTO (Chief Technology Officer) — Career Track

→ Chief Technology Officer (CTO)

180–240 (15–20 years) months$150,000+
$2,000–$5,000 (over career)
Open path →verified 2026-05-02
Data & AICP42

Data Analyst

→ Data Analyst (mid-level)

6–12 months$55,000+
$800–$1,200
Open path →verified 2026-05-02
Data & AICP44

Data Architect

N/A — Senior role, requires 5–8 years experience months$120,000+
$1,500–$2,200
Open path →verified 2026-05-02
Data & AICP41

Data Engineer

→ Data Engineer (mid-level)

15–24 months$85,000+
$1,200–$1,800
Open path →verified 2026-05-02
Data & AICP47

Data Scientist

24–36 months$90,000+
$1,200–$1,800
Open path →verified 2026-05-02
Foundation/InfrastructureCP02

Desktop Support Specialist / Deskside Support

4–8 months$40,000+
$800–$1,400
Open path →verified 2026-08-09
DevOps / PlatformCP35

DevOps Engineer

15–24 months$85,000+
$1,000–$1,700
Open path →verified 2026-05-02
SecurityCP32

DFIR Analyst (Digital Forensics & Incident Response)

→ DFIR Analyst

12–24 months$70,000+
$2,200–$3,500
Open path →verified 2026-05-02
CloudCP20

FinOps Engineer / Cloud Cost Optimisation Specialist

12–18 months$85,000+
$600–$1,200
Open path →verified 2026-05-02
Software EngineeringCP50

Frontend Developer

→ Frontend Developer (mid-level)

9–18 months$65,000+
$600–$900
Open path →verified 2026-05-02
Software EngineeringCP51

Full-Stack Developer

→ Full-Stack Developer (mid-level)

12–24 months$75,000+
$800–$1,200
Open path →verified 2026-05-02
SecurityCP30

GRC Analyst (Governance, Risk & Compliance)

→ GRC Analyst

12–18 months$65,000+
$1,800–$2,600
Open path →verified 2026-05-02
IT ManagementCP61

GRC Manager (Governance, Risk & Compliance)

→ GRC Manager

18–24 months$85,000+
$600–$1,200
Open path →verified 2026-05-02
Foundation/InfrastructureCP01

Help Desk Technician (IT Support Level 1)

→ Help Desk Technician / IT Support Level 1

3–6 months$35,000+
$600–$1,200
Open path →verified 2026-08-09
SecurityCP34

Identity & Access Management (IAM) Engineer

→ IAM Engineer

12–18 months$80,000+
$1,400–$2,200
Open path →verified 2026-05-02
DevOps / PlatformCP39

Infrastructure as Code Engineer (IaC)

→ Infrastructure as Code Engineer

12–18 months$80,000+
$700–$1,400
Open path →verified 2026-05-02
Foundation/InfrastructureCP08

Infrastructure Engineer (on-prem + hybrid cloud)

→ Infrastructure Engineer

18–24 months$70,000+
$1,400–$2,200
Open path →verified 2026-05-02
IT ManagementCP62

IT Auditor

→ IT Auditor (Internal or External)

12–18 months$65,000+
$600–$1,000
Open path →verified 2026-05-02
Foundation/InfrastructureCP07

IT Operations Manager

Progression from 3–5 years IT experience months$75,000+
$1,200–$2,000
Open path →verified 2026-08-12
IT ManagementCP59

IT Project Manager

12–18 months$70,000+
$400–$700
Open path →verified 2026-05-02
Foundation/InfrastructureCP03

IT Support Analyst (Level 2/3 Support)

→ IT Support Analyst / Support Engineer

6–12 months$45,000+
$900–$1,500
Open path →verified 2026-08-09
IT ManagementCP60

ITIL Service Manager

12–18 months$70,000+
$500–$1,000
Open path →verified 2026-05-02
DevOps / PlatformCP38

Kubernetes / Container Engineer

12–18 months$90,000+
$1,200–$1,900
Open path →verified 2026-05-02
Enterprise AppsCP58

Low-Code / No-Code Developer

6–12 months$55,000+
$200–$400
Open path →verified 2026-05-02
Data & AICP45

Machine Learning Engineer

24–36 months$100,000+
$1,500–$2,200
Open path →verified 2026-05-02
Enterprise AppsCP56

Microsoft 365 Administrator

→ Microsoft 365 Administrator Expert

8–14 months$55,000+
$300–$500
Open path →verified 2026-05-02
DevOps / PlatformCP40

MLOps Engineer (Machine Learning Operations)

→ MLOps Engineer

24–36 months$100,000+
$1,500–$2,500
Open path →verified 2026-05-02
CloudCP22

Multi-Cloud Architect

24–36 months$140,000+
$3,100–$4,200
Open path →verified 2026-05-02
Foundation/InfrastructureCP05

Network Administrator

10–16 months$55,000+
$1,100–$1,800
Open path →verified 2026-05-02
NetworkingCP11

Network Architect

Variable (requires 7–10 years experience) months$120,000+
$2,500–$4,200
Open path →verified 2026-05-02
NetworkingCP16

Network Automation Engineer

18–24 months$85,000+
$1,500–$2,200
Open path →verified 2026-05-02
NetworkingCP09

Network Engineer

12–18 months$65,000+
$1,300–$2,000
Open path →verified 2026-05-02
SecurityCP26

Penetration Tester / Ethical Hacker

→ Penetration Tester

12–24 months$70,000+
$2,600–$3,500
Open path →verified 2026-05-02
Enterprise AppsCP53

Salesforce Administrator

6–12 months$60,000+
$200–$350
Open path →verified 2026-05-02
Enterprise AppsCP54

SAP Functional Consultant

→ SAP Functional Consultant (Finance/HR/Logistics)

12–18 months$75,000+
$800–$1,500
Open path →verified 2026-05-02
NetworkingCP13

SD-WAN Engineer

18–24 months$80,000+
$1,700–$2,400
Open path →verified 2026-05-02
SecurityCP25

Security Analyst (SOC) – Tier 1/2

→ SOC Analyst (Tier 1 or Tier 2)

6–12 months$55,000+
$1,200–$1,700
Open path →verified 2026-05-02
SecurityCP27

Security Engineer (SecEng)

→ Security Engineer

18–24 months$80,000+
$1,800–$2,500
Open path →verified 2026-05-02
NetworkingCP10

Senior Network Engineer

→ Senior Network Engineer / Lead Network Engineer

Progression from 3–5 years as Network Engineer months$90,000+
$1,500–$2,500
Open path →verified 2026-05-02
Foundation/InfrastructureCP06

Server Administrator / Windows Server Admin

→ Server Administrator

10–16 months$52,000+
$950–$1,600
Open path →verified 2026-05-02
NetworkingCP15

Service Provider Engineer (Telco/ISP)

→ Service Provider Engineer

18–24 months$75,000+
$1,600–$2,300
Open path →verified 2026-05-02
Enterprise AppsCP55

ServiceNow Developer / Administrator

→ ServiceNow Developer or Administrator

9–15 months$75,000+
$400–$750
Open path →verified 2026-05-02
DevOps / PlatformCP36

Site Reliability Engineer (SRE) / Platform Engineer

→ SRE / Platform Engineer

18–24 months$95,000+
$1,400–$2,100
Open path →verified 2026-05-02
Foundation/InfrastructureCP04

Systems Administrator (Sysadmin)

→ Systems Administrator

12–18 months$55,000+
$1,200–$2,000
Open path →verified 2026-05-02
SecurityCP31

Threat Intelligence Analyst

12–18 months$70,000+
$1,200–$1,800
Open path →verified 2026-05-02
NetworkingCP14

VoIP / Unified Communications Engineer

12–18 months$65,000+
$1,300–$1,950
Open path →verified 2026-05-02
NetworkingCP12

Wireless Network Engineer

12–18 months$65,000+
$1,200–$1,800
Open path →verified 2026-05-02
Enterprise AppsCP57

Workday Consultant

→ Workday Consultant (HCM / Finance)

12–18 months$80,000+
$200–$600
Open path →verified 2026-05-02