Career flow diagram

43 IT roles laid out by domain and seniority, with the 42 moves between them. Nodes with a full role guide are links; the rest are roles the graph tracks but has no guide for yet.

Roles
43
Transitions
42
Role guides
64

Role lanes by seniority

Level
Operations
Networking
Systems
Cloud
DevOps
Security
Data / AI
Software
Architecture
Management
Entry
Help Desk T1
NOC Tech
SOC Analyst L1
Data Analyst
Junior Developer
Associate
Junior SysadminSysadmin
Network Engineer
Cloud Engineer (Associate)
Junior DevOps
SOC L2/L3
Data Engineer
Mid Developer
Professional
Senior Sysadmin
Senior Net Eng
Linux Engineer
Mainframe Sysprog
Senior Cloud Eng
Cloud Net Eng
DevOps EngineerSRE
Security EngineerPentester / Red Team
ML EngineerAI Engineer
Senior Engineer
Solutions Architect
Tech Lead
Engineering Manager
Expert
Infrastructure Eng
Network Architect
Systems Architect
Cloud Solutions Arch
Platform Engineer
Security Architect
CISO
Data Architect
Staff Engineer
Principal / Distinguished
Enterprise Architect
Chief Architect
Director
VP / CTO

26 of 43 nodes open a full role guide.

Documented transitions

FromToKindWhat the move is
Help Desk T1Junior SysadminStep upFrom script-following ticket-closer to system owner. 1.5–3 yrs. Bridge certs: AZ-104, Server+, LFCS.
Junior SysadminSysadminStep upFrom following runbooks to writing them. 2–4 yrs.
SysadminSenior SysadminStep upFrom running systems to designing them. 3–6 yrs total.
Senior SysadminInfrastructure EngStep up7–12 yrs total. The fork: deep IC architect or broaden into cloud/devops.
NOC TechNetwork EngineerStep up1–3 yrs. Bridge cert: CCNA 200-301.
Network EngineerSenior Net EngStep up3–6 yrs total. CCNA → CCNP era. Bridge: CCNP ENCOR 350-401.
Senior Net EngNetwork ArchitectStep up7–12 yrs total. Cross-domain breadth on top of network depth.
Cloud EngineerSenior Cloud EngStep up2–4 yrs. From running services to designing them at scale.
Senior Cloud EngCloud Solutions ArchStep up5–10 yrs total. Stop doing the work. Start designing it.
Junior DevOpsDevOps EngineerStep up2–3 yrs. Build CI/CD pipelines, IaC modules.
DevOps EngineerSREStep up2–4 yrs as DevOps. Specific Google-originated discipline. Read SRE books at sre.google.
SREPlatform EngineerStep up2–4 yrs. Devs are your customers. Build them paved roads.
SOC Analyst L1SOC L2/L3Step up1–3 yrs. From triage to investigation.
SOC L2/L3Security EngineerStep up3–5 yrs. From responding to building.
Security EngineerSecurity ArchitectStep up5–8 yrs as Sec Eng. Cross-domain security thinking.
Security ArchitectCISOFork10–15 yrs total. The CISO fork. No single path — CISOs come from sec eng (~35%), GRC (~25%), audit, IT, even legal.
Security EngineerPentester / Red TeamLateral2–4 yrs. Adversarial mindset. Different career — not just different specialty. Bridge: OSCP.
Data AnalystData EngineerStep up18–24 months. The most common pivot in data. Bridge: DP-700, DEA-C01.
Data EngineerML EngineerStep up2–4 yrs. The hardest data pivot. Engineering gets MORE complex, not less.
Data EngineerData ArchitectStep up4–7 yrs total. From pipeline-builder to platform owner.
Junior DeveloperMid DeveloperStep up1–2 yrs. Earn trust on a single team.
Mid DeveloperSenior EngineerStep up2–4 yrs. From shipping features to shipping systems.
Senior EngineerStaff EngineerFork3–7 yrs as Sr. The IC ladder fork. Equivalent comp to EM at most modern tech orgs. Read Larson's Staff Engineer book.
Staff EngineerPrincipal / DistinguishedStep up5–10 yrs as Staff. Industry-shaping. Rare.
Solutions ArchitectEnterprise ArchitectFork3–5 yrs as SA. Structural change: from system-level to portfolio-level thinking. EA scope is the whole technology portfolio, 3–5 yr horizon.
Enterprise ArchitectChief ArchitectStep up5–7 yrs as EA. Architecture as an organizational practice.
Senior EngineerTech LeadStep up3–5 yrs as Sr Eng. Still IC. But starting to lead. Last off-ramp before the manager fork.
Tech LeadEngineering ManagerFork6–18 months consideration. THE FORK. Not a promotion — a different job. Read The Manager's Path (Fournier).
Engineering ManagerDirectorStep up3–6 yrs as EM. From managing engineers to managing managers.
DirectorVP / CTOStep up5–10 yrs as Director. Org design. Strategy. Equity-heavy comp.
Help Desk T1NOC TechLateralCommon entry pivot. Both Tier-1 reactive but different focus. CCST or Network+ helps.
Senior SysadminSenior Cloud EngLateral12–18 months. The most common cloud entry path. Your ops experience is the foundation.
Senior SysadminDevOps EngineerLateral12–24 months. Ops side of DevOps. Your foundation is strong; gap is dev skills.
Senior Net EngCloud Net EngLateral6–18 months. Most under-appreciated lateral move — your routing/BGP skills are gold in cloud. AZ-700 or AWS ANS-C01.
Mid DeveloperDevOps EngineerLateral12–24 months. Dev side of DevOps. Your code is strong; gap is ops.
Data EngineerAI EngineerLateral6–18 months. The 2024+ role. If you can ship software with LLM components, this is yours.
Senior EngineerSolutions ArchitectStep up7–10 yrs IC experience. From building one system to designing systems for others to build.
Senior SysadminSolutions ArchitectLateralOperations engineers can move into solutions architecture, especially infra/cloud SA roles.
Security EngineerSecurity ArchitectStep up—
Mainframe SysprogCloud Solutions ArchLateral⚡ The highest-ROI pivot in IT 2026. Aging mainframe workforce + cloud migration = premium. 12–24 months.
Engineering ManagerVP / CTOStep upSkip-the-Director path is rare but possible at startups.
SREPlatform EngineerStep up—

Every role guide

The graph above tracks 43 nodes. The corpus has 64 full role guides — cert sequence, cost, salary band and a 90-day plan each. Browse them as cards.