WHAT CAREER PATH WILL MAKE ME A VP BY AGE 35?

QUESTION:
This is my first postcollege job, and as such, I started at "level 1." 
We're required to stay in a position at least one year before 
switching. This position is all right, but two others have been brought 
to my attention by the hiring managers in the same company.

Position A would be related to pure development, at either level 3 or 
4. It's interesting, but it's not in my first choice of fields. 
Position B would be more interesting, more related to what I've enjoyed 
doing, but it's likely to be at level 2. This position would involve 
more contact with customers, vendors, and business partners. Of course, 
neither of these positions is available to me until my year in the 
current position is up, but here's my question.

I'm 22, and my long-term goal is to be a VP by 35. Given this goal, 
would it be better to take position A for a year or two, which I'm not 
as interested in but which is higher up the corporate ladder, or should 
I try to work my way up through position B? I'm mainly interested in 
how important it is to jump up job levels even if they're not my first 
choice.

REPLY:
So you want to be a VP of anything by the time you're 35? If anything 
is what you want, you're likely to wind up with nothing you're happy 
with.

Don't pursue a job just because it offers a title and status. Pursue a 
job because it will enable you to apply your intelligence, your 
enthusiasm, and your motivation to become an expert at it. That's how 
you build equity that no one can take away from you. While high titles 
can help you get even higher titles, that's a risky long-term strategy 
because it depends on how titles are interpreted 13 years from now.

My opinion is that if you take a job just for the title, you're not 
going to get as much out of it because it isn't what you really want to 
do.

Look around you: Middle management (including the VP level) is being 
decimated across the land. Why? Because companies don't pay for titles. 
They pay for motivation and skills - and for one's contribution to 
profit. Taking a job for the title can kill your motivation, and it can 
lead you down the wrong skill path.

Please reconsider your goal. You could greatly screw up your life and 
career if all the choices you make between now and age 35 are geared to 
get you a VP position. With respect to your value, it's the talent that 
counts, not the title. With respect to your happiness, it's in the kind 
of day-to-day work you do - and not the title.

My advice: Take the job you want to do the most.

Best, 
Nick Corcodilos 
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