What Career Track Are You On?

I have this theory about career.
There are basically three identifiable career tracks, and everyone loosely falls into one of the three.

1. General Track
This where most people generally fall into: Get a job, any available one in a reasonably okay organization, work hard, try to climb up the ladder to the best of your abilty, and hope for the best.
This one is usually limited by the organization(s). In some places depending on your job and allied factors, there might be a limit to how high you can climb, or if you can at all. In fact, this track doesn't really pay again these days, and most people look down on it, even though that is where most guys end up anyhow.
The long and short of this one is that it leads a lot of people into corruption eventually.

2. Fast Track
The fast track is the assisted track, where the golden boy/girl is appointed by some big boys/girls, and he/she flies to the top position in record time, irrespective of what he or she is able to actually do. In fact, if you're on this track, whatever you say is the way is the way. Nothing else matters. You just can't go wrong.
The issue with this one is that people get burned by politics of the environment. Once your mentor is taken out, it must surely cascade to you. But they usually bounce back, because the Fast Trackers usually have a lot of solid backing.

3. Personal Track
This is the proverbial 'track of the brave'. These are the people who take their career literally into their own hands. They set their own career goals, and what they want to achieve in any organization. They are not scared to move on when they feel that the environment has given them what it has to offer.
The downside is, they usually suffer a lot in their personal life, due to some tough choices they have to make in order to pursue their personal ambition. It is also not a path for the faint-hearted.

Where would you say your career track is right now?

True talk, Seun. The Personal Track is entrepreneural in bias, regardless of whether they're working in an organization or not.
Surprisingly, I find that it's mostly the guys on the General Track that are corrupt in companies, as opposed to the Personal Track.

LOL@debosky,
I'm sure you don't live in Nigeria.
The general track leads to a lot of frustration in Nigeria, and ultimately corruption, in order to get some kind of satisfaction against a perceived injustice by the system, in my view.
In the West, people can live more peaceful and contented lives, cos in general you guys have power, water, security, and good clean cheap fun.
Nigerians kill stress of power, money, roads, and lack of security, by heading to church or the nearest beer parlour to gulp down cold beers and tear into various sides of chicken or beef, flavoured with pepper soup.

Not sure you see my point@debosky.
I'm linking the frustrations associated with the general track with some of the corruption we see in the public and private sector in Nigeria.
A lot of the general workforce in the private sector, where I work, and I'm also aware of the public sector, are generally disenchanted with their jobs and careers, and do not see themselves as going anywhere. That's my postulation. A lot of these people now make up their minds to take their revenge, as it were.

Just look at the general corruption in the Nigerian police. On one side you hear of their various atrocities, and on the other the massive ill-treatment meted out to the rank and file by the leaders in the police. We know about Tafa Balogun et al abi? A policeman who's at a general check point reads about how Tafa Balogun has been able to steal billions, and decides to take it out on the general populace (read 20 naira bribes, accidental discharges, etc).

On the beer parlour comment, what I'm saying is this: unlike other parts of the world, the Nigerian way of life, especially in the urban areas, is a bit Hobbes-ish (nasty and brutish). Except you have some well-developed value system, or a strong sense of inner adjustment, people do get tapped at the pressure points, and may eventually plunge into some kind of revenge fetish, as a means of getting some back. Hence the police analogy. Of course lots of people go to beer parlours and have a good time, and it doesn't necessary mean they're schizophrenic wrecks. But not withstanding, you have to admit that, like Fela said, 'suffer don dabaru the sense' of a large number of us.
Cheers.

Sure thing, debosky!
However, I will take you up on one last thing.
You classified yourself in general track with some influence of the fast track.
Most of us are in general track, so no issues with that.
My definition of fast track is 'assistance from above'. Does that by implication mean that you were 'assisted' to some extent 'from above'?
Fast track largely by your own efforts on the job is what I classify as 'personal track', by the way.
Would like to know if that's what you mean.

Personal track cos it was my personal endeavours that took me to where im working. It wasnt by accident that im here and i agree with the OP that its tough sticking to some tough choices

nyways, the good has been more than the bad

halleluyah somebody

hey tollu and tkb,
Well, they aren't mutually exclusive. Only very few people can say they fall 100% in one track.
I would say I am 50% general track, and 50% personal track. Reason is I am on the general track (work in an establishment), but all along in my career, I've made my choices and stuck to them. That sounds like what tkb is saying.

To make it simple, here is further classification:
-100% general track means you don't have any personal ambitions, dreams or aspirations per se. You just wanna work in a company. You hardly find anyone like that.
-100% fast track is possible. You may have been anointed like Dimeji Bankole, 40, who is no whiz kid or known for anything, but is strangely the number 3 (or is it 4) citizen of Nigeria.
-100% personal track is someone like Seun, who is 100% against the grain, didn't do what any of us did to get to where we are, and is not even defined by our own standards of success, but I guess is happy doing what he's doing, and making some good living as well.

Peace.

brb

I think I agree with debosky. Corruption(or its tendency) is not path-specific; it can result within any of the three classes you identified. But I agree it will be minimal in Personal path, going by the definition you gave it.

I will say I'm currently on General path. I'm just moving up and down, formerly a budding investment banker,now an Accountant, simply because those were the jobs that came but has strong plan to go back to Personal path( dream career:Economist)

Agreed. Corruption can occur irrespective of which track you're on. In fact, the very basis of the Fast Track is usually sometimes corruption, and nepotism.
However, I don't really agree that corruption is a 100% individual decision. Sometimes it is, but most times, people resort to it out of frustration, especially if others are doing it and getting away with it, and they seem to be suffering in the process.

The General Track is more likely to breed frustration. Most of you guys who have responded, and I think most of us in this generation, are in General Track, but we operate with the Personal Track mindset, unlike the previous generations who expected a company to deliver their dreams, and ended up frustrated. I think to succeed in the General Track, you need some level of Personal Track drive to push yourself, else you may miss the plot altogether.

Track of the Brave, 100% Personal !
Strongly Opinionated about my career track; took a job with a major service provider that pays almost 60% lower than a Telecom Trainer job I was offered somewhere else. (desperately wanted real-world, brain-racking, finger-numbing experience).  I work 9am - 6pm, including two Saturdays a week & Public Holidays. Spent three months out on the field climbing peoples roofs and overhead tanks, was later recommended to be moved to the NOC. Time flies once I get to the office. Basically, I'm loving what I do & doing what I love.

yes!!