A career ladder is the series of steps upward through a profession. Climb the career ladder, the first rung of the career ladder.
The picture assumes one direction, which fits fewer working lives than it used to. A career ladder with missing rungs is what people mean when they say a field has no way in.
1nouncareer ladderThe series of steps upward through a profession.
“There was no career ladder in the job at all, only the one post.”
career ladder is a progression.
Practised in Work & Careers