# Creating Your First Career Path

### Overview

Career paths are the foundation of Skillmelo. They help you track your professional journey, set goals, and get personalized AI insights about your career's future.

### What is a Career Path?

A career path represents a job role you're currently in or aspire to reach. For example:

* **Software Engineer** (current role)
* **Engineering Manager** (target role)
* **Product Manager** (alternative path to explore)

You can create multiple career paths to:

* Track your current position
* Plan future career moves
* Compare different options
* Get AI insights for each

### Creating Your First Career Path

#### Step 1: Access Careers

1. Click **Careers** in the sidebar
2. Click **+ Add Career** or **Create Career Path**

#### Step 2: Enter Career Details

Fill in the following:

| Field                | Description                   | Example                    |
| -------------------- | ----------------------------- | -------------------------- |
| **Job Title**        | The role you're tracking      | "Senior Software Engineer" |
| **Status**           | Current, target, or exploring | "Target"                   |
| **Industry**         | Your field                    | "Technology"               |
| **Experience Level** | Your level for this role      | "Mid-level"                |

#### Step 3: Add Skills (Optional)

Link skills from your Skills page to this career:

* Select relevant skills you already have
* The system will use these for AI recommendations

#### Step 4: Save

Click **Save** to create your career path.

### What You Can Do With a Career Path

Once created, you can:

#### 📊 Generate AI Impact Reports

Analyze how AI will affect this role, see automation risk, and get recommendations.

#### 🎯 Track Skill Progress

See which skills you have that apply to this career and which you're missing.

#### 📈 View Career Insights

Get salary trends, growth projections, and market demand data.

#### 🔄 Compare Paths

See how different career options stack up against each other.

### Best Practices

#### Start with Your Current Role

If you're employed, create a career path for your current position first. This gives you a baseline for comparison.

#### Add a Target Role

Create a second path for where you want to be. This helps identify skill gaps.

#### Explore Alternatives

Add 1-2 alternative paths you're curious about. You might discover a better fit!

#### Keep Skills Updated

Regularly update your skills to get more accurate AI insights.

### Example: Software Engineer → Engineering Manager

**Path 1: Current Role**

* Title: Senior Software Engineer
* Status: Current
* Skills: Python, JavaScript, System Design, Code Review

**Path 2: Target Role**

* Title: Engineering Manager
* Status: Target
* Skills: Team Leadership, Project Management, Technical Strategy

**AI Insights You'd Get:**

* Automation risk for both roles
* Skills needed to transition
* Salary comparison
* Timeline recommendations

***

### Related Articles

* [Understanding Your Dashboard](/skillmelo-help-center/getting-started/understanding-your-dashboard.md)
* [Adding and Managing Skills](/skillmelo-help-center/getting-started/adding-and-managing-skills.md)
* [What are AI Impact Reports?](/skillmelo-help-center/ai-features/readme.md)


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