Police
There is a defined structure to the police sector where you will begin as an officer and can work towards being a chief superintendent. Once your two year probationary period is completed then you will be a fully fledged officer and earn between £20K and £22k. This can be done in a range of specialist teams such as CID, armed police and drugs squad.As experience is gained it is possible to move into higher positions as a sergeant and then move to inspector, but examinations will have to be taken to achieve these goals. Middle management roles like these will acquire a salary of around £36k. Then using management schemes that are in place it is possible for a candidate to work their way to chief inspector, superintendent or chief superintendent where wages will be over £45k.

Nursing
Working as a nurse you can earn between £20k and £26k. After two years of experience most nurses will acquire the title of junior sister. This will mean that candidates have achieved competent levels in certain technical skills such as intravenous techniques and drug administration. From here there are different routes and options available depending on how much management a candidate wishes to take on.Moving into the roles as ward sister or team leader will depend on an individual’s development and specialist knowledge. As a ward sister you are responsible for your staff and can earn up to 32k a year. There are then more senior positions that a sister can progress to where they may ultimately reach the position of nurse consultant. To take up this position requires a masters and an individual can earn over £60k a year. In between you may take up specialist positions or the role of Matron gaining more managerial responsibilities.

Paramedics
Paramedics must register with the Health Professions Council and enter into continuous professional development (CPD). To fulfill the requirements of CPD paramedics can take part in work based learning, further education, extra reading and attending conferences.After two years as a fully-fledged paramedic there may be promotions to operational manager roles, then into senior management positions. These are generally location based so you could be area or regional manager, and this will generally need management training along the way. Having a degree in paramedical sciences may well help with your promotions and there may be a need to relocate.

Firefighting
There is a very structured career path with different levels of management possible. All entrants start as firefighters, then there are chances to become crew managers, moving through to watch manger, station manager and area manager. A lot of this will be based on your experience and the skills you show as a firefighter to reach your goals. As recruits tend to stay in the profession a person may well have to move between stations to gain promotion.