Post by Captain Erys Murai on Feb 26, 2014 15:14:02 GMT -5
Something that's come up a few times in discussions is how long a person should serve in a specific rank before being promoted. How long is too long, and when is it time to move up? Well... I don't have an exact answer for you, but here's what information I did find:
Ensign - 1 to 5 years (7 in extreme cases)
Barring exceptions like Harry Kim (whom Captain Janeway admitted would have been promoted if there had been anywhere for him to go), most Ensigns will be promoted within a few years. In the examples I've found, most officers were expected to have reached a higher rank (Lieutenant Commander) within 8-10 years. However, these are all exceptional officers (Hoshi Sato, Ro Laren, etc.) One example of an actual promotion was Ezri Dax, promoted from Ensign to Lieutenant, JG after only a year or two (but again, extraordinary circumstances). Chekov is probably the best example, having served at least three years as an Ensign before being promoted.
Lieutenant, Junior Grade - 1 to 5 years in grade (up to 10 years in extreme cases) | 4 to 8 years total (typical)
There is more data to work with on this rank. Examples like Geordi and Worf seemed to have been promoted fairly quickly, while examples like Barclay took much longer. While it's unknown exactly how long Geordi was actually at the Lt JG rank, we do know he served on the Enterprise a full year before being promoted, and had been in service for 8 years. Worf is another unknown, having served at least two years at LT JG, with a total of 5 years in service. Barclay, however, we know served at least 5 years, possibly up to 10 years at LT JG. We do know that Bashir was a freshly-minted Doctor as of 2369, and was promoted after 3 years at Lt JG. Barclay's case was most likely more normal for Starfleet Officers, especially ones with issues preventing a promotion.
Lieutenant - 1 to 5 years in grade (possibly longer in extreme cases) | 8 to 10 years total (typical)
The fastest I could find was Geordi La Forge, being promoted from Lieutenant to Lieutenant Commander after only one year as Chief Engineer. Most other cases took longer, with Dax and Tuvok both serving at least 3 years each, and Worf and Sulu both serving at Lieutenant for five years. There are extreme cases, such as Tom Paris, but those usually involve disciplinary actions.
Lieutenant Commander - 1 to 15 years in grade | 12 to 15 years total (typical)
The most extreme case I could find was Lieutenant Commander Data. He served at least 14 years straight as a Lieutenant Commander. I believe he was (finally) up for promotion to Commander as of Nemesis, though we never got to see that. Geordi himself served for 13 years as Lieutenant Commander, but McCoy only served for 3 years before being promoted, as did Riker, Scotty, and Sisko. Worf served 8 years, Troi 6 years, and Tuvok 4 years. Spock and Shelby only served a single year at LtC before being promoted again.
Commander - 1 to 18 years in grade | 15 to 20 years total (typical)
So far, the most extreme case seems to be Beverly Crusher at 17 years, with Riker and Scotty close behind at 14 and 15 years respectively. There are other cases of Commanders being promoted after only 1 year, but the general consensus seems to be between 3 and 10 years for normal officers. Most of the "extreme" cases were officers who chose to stay in a position and pass up a promotion, the best example of which being Riker (Riker was offered multiple promotions, and even accepted temporary promotions in multiple cases).
Captain - 5 to 50 years in grade | 20 to 40 years total (typical)
It seems like most officers try to aim for and stay at this rank, although not all are successful. Picard was offered a promotion to Admiral within a year of taking command of the Enterprise (although he'd been a captain for some time), but decided to retain his command for at least the next 14 years (roughly 46 years to that point).. Kirk was promoted to Admiral after his 5-year mission.
So, for extremely ambitious officers, it may be possible to reach the rank of Captain within 6-10 years. Captain Picard is listed as the "youngest Officer to reach the rank of Captain", having reached it 6 years after graduation from the Academy. The average officer is more likely to take between 15-20 years to reach that rank. More relaxed or disruptive officers may take longer, and will be less likely to ever reach the higher ranks (especially in the latter case).
Please note that all information listed above is from canon sources, and does not take into account any soft canon or real-life information, or examples from within this fleet.
Ensign - 1 to 5 years (7 in extreme cases)
Barring exceptions like Harry Kim (whom Captain Janeway admitted would have been promoted if there had been anywhere for him to go), most Ensigns will be promoted within a few years. In the examples I've found, most officers were expected to have reached a higher rank (Lieutenant Commander) within 8-10 years. However, these are all exceptional officers (Hoshi Sato, Ro Laren, etc.) One example of an actual promotion was Ezri Dax, promoted from Ensign to Lieutenant, JG after only a year or two (but again, extraordinary circumstances). Chekov is probably the best example, having served at least three years as an Ensign before being promoted.
Lieutenant, Junior Grade - 1 to 5 years in grade (up to 10 years in extreme cases) | 4 to 8 years total (typical)
There is more data to work with on this rank. Examples like Geordi and Worf seemed to have been promoted fairly quickly, while examples like Barclay took much longer. While it's unknown exactly how long Geordi was actually at the Lt JG rank, we do know he served on the Enterprise a full year before being promoted, and had been in service for 8 years. Worf is another unknown, having served at least two years at LT JG, with a total of 5 years in service. Barclay, however, we know served at least 5 years, possibly up to 10 years at LT JG. We do know that Bashir was a freshly-minted Doctor as of 2369, and was promoted after 3 years at Lt JG. Barclay's case was most likely more normal for Starfleet Officers, especially ones with issues preventing a promotion.
Lieutenant - 1 to 5 years in grade (possibly longer in extreme cases) | 8 to 10 years total (typical)
The fastest I could find was Geordi La Forge, being promoted from Lieutenant to Lieutenant Commander after only one year as Chief Engineer. Most other cases took longer, with Dax and Tuvok both serving at least 3 years each, and Worf and Sulu both serving at Lieutenant for five years. There are extreme cases, such as Tom Paris, but those usually involve disciplinary actions.
Lieutenant Commander - 1 to 15 years in grade | 12 to 15 years total (typical)
The most extreme case I could find was Lieutenant Commander Data. He served at least 14 years straight as a Lieutenant Commander. I believe he was (finally) up for promotion to Commander as of Nemesis, though we never got to see that. Geordi himself served for 13 years as Lieutenant Commander, but McCoy only served for 3 years before being promoted, as did Riker, Scotty, and Sisko. Worf served 8 years, Troi 6 years, and Tuvok 4 years. Spock and Shelby only served a single year at LtC before being promoted again.
Commander - 1 to 18 years in grade | 15 to 20 years total (typical)
So far, the most extreme case seems to be Beverly Crusher at 17 years, with Riker and Scotty close behind at 14 and 15 years respectively. There are other cases of Commanders being promoted after only 1 year, but the general consensus seems to be between 3 and 10 years for normal officers. Most of the "extreme" cases were officers who chose to stay in a position and pass up a promotion, the best example of which being Riker (Riker was offered multiple promotions, and even accepted temporary promotions in multiple cases).
Captain - 5 to 50 years in grade | 20 to 40 years total (typical)
It seems like most officers try to aim for and stay at this rank, although not all are successful. Picard was offered a promotion to Admiral within a year of taking command of the Enterprise (although he'd been a captain for some time), but decided to retain his command for at least the next 14 years (roughly 46 years to that point).. Kirk was promoted to Admiral after his 5-year mission.
So, for extremely ambitious officers, it may be possible to reach the rank of Captain within 6-10 years. Captain Picard is listed as the "youngest Officer to reach the rank of Captain", having reached it 6 years after graduation from the Academy. The average officer is more likely to take between 15-20 years to reach that rank. More relaxed or disruptive officers may take longer, and will be less likely to ever reach the higher ranks (especially in the latter case).
Please note that all information listed above is from canon sources, and does not take into account any soft canon or real-life information, or examples from within this fleet.