Big 4 consulting, staying put versus moving out. Same graduate, same eight years, two different decisions.
The internal path: Graduate, Consultant at year two, Senior Consultant at four, Manager at six, Associate Director at eight. Four promotions, roughly ten to twelve thousand each, landing around 152.
The external path: three moves, at years three, six and eight. Plus 26, plus 38, plus 47, landing around 222.
Seventy thousand apart at the same point, at the same seniority, with the same CV up to year three.