•  Employee, consultant or entrepreneur: Which do you want to be? •  Employee, you say? Stay in charge of your career. •  Map your way to success in the corporate world.

Never in the history of modern-day business have you, as a working adult, had so many different career options. Not only do you need to decide what you want to do -- finance, sales, IT, HR, general management, etc. -- you have to decide how you want to do it. Do you want to be:

• An employee, enjoying the safety, security (somewhat questionable these days) and benefits of corporate employment? There are many positive things to be said about getting that W-2, your pension plan and all the other perks.
• A consultant, thriving in the world of projects, clients and solutions? The diversity of a consulting career intrigues many senior managers and executives, allowing them to leverage their particular expertise and enjoy lots of different experiences and opportunities.
• An entrepreneur, defining and pursuing your own course of action? Entrepreneurship can be enticing and tremendously rewarding, but you must learn to live with the risk and potential for financial uncertainty. It can be a heavy load to carry.

This series of articles will focus on each of these career paths, highlighting their potential advantages and disadvantages, to help you determine which is most appropriate for you. We begin with the path most people choose -- that of the employee.

Despite the uncertainty of financial markets, the recent poor performance of the technology sector and other depressing economic news, the opportunities for employment do exist, today and in the future. Finding them might take a bit more effort and creativity than in years past, but jobs do exist and will continue to.

If you've made the decision to pursue employment, then you must ask yourself the following questions:

• How are you going to manage and advance your career?
  
• How are you going to position yourself for continual increases in compensation?
• How will you find self-satisfaction and personal fulfillment in your job?

The single most important thing to remember as an employee is that no matter who writes your paycheck, ultimately you work for yourself and your family. Therefore, your job must not only provide money, benefits and the like, it must also provide you with a feeling of self-worth and personal identity. In a world where work often dominates our lives, these personal feelings of value and contribution are vital to your own personal growth and sense of achievement. Just as critical, your employer must find value in what you bring to the organization.

Planning and preparation are key. It is strongly recommended that you develop your own career map, a tool that allows you to envision where you will be a year from now, five years from now, 10 years from now and so forth. With your career map in hand, you'll have a tool to chart your projected career growth and direction, knowing it will change over time as you move forward, encounter new opportunities, expand your knowledge and reposition yourself for continued growth.

When you have a plan in hand, you have control over your destiny, something that all too many employees feel they give up when they accept an employment opportunity. Many believe their careers are now in the company's hands, and they sit passively, waiting for the company to make the next move.

But not you! You know your objective is to move up another tier in the management structure of your company, or another company, within the next two years. In anticipation, you should engage in the following activities:

• Prepare and continually update your achievement journal, highlighting each and every contribution, project, cost savings, revenue increase and more that you've delivered to the company. This will be a vital tool in negotiating your next promotion and accompanying salary increase.
• Develop a networking resource file you can easily and quickly update with each new network contact, people who may be of value when planning and executing your next job search.
• Prepare a compensation chart to specifically depict your realistic projections for growth in salary, benefits and other financial perks. Keep this with your career map and update them simultaneously.

As an employee, you strive to meet two independent, yet interrelated, agendas: yours and your employer's. It is quite possible to achieve both, as long as you are clear about what you want and can communicate that information to an employer. And be prepared to discuss your supporting qualifications, achievements and talents as well.

Be sure to read "Exploring Your Options: The Life of a Consultant" to learn about the opportunities of a professional consulting career.