Most marketers hit VP in 10–15 years.
Some do it in 7–10. The gap isn’t luck but stage selection, owning revenue early, and breadth over channel depth.
Typical VP comp lands $170k–$285k OTE, and the top tier clears $500k+ with bonus/equity.
The Real Timeline
0–2: Specialist
Learn the craft. Ship.
3–5: Manager
Own a channel + a number.
6–9: Sr. Manager/Director
Multi-channel, bigger budgets, manage managers.
10–15: VP
Set strategy, own millions, align Sales/Product/CS, defend results.
Why it feels slow: big companies promote on risk cycles. Startups scale faster, so promotions can compress.
What Speeds It Up (7–10 Years)
Stage arbitrage
Join a company at an inflection point (post-PMF, fresh funding, new GEO).
Scarce skills
Growth, RevOps, PMM, analytics: anything tied to revenue or adoption.
Cross-functional gravity
Work with Sales, Product, and Finance early. Influence beats headcount.
Documented outcomes
“+40% leads” is nice. “$2.3M pipeline at $410 CAC” gets you pulled up.
One play that travels: cut one laggard channel by 25% and fund a 50-account ABM pilot. Last quarter that shift produced +$1.1M pipeline and moved payback from 12→8 months in 60 days.
Want a simple market playbook? Start with 3 Steps to Land $100K Remote Marketing Jobs in 2025 and adapt it to your current stage.
The Skill Shift to VP (What Changes)
If you can’t walk Finance through a model or align Sales on capacity math, you stall.
The Hidden Costs (Decide with Eyes Open)
Politics = alignment work.
50–60 hrs is common.
Job security is thinner at the top. Own the number, own the risk.
Titles don’t move numbers, systems do. Get the models, scripts, and templates and ship revenue in 30 days.
Upgrade to Premium and run the package end-to-end.
🔐The Fast-Track VP Playbook in 8 Steps (Copy, Paste, Ship)
This is the exact career plan.
Use it as your 90-day plan and portfolio builder:
0. VP Readiness Score (10-Point, with Fixes)
Can you defend a 3-scenario budget to Finance?
Do you track CAC, LTV, payback weekly?
Have you reallocated spend and proved lift?