Career Paths Between Professional Development and Self-Development" A research paper submitted to the Second International Conference on "Educational Leadership: Contemporary Perspectives and Trends"

The career path is considered one of the important determinants of professionalism, as each job has its designation. This research paper is based on personal professional and job-related experiences, framed within an academic context. The success of the career path is crucial for both institutions and employees, as there is no success for any institution without the existence of a career path for its employees. The more these professional career paths are distinguished by their ability to achieve success and diversity, the more successful the institution's employees become. Consequently, job satisfaction rates increase, accompanied by high levels of achievement and performance quality within educational institutions.
The current study addresses professional development and self-development accompanying the academic career path and its impact on the success of various professional career paths emanating from the main path of the core job. This leads to satisfying the needs of employees to achieve their professional growth through multiple professional career paths. Such paths are an inevitable result of further education and training, which are only achievable through the academic path provided by universities and specialized educational institutions.
If organizational structures within educational institutions hinder vertical promotions for some experienced employees with high aspirations and expectations to succeed in their career paths, then the academic path of employees plays a crucial role. It provides employees with more confidence by satisfying their professional needs, not only relying on advancement in official vertical job positions within educational institutions but also on managing their career paths individually and autonomously. This is achieved through personal growth resulting from more education, knowledge, and training within their academic paths.
The academic path is considered the cornerstone of human capital for employees to unleash their potential, satisfy their desires, and meet their professional needs by achieving more successes and diversifying their career paths throughout their professional journey, starting from their appointments in educational institutions.
Therefore, this study aims to elucidate the impact of professional development and self-development on the success of diverse professional career paths among employees in educational institutions and to highlight the expected role of the academic path in supporting individual changes in employees' career paths. It also proposes some mechanisms that may contribute to the success of diverse professional career paths alongside the academic path for employees in educational institutions.