Professional pipelines describe how survival roles mature into community trades, technicians, public systems, and advanced professions. They are not castes and not fixed social ranks. One person may hold several roles. Practical demonstration, teaching ability, and safe judgment matter more than inherited credentials.
The point of a pipeline is continuity. A community loses capability when only one person can perform a critical task. A pipeline preserves task lists, safety incidents, local substitutions, tool maintenance, drawings, and demonstrated competencies so knowledge can outlive any one expert.
| Pipeline | A0 | A1 | A2 | A3 | A4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Medicine | Field medic | Community clinician / midwife | Clinical technician / public-health medicine | Hospital system | Specialty medicine |
| Sanitation | Contamination monitor | Sanitation lead | Process operator | Waterworks / wastewater systems professional | Environmental specialist |
| Building | Shelter lead | Builder / mason / carpenter | Construction technician | Civil works professional | Advanced civil engineer |
| Mechanical | Salvage and repair lead | Blacksmith / mechanic / toolmaker | Machinist / manufacturing technician | Depot and fleet specialist | Precision / reliability engineer |
| Electrical | Power-isolation monitor | Electrical salvager / rewinder | Electrician / generator technician | Grid and distribution professional | Electrical systems engineer |
| Knowledge | Recorder / messenger | Teacher / binder / copyist | Printer / cataloger / radio operator | Archivist / public-information professional | Information-systems specialist |
This matrix intentionally stops at A4. A5 is not a single standardized profession or community promotion step; it describes frontier research and leapfrog capability that varies by discipline. A5 roles should therefore be defined in the relevant subject page, with their required facilities, specialist teams, research base, and fallback methods stated explicitly.
Each pipeline should retain task checklists, safety incidents, local material substitutions, tool maintenance logs, drawings, and demonstrated competencies. Promotion should be based on evidence that the next dependency level can be operated and taught safely.