I made VP 4 years after graduating from a not-impressive school. There was some “right place right time” luck involved there later on, but I was also fired once during the process. The success I mainly attribute to two things: I outperformed all of my peers, and aggressively sought out the next step via company hopping. Company loyalty is dead, all of the data will tell you that switching companies every 1-2 years will maximize your title and pay. In my experience, it’s not as simple as “crush it, and look for a company that appreciates that”, but it’s not far from it. (Disclaimer: work in fin tech sales, though for which I have no degree)