To trace career patterns in education, researchers analyzed logitudinal data from the payroll and personnel files of 28,000 educators in the Chicago (Illinois) public school system. Nine types of positions were identified, including classroom and nonclassroom teachers, vice-principals, principals, specialists, and central office administrators. The variables examined comprised educators' sex, age, ethnic group, training, experience, and absenteeism, as well as the schools' proportion of nonwhite students, average reading levels, student attendance, and faculty characteristics. Analysis reveals little movement along career paths and only small chances for advancement, primarily because there is very little turnover. Males are more likely to gain promotions than females, but ethnic characteristics do not appear to affect promotion probabilities. Given declining enrollments in Chicago but a slight increase in staffing, projections for the next five years indicate low rates of turnover and heavier representation of males in central administrative, nonclassroom teaching, and specialist positions. (Author/RW)