William T. Riker was born in 2335. He graduated from Starfleet Academy in 2357 at the age of 22 and at the rank of Ensign. His first assignment was the USS Pegasus. When the Pegasus was lost in 2358 (just over a year later) I�m guessing that he was assigned to Betazed as a Junior Grade Lieutenant. I�m guessing that he stayed there until about 2360 when he was promoted to Lieutenant and assigned to the USS Potemkin (wanting to further his career rather than a relationship with Troi), possibly as an engineer due to the gold uniform his duplicate was wearing. In 2361 the transport accident occurred and created a second copy of Riker. It is stated that after this accident he was promoted to Lieutenant Commander. Since it is now 2361 I�m again guessing that Riker was assigned to the USS Hood as XO in 2362 or maybe late 2361. This would work as about a year later he was assigned to the USS Enterprise with the rank of Commander (aged 28), to fill the position of XO.

So;

2357 � 22 � Ensign � USS Pegasus � Pilot?
2358 � 23 � Lt (jg) � Betazed?
2360 � 25 � Lt � USS Potemkin � Pilot/Engineer?
2361 � 26 � Lt Comdr. � USS Potemkin (& USS Hood?)
2362 � 27 � Lt Comdr. � USS Hood � XO
2363 � 28 � Comdr � USS Enterprise � XO

The ages given would fit with the episode when Riker�s father came aboard (second season) and he commented that he was 29 years old (as of stardate 42686.4 - mid/late-2364).

Ensign to Commander in 6 years and 5 assignments, with approximately 14 months per assignment and rank � not bad.

Hope that helps!

As for Riker... Is it possible to follow a solely command-oriented path up through the ranks? Think about it... Riker doesn't seem particularly knowledgeable about engineering or science. He also doesn't act like a former security/tactical officer. So, what did he do? It seems like he was written in the character of an XO, and no-one ever gave a thought as to his background.

Of course that doesn't explain why he was in gold in Second Chances, but if I had to guess I would say Ops. Operations seems like the obvious springboard for a command career, and he definitely hasn't shown any engineering or security aptitude.

I'd think that it is mandatory for all officers with command ambitions to perform a short stint at some other career path after the initial standard helmsman period. And Security would come naturally to Riker, who probably earned his promotion and transfer by the personal recommendation of Pressman - Pressman had been impressed by the Security qualifications of Riker specifically, after all, and would have a keen interest in keeping Riker happy and silent.

A Security lieutenant would be a natural choice for somebody to manage an evacuation of an endangered outpost, as in "Second Chances". Of course, given the technobabblic nature of that evacuation, an Engineering specialist might also be needed, but "Tom" Riker didn't seem to be so knowledgeable that he would have understood what happened to him during the transport. An Operations manager could also be called in to facilitate an evacuation OPERATION, but Ops officers have generally looked more like shipboard managers, not field operatives. So my vote still goes for the yellowshirted "Tom" Riker to have been a Security officer.

Or Frakes. I can't tell whether he loves the character for his grissly looks, or his fun-luvin' personality.