A map, not a list.

You describe your background in plain language: your role, roughly how long you have done it, the tools you actually touch, what you studied. NextNode returns an interactive map of the roles around you — the ones within reach now, the ones two or three moves out, and a route from where you are to where you said you want to end up.

Every role is a node you can open. Inside is what the job actually involves day to day, a salary range, how long the move typically takes, the certifications that carry weight for it, and a read on which of your current skills transfer and which you would have to build.

It works for any field. It started as an IT-only tool and broadened once testing showed a restaurant manager being quietly steered toward a generic business ladder — which is bad advice dressed up as a feature. A nurse gets clinical informatics and unit leadership. An electrician gets master electrician, estimator, contractor.

1. 1

   Describe where you are

   A paragraph is enough. The more specific you are about tools, sector and scale, the less generic your map — “ran a 40-cover kitchen” produces something “hospitality” never will.

2. 2

   Claude works out the roles, NextNode draws them

   The model never draws the chart. It returns structured data that is checked against a strict schema before anything is rendered, and a deterministic renderer draws the map from it. That separation is why every map is legible in the same way, whatever the model says — and why a malformed answer becomes a retry rather than a broken picture.

3. 3

   Explore as much as you like, free

   Click any role to make it your new target and the whole route redraws instantly, in your browser, with no second call to the model. One credit draws a map. Turning it over afterwards costs nothing.

Nothing on the map is decorative. Every position and colour means something specific.

Left to right is seniority

A node’s horizontal position is its level, from entry through director. Progress always reads left to right — no route on the map asks you to move backwards to move up.

Colour is the field

Each track gets its own hue, so a map that stays one colour is telling you the path never leaves your current field, and a map that changes colour is showing you where it crosses into another.

The bright line is your route

The straight horizontal path is the shortest realistic sequence from where you are to your target. It is the answer to “what do I do next.”

The faint nodes are alternatives

Roles fanning above and below the line are real options that simply are not on the current route. Set one as your target and the line rearranges around it.

What the job actually is

Written for someone who does not already work in that field — no borrowed jargon standing in for a description.

A salary range

Typical pay for the role. Where a role matches the federal occupational taxonomy, the range shown is real U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics wage data and says so; everywhere else it is a model estimate with the caveat below attached.

Time to get there

Roughly how long the move takes from the role before it, assuming you are working at it rather than waiting for it.

Certifications and your skill gap

Which credentials carry weight, and which of your existing skills transfer versus which you would be starting from scratch on.

This part matters more than the features, so it is not buried in a footer.

• Unverified figures are labelled, verified ones say their source — a salary marked with a ✓ is government wage data for that occupation (see the sources below); one marked as an estimate came from a language model, and timelines always do. Estimates are a starting point for your own research, not a number to negotiate against. Every figure says which kind it is on its face.
• Check certification names with the issuing body before you spend money on one. Models occasionally produce a plausible-sounding credential that does not exist.
• It does not know your circumstances — your city, your finances, your visa situation, who depends on you, or whether you would actually enjoy the job at the end. It maps what is reachable, not what is right for you.
• It is not a replacement for talking to people who already do the work you are aiming at. Use the map to work out who to ask, and what to ask them.

This site incorporates information from the O*NET 30.3 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 licence. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. Verified salary ranges come from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey (May 2025, national). NextNode adapts this data and is not endorsed by either agency.

The description you type is sent to Anthropic’s API to draw the map and nothing else. NextNode does not store it — only the finished map is saved to your account, so you can come back to it later.

Maps are drawn by Claude. If a fallback provider is ever used, the map footer names it, because a silent downgrade would be worse than an error.

Your first map is free when you make an account. After that, credits come in packs from $5 for 10 maps.

One credit draws one map. Everything you do with a map you already have — opening roles, changing your target, watching the route redraw — is free and always will be, because none of it goes near the model. Credits do not expire.