Geordi' s Rank

[Mojochi]

Geordi's profile says he was promoted to lieutenant when he took over as chief engineer. It then says a year later he was promoted to Lt. Cmdr. I don't seem to remember this being referenced. Does anyone know if it was ever stated that he'd been promoted to that rank, & when, or did they just add the pip & start calling him that without any clarification?

 

[Timo]

LaForge being promoted to Chief Engineer is discussed on screen in the second season opener "The Child", with the Ready Room scene also highlighting his two bright Lieutenant pips.

LaForge being promoted to Lieutenant Commander after season two but before the third season opener "Evolution" is not mentioned in dialogue in any way. His third, dark pip just appears. And he gets addressed as Commander quite consistently from there on (Troi in that episode is the first to do it).

Most promotions in this show and other Trek shows go without any mention or clarification or other rumination. It's just natural progression on their careers.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Iamnotspock]

The latter, I think. He was a Lt. J.G. in Season 1, with the appropriate pips - one gold pip, one gold/black - then was promoted to Chief Engineer but now wore the two gold pips of a full Lt. The position change was referred to but not the rank change. From Season 3, he became a Lt. Cmdr, displaying the appropriate two gold and one gold/black pips, but this promotion also took place off-screen.

 

[Timo]

...How many times did we see a promotion in rank happen on screen? Tuvok got a pip (back?) in an onscreen ceremony in VOY, and Tom Paris got a pip back in a box after spending some time punitively demoted. Sisko got his fourth pip from his son in a rather informal-looking ceremony in "The Adversary".

Apparently, there is little formality with promotion as a public act, even if there may be a lot of formality with promotion as a bureaucratic step. So there may be buzz for months before LaForge gets his second or third pip, but it has expectedly died down by the time the physical pip actually gets applied in his collar.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

It's just natural progression on their careers.

Timo Saloniemi

Tell that to Harry Kim

 

[Timo]

Somebody probably should - he hasn't realized that all those pips accumulating under his pillow are Janeway's regrettably informal way of promoting him, and he's actually a Rear Admiral by now (not to mention suffering from a pretty sore neck in the mornings).

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Mojochi]

...How many times did we see a promotion in rank happen on screen? Tuvok got a pip (back?) in an onscreen ceremony in VOY, and Tom Paris got a pip back in a box after spending some time punitively demoted. Sisko got his fourth pip from his son in a rather informal-looking ceremony in "The Adversary".

Apparently, there is little formality with promotion as a public act, even if there may be a lot of formality with promotion as a bureaucratic step. So there may be buzz for months before LaForge gets his second or third pip, but it has expectedly died down by the time the physical pip actually gets applied in his collar.

Timo Saloniemi

I'm not as well versed in post-TNG events that insignificant, but I recall both LaForge & Worf being specifically mentioned for their title change being accompanied by a commensurate bump in rank, & Troi got a whole story about her rank bump. Even seem to recall Ro's move up to Lieutenant being given a little lip service as it applies to her additional training, but I could be wrong about that

So, in a weird way, Geordi's bump up to Lt. Cmdr. is the only promotion on TNG that didn't get referenced, in some way. So, that's why it tends to stick out to me

 

[Shamrock Holmes]

Even seem to recall Ro's move up to Lieutenant being given a little lip service as it applies to her additional training, but I could be wrong about that

From Preemptive Strike (TNG):

[Ten Forward]

LAFORGE: Ro!
CRUSHER: Welcome home.
RO: Thanks. It's good to be back.
TROI: Congratulations on your promotion, Lieutenant.
RO: Same to you, Commander.
TROI: Thank you.
LAFORGE: Say, I understand that Advanced Tactical Training is a real picnic.
RO: Right.

Strongly implies that attending ATT was the reason for Ro's promotion, LaForge's was probably a 'time-in-rank' thing (as previous ChEng's were Lt Cmdrs).

 

[Longinus]

It's a bit weird though how rapidly LaForge was promoted. He spent only a year as Lieutenant S.G.

 

[Shamrock Holmes]

It's a bit weird though how rapidly LaForge was promoted. He spent only a year as Lieutenant S.G.

True, but eight years from ensign to lieutenant commander doesn't seem to out there, so possibly it was more to do with his flight controller billet rather than 'time in service'.

 

[Mojochi]

It's a bit weird though how rapidly LaForge was promoted. He spent only a year as Lieutenant S.G.

Especially given how little during season 2 he distinguished himself. I mean he shows himself to be competent during that time, but the truly distinguishing stuff like Booby Trap came later

 

[diankra]

The continuity issue in hindsight is perhaps that a commander has to pass the command test (see Troi). But as Geordi did command the ship back in season one, maybe he already had. Plus, I may be misremembering, and that comes between LtCdr and full Commander?

 

[C.E. Evans]

The bridge officer exam might be something only required for officers who are normally outside of a ship's chain of command (like a doctor or a counselor) but who want to be. Troi probably would have made commander eventually like McCoy did, but it likely wouldn't have enabled her to command bridge shifts.

As far as LaForge, I always thought the finalized billet for chief engineer of a Galaxy-class starship was a lieutenant commander and he just worked his way there during season two.

 

[Pauln6]

It's a bit weird though how rapidly LaForge was promoted. He spent only a year as Lieutenant S.G.

Ensign NuChekov was promoted to chief engineer after only 6 months post-graduation as a navigator and a month or so shadowing Scotty. THAT's a rapid promotion and rather insulting for all the other assistant engineers with more experience and higher rank. Geordi done just fine.

 

[Longinus]

Ensign NuChekov was promoted to chief engineer after only 6 months post-graduation as a navigator and a month or so shadowing Scotty. THAT's a rapid promotion and rather insulting for all the other assistant engineers with more experience and higher rank. Geordi done just fine.

Sure, but nothing makes any sense in Kelvinverse.

 

[diankra]

The bridge officer exam might be something only required for officers who are normally outside of a ship's chain of command (like a doctor or a counselor) but who want to be. Troi probably would have made commander eventually like McCoy did, but it likely wouldn't have enabled her to command bridge shifts.

As far as LaForge, I always thought the finalized billet for chief engineer of a Galaxy-class starship was a lieutenant commander and he just worked his way there during season two.

Yes, my guess would be that red-uniform personnel (24th century) automatically take the test, whereas it's optional for blue and yellow... up to a certain rank. After that you need to pass it to get further rank bumps (maybe: possibly doctors are on a separate ladder).

 

[Mojochi]

The continuity issue in hindsight is perhaps that a commander has to pass the command test (see Troi). But as Geordi did command the ship back in season one, maybe he already had. Plus, I may be misremembering, and that comes between LtCdr and full Commander?

But it makes sense that he'd have done so, very much like Data, who is also only a Lt Cmdr. & also wears the yellow suit

 

[diankra]

Also Worf commands the saucer in Farpoint, though only a LtJG. Fits with command personnel all doing the command test early, whichever colour they wear later.

 

[Mojochi]

Also Worf commands the saucer in Farpoint, though only a LtJG. Fits with command personnel all doing the command test early, whichever colour they wear later.

And it stands to reason that if you don't yet know what track you want to follow, it pays to be ready for all of them

 

[diankra]

And it stands to reason that if you don't yet know what track you want to follow, it pays to be ready for all of them

I'd tweak that slightly to maybe say that command is the standard track, with engineers, medics and other specialists admitted by slightly different routes (though why security and engineering share a colour baffles me, unless the main job of security is cybersecurity, with packing a phaser bottom of the job list? Anyway).
But anyway, yep, command as the non-specialist start, with people from the other colours sometimes going across as they get promoted. And command officers specialising as they realise their forte.