@Sesta In addition to the very helpful info above, how a person advances within their fellowship is up to the fellowship itself. Some groups do it on a time-basis (you are advanced after x number of days/weeks/months, etc), some on the basis of helpfulness, some hold elections, etc, etc, etc.
If you are an archmage, you can decide your own method. If you want to know how it is done in your group, ask your archmage.
One thing to keep in mind are the priveleges in Fellowship Adventures of pulling the flag on each stage. Some groups temporarily demote everyone except those trusted to pull the flag during that time.