earn one's stripes

Gain a position through hard work and accumulated experience. For example, She'd earned her stripes by serving for years as the governor's secretary and personal aide . This expression alludes to a military promotion or award, indicated by strips of chevron or braid added to the recipient's uniform and known as stripes since the early 1800s.

Common Names:

Name	Pronounced	Usage
Kevan	-	Irish
ØYvind	-	Norwegian
Gabriele (2)	gahp-ree-E-lə	German
Maximiliano	mahk-see-mee-LYAH-no (Spanish)	Spanish, Portuguese
Zhihao	-	Chinese
Vivien (1)	-	French