Most children of school-going age, will, at some point, spend some time doing aptitude tests and talking to a career counselor about future ambitions and job opportunities. This is an essential process of growing up and shaping your future. The adage goes that if you don’t know where the goals are, then you will never be able to score, and the idea behind career counseling is to help highlight areas where the goals might be. But the reality is that these counselors are often quite old-school. They like the traditional jobs, and if they don’t steer you in the direction of a profession like medicine or law, then they will steer you towards a trade like plumbing or carpentry. But there is so much more out there, new fields and opportunities that didn’t even exist ten years ago – or which were not considered respectable. Here are a few new and alternative ideas to consider if you are starting to think about your post-school, working prospects.
Social Media or SEO
The online space is expanding rapidly, and so too are the jobs that are available in that arena. It seems like almost every day, there is a new specialist role being born to help execute a digital marketing strategy. So, for every new Sydney SEO agency or Brisbane Social Media Consultancy that opens, so jobs are being posted and roles being created. These are roles for young people, people who have grown up in the digital space and for whom creating engaging content and building brands online is second nature. They might not be traditional marketing roles (yet), but without a doubt, they are here to stay for a long time.
Tattoo Artist
There was a time not long ago when the tattoos were the domain of prisoners, hookers and sailors. That time has passed, however, and tattoos are now for everyone – the reality is that they have been gentrified and become very middle class. And so, the role of a tattoo artist is suddenly a respectable one. If you are a people person, if you love body art and you are creative, then you should consider apprenticing with an established artist – the world’s top tattoo artists are paid very well and are highly respected.
Vlogger
Making money from YouTube has become a massive business with the most successful YouTubers or vloggers attracting followers in the millions and making fortunes with every post. This is a new business opportunity and one that is accessible to almost anyone with an original idea, an on-camera personality, and a camera. Given that most phones these days come with a camera of sufficient quality to make good videos, the barrier to entry is low – all that you need is enough time to build the following. Get started to as soon as possible, the internet already has its fair share of children who have got rich reviewing toys or showcasing a talent.
Professional Gamer
It wasn’t long ago where people with natural athletic ability were encouraged to be professional cricket or rugby players. The money available in sport is massive. And online gaming has entered that domain as well with the top players now contracted to professional teams and earning fortunes. So, if you have a talent at games, it might be something that you want to consider. There probably won’t be too many career counselors steering you in that direction, but, in fairness, career counselors were also not keen to suggest professional sportsman as a career twenty years ago either.
