Before diving into any field, you might want to ask yourself; how much can I earn here?
let’s get straight to it!
It is very okay to think about getting a better life, it’s very okay to try another job, especially if it’s better and will help your career. What is not okay is being scared of change or looking for better opportunities.
To effect a better opportunity in your career, all you need is the right information. Sometimes, one may be underpaid while in their current job, this may be a result of ignorance. Information helps open your mind to realities that you never thought existed.
In this article, I’ll provide you with a list of career and their salary profile for different occupations.
One advantage of being informed about your job is that you’ll be updated on what you should earn, know if you are underpaid and deserve a salary raise, tell when it’s time to look for a better job, with better pay and better opportunities.
It is important to note that many factors may affect salary, these factors include geographical location, education, competition, job description, and several others.
With this said, this article will bring you several job opportunities and the various requirements and fields they occupy.
7 Careers And How Much They Pay
1. Administrative / Management
Administrative personnel or management has the duty to plan and coordinate Administrative procedures and systems while devising ways to streamline processes.
They also have the duty to train personnel and allocate responsibilities and office space. Assessing staff performance and provide coaching and guidance to ensure maximum efficiency.
Here’s a little insight and salary information on some white-collar jobs in the Administrative or management sectors.
Purchasing Manager
Purchasing managers have the duty to buy products and services for the organization to resell.
Some purchasing agents are required to effect upgrades on time, within a stipulated budget while others are required to work as full-time operations managers while overseeing and supervising purchase decisions as part of their supply chain management duties.
Requirements and Qualifications
Those working in the purchasing department should earn a college degree, but as a junior staff, you may not need a college degree to start in the department.
Although, even with a college degree, you are required to be able to think logically and know how to do the basic mathematics calculations.
However, if you want to climb up the corporate ladder in purchasing, you’d be required to upgrade your qualifications to a bachelor’s degree and sometimes a master’s degree, in order to occupy roles such as purchasing manager, logistician, and operations manager.
Personnel in the purchasing department are paid with a median salary between $76,000 and $103,350.
Receptionist
A Receptionist is usually the first point of contact for any visitor to the organization. They have the duty to answer phone calls, schedule clients and customers, collect necessary information and receive incoming mail.
It is an entry-level position, salary usually differs depending on the organization. Some receptionists are usually paid per hour.
The median annual salary may be $28,392 which is $13.65 per hour.
Requirements and Qualification
A Receptionist position does not really require a great deal of experience and qualifications. However, they are expected to have at least a high school diploma or its equivalent. They need to have basic computer knowledge and then training which is often on the job.
Secretary/ Administrative Assistant
They are regarded as the backbone of the organization. They have the duty to type documents, prepare the documents, schedule appointments and maintain or keep files.
An Administrative assistant can also work remotely, they are called virtual assistants. Their job description can vary depending on the type of office they work with.
Administrative Assistant Salary and Qualifications
How much an administrative assistant earns depends on the organization they work with. However, the median annual salary may be $40,990 which is $19.71 per hour.
An Administrative Assistant only needs a high school diploma for a start and they can have an edge by enrolling in an associate degree program or secretarial training program.
Market Research Analyst
A Market Research Analyst has the duty to do a proper market analysis and also access the customer’s preferences to help organizations’ decision-making processes on how to shape, advertise and market their products and services.
Salary and Qualifications
The Salary of a Market Research Analyst may vary, depending on the organization. However, they can earn between $127,410 and $3,380 annually.
A Market Research Analyst should possess a bachelor’s degree in the field of marketing, statistics, business administration, and other related fields.
2. Advertising, Marketing, and Communications.
This is a field of career for English majors, marketing certified personnel, writers, and editors who are skilled in oral or written communications. They occupy fields or offices such as
- Advertising Managers and Promotions Managers
- Advertising Sales Agent
- Graphic Designer
- Interpreters and Translators
- Public Relations Specialists
- Social media Managers
- Writers and Editors
- Salary and Qualification
Qualifications in this field are basically in the field of English, marketing, writing, Editorial skills, social Media management skills, graphic design, and oral and written communication skills.
Most of the workers in this field are freelancers. For instance, an Interpreter and Translator must have the ability to translate from a certain language to another. The knowledge of this language may or may not be through a degree.
A translator can translate from Spanish to English, French, Korean, Chinese, Mandarin, etc, depending on which language they are knowledgeable in.
The advertising and Promotions Managers have a duty to oversee all the advertising activities of the company. They are in charge of overseeing and supervising all employees in the advertising department, they also have the duty to establish a budget for advertisement.
The salary for the above career can be between $63,000 dollars to $33,000 dollars per hour, annually.
3. Creative Arts and Design
If you’re very talented in arts and designs, and photography, this opportunity may be what you have been looking out for. Information about this will give you access to better career opportunities. Career opportunities under creative Arts and designs include
- Fashion Design
- Interior Design
- Photography
Fashion Design
If you have ever been inspired to create an outfit from nothing but a plain material to an exquisitely beautiful outfit, then you can begin your successful journey in the world of Fashion Design.
Reports have it that fashion designers earn a maximum of $149,010 and on average they earn $73,790 annually.
Qualification
They need to have inherent artistic skills while grooming for professional certification, and computer skills to help navigate computer-aided designs and graphics editing software.
Interior Designs
For interior designs, if you have an interest in creating colorful designs for interiors, then this can be the perfect career part for you. Designers are sort after as they are hired by individuals, companies, schools, churches, real estate agents, etc.
Designers and their services are employed by these individuals to bring life to the interior of a building structure. An interior designer earns a medium of $56,040 annually.
It is imperative to note that interior design is very distinct from interior decoration. An interior designer has the job to do both designing and decoration, while interior decorators have serious limitations in advising clients on the design they can go with.
Qualifications
An interior designer will need qualifications in interior designs, drawings and Computer aided designs. An interior designer will also need to have a bachelor’s degree in any field.
Photography
Another type of career opportunity in creative Arts and Design is Photography. If you have an interest in telling stories with records of events and pictures, then it’s advisable to tow this career path.
Photographers take pictures of people, events, objects and places. Photographers vary in the kind of photography they engage in. There are portrait photographers, Aerial Photography, photojournalists, and commercial photographers.
Salary and Qualification
Although remuneration of a photographer is tantamount to the type of photography involved. However, in general, several photographers are paid hourly on a medium of about $34,008 annually or a maximum of $76,357 which is $37.71 per hour and the former $16.35 per hour.
The qualification for a photographer is not so cumbersome, entry-level journalists who are photojournalists, and commercial and scientific journalists only need a college degree in photography.
On the other hand, portrait photographers need technical proficiency and expertise. A college degree will make the photographer more sort after and very competitive.
To enhance your skills as a photographer, you can go through classes in business and business-related classes such as accounting and marketing.
4. Financial Services
Before now, one can go into the financial service sector and begin a career after high school as long as the individual is good with maths and has better customer service skills.
However, in recent times interested individuals have to go through proper college training to get a degree in any financial services-related courses. Financial Services related career fields include and are not limited to:
- Accountant
- Actuary
- Bank Teller
- Budget Analyst
- Chief Financial Officer
- Claims Adjuster, Appraiser, Examiner, and Investigator
- Financial Advisor
- Insurance Underwriter
- Loan Officer
Qualifications And Salary
Qualifications relating to financial services are very straightforward. Interested individuals will acquire a bachelor’s degree in any of the financial services-related courses and then proceed to get a professional certificate and training in any chosen career that has to do with financial services.
Certifications such as ICAN, CFP, and its likes need to suffice to improve chances in the career world.
As remuneration, financial service personnel can earn a medium of $88,890 annually, and a maximum of $208,000 annually. The least financial service provider can earn $41,590 annually.
5. Food and Hospitality Services
Food and Hospitality are things everyone will always want. A whole economy depends on this industry, this means that anyone who is interested in pursuing a career in the food and hospitality industry and is passionate about it can have a successful career in it.
There can never be a lack of jobs in the food and Hospitality industry, and there can never be a lack of vast opportunities, this industry can be likened to an oil well. Food and Hospitality Services related career fields includes and are not limited to:
- Chef
- Waiter/Waitress
Chef
A Chef is in charge of preparing food in restaurants, other dining establishments, events, or any other gathering in need of food. They have the duty to establish the set budget for ingredients to prepare this food.
They oversee the general management of the kitchen and culinary workers. For a meal to come out healthy is dependent on the chef.
They have the duty to manage the kitchen staff, create recipes and menus, maintain a budget and also prepare healthy meals while complying with the food and kitchen regulations.
Waiter/Waitress
On the otherhand, a Waiter/Waitress has the duty to serve the customers or patrons, make them understand what is on the menu by thoroughly interpreting the menu to them, engaging patrons, and setting pleasant tones and environments for their meal.
A Waiter must be fluent and must effectively communicate as your communication skills can make or mar your ability to be a good server to the patron.
Qualifications and Salary
No formal qualification is needed in becoming a chef or waiter, however, to facilitate and help with advancement, further professional training in culinary schools, especially for the chef is required.
Most top chefs were formally trained in colleges and vocational schools.
Although, the salary for persons in the food and Hospitality Services industry varies, the minimum salary is estimated to be $26,620 annually which is approximately $12.65 per hour. On average, it is about $48,460 annually, estimated to be $23.30 per hour, and a maximum of $81,150 annually and estimated to be $39.01 per hour.
6. Information Technology
Technology is the practical application of scientific knowledge, like the use of machinery and equipment, to make life easier.
Therefore, information technology is the use of computers to store, process, and retrieve data and also send out information.
Anyone who has an interest in technology will pursue a successful career in this field if dedicated to it. Information Technology is broad with several untapped gold in it, but for the sake of this article, four information technology-related career fields will be listed below.
- Computer Programming
- Database administrator
- Software Developer
- Computer System Analyst.
Computer Programming
Computer Programmers write codes and test these codes, to enable the software applications to provide functionality. All software programs were designed to respond to their user’s inputs in different ways.
Computer System Analyst
A Computer System Analyst on the other hand assists organizations by guiding them on how to effectively and efficiently utilize computer technology.
They introduce new technology into the organization and also carry out cost benefits analyses to determine if the organization is financially sound for the technology to be introduced.
Software Developers
Software Developers are known as the brain behind software programs. They possess creative minds and have the duty to build programs through their technical skills.
They also have the duty to oversee a team who are into the creation and development of software. This team through the supervision of a developer creates software that is meant to enable users to perform certain tasks on the computer.
Database Administrators
The Database Administrator has the responsibility to ensure that data is stored securely and optimally while also ensuring the safety and security of the company’s data.
They also have the responsibility of evaluating the database software purchase on behalf of an organisation. They make sure that data is available to users while protecting the same data from unauthorized access.
Qualifications and Salary
Anyone interested in the Information Technology career sector must have a B.Sc. of a four-year degree course in information technology or any other related field. Then proceed to gather advanced knowledge in any of the above career field or related career field that wasn’t mentioned.
Salary in this field is quite juicy with a maximum of $142,220 annually, which is approximately $68.37 per hour and the least is $54,360 annually, which is approximately $26.13 per hour.
7. Personal Services
These are talented persons who carry out odd jobs and get paid. They tend to enjoy the luxury of being independent and turn out to set their own salary and payment structure.
They render services to both individuals and organizations for a fee that will be defined by them. They include and are not limited to:
- Dog Groomer
- Auto Mechanic
- Cosmetologist
- Fitness
- Trainer
- Funeral Director
- Hairdressers
Qualification and Salary
A Personal Service provider does not really need any formal qualification to be able to render services to clients. Formal education and the willingness to do work is enough qualification to start with.
However, some personal Services related career need proper training to be considered a professional
For instance, an auto mechanic who engages in car repairs and the total well-being of a vehicle cannot be regarded as a professional except if he has been able to go through proper training and can successfully repair damaged cars and maintain other automobiles.
The Salary of a Personal Service provider varies and is mostly based on the service provider’s discretion.
However, the maximum salary so far is stated to be about $71,400 annually, which is $34.59 per hour, on the average, it is about $44,050 annually which is $21.18 per hour and the lowest range is said to be $25,780 annually which is approximately $12.40 per hour.
I hope this article will be helpful in your quest for better career opportunities. If yes, do well to share it with your family and friends. For any complaints and concerns, do well to leave a comment, it will be replied to as soon as possible.
Also read on reasons why your career may fail
You may also find the salary calculator useful.
