With a new year comes new hopes, new plans, and – often, especially if you’re feeling like you’ve been in a rut in any way – new hope for a completely different career path. At Hive, we are big fans of determining your worth and engaging with a career that lights a fire under you. If the passage of time has delivered a new mindset to try something new, there has never been a better time. So, whether you are re-evaluating a new role at your job or switching industries altogether, here are a couple of careers in growing industries to consider in 2023.
Home Health or Personal Care
You may have found that the last few years have better-identified people in your life who are natural caregivers. The pandemic threw the entire world into a state of panic, and many people began to reach out to others for comfort and to help make their lives easier. Empathy seemed to be more widespread, and people began to see the benefit in paid caregiving careers. As a result, this career path is expected to hire around 1.13 million new workers over the next 7 years.
Like any health-serving industry, not everyone has what it takes to have a sustainable career in this area. Having the ability to administer medication, and accurately (and regularly) check on the health of your patients is critical to the role. This type of care isn’t always pretty, and it isn’t always appreciated.
Depending on what company you choose to work with – and if they handle end-of-life care and hospice needs – you may require certain certifications and continuing education. This role does need to be CPR certified as well. Some people choose to become caregivers while earning a degree in nursing or take their nursing education straight to an organization or care team after graduation. Depending on the need, they may even apply for satisfying travel nursing jobs in another state or country.
Not only do these types of positions allow you to slow down and appreciate the presence of another human, but they help the caregiver to be more mindful of the health and personality nuances of the people around them.
Animal Caretaker
Not too far off the beaten path from a human caretaker, the need for — and investment in — animal caretakers is on the rise. With so many people being home and around their pets in the last few years, the desire for fur friends in the home to keep us happy has absolutely risen. Stress about leaving that pet — and often, guilt for leaving them, especially if they were adopted during a time when you spent your days at home — has driven people to look into pet experts to ensure that their pets receive the best care possible while they are away.
As an animal caretaker, you can work for yourself or a host of remote-driven companies and apps that pair you with your ideal clients. You can choose how involved you’d like your services to be. Some caretakers will come over 1-3 times per day to get your dog routine sunshine and exercise, some will come over once to administer medication and love on your pets, and others will offer up extended stays or overnights at their own homes. This type of care is much more personalized than leaving your sweet babies at the kennel during big work days or vacations.
While this job does not require any degrees or certifications, you will want to start small and build up a good reputation in the space. Being in tune with the needs of pets can be a very interesting and soothing career, and many people are self-taught. A popular way people get started in the caretaking career is as a pet groomer. (We suggest being certified by the National Dog Groomers Association of America so that you can be prepared for all circumstances and have credentials to back up your work.) Having the ability to calm pets so that you can clean them is a special skill set all on its own, and can help you develop relationships with potential customers.
Software Developer
One of the top-rated jobs to consider in 2023 is software development. This position usually requires a Bachelor’s degree or equivalent trade certificate, which often takes between 2 and 4 years to procure. A software developer’s skills range from conceiving and outlining a new software project to the design, programming, documentation, testing, and updating of said program. Software developers could find themselves being a piece of the project management puzzle in software or digging into multiple parts of the process.
What is really wonderful about a position like this is that there are so many different types of jobs that require software development. They can work with startups and app companies that require new ideas on a consistent basis or work with one client on the development of a program specifically for their company. Many software developers stay with a company after a project to help onboard people with the program and to continually update the technology with requests from its users.
It is important to remember that the technology industry had the most layoffs and job cuts in 2022, with more than 97,000 announced within the year. That is an over 600% increase in layoffs from the previous year, which comes as a particular surprise to an industry that otherwise consistently claims advancements and opportunities are “booming.” If you are willing to work through the volatility of that type of growth and shrinkage, then inquiring into big tech firms could pull a much more lucrative salary than the median software developer, which sits around $120,000. Additionally, for projects that require specialized skills, many companies opt to hire Django developers to take advantage of their expertise in this high-demand framework.
Web Developer
Much like a software developer, a web developer can be tasked with ideation, concepting, and executing an array of web-based ideas. Their primary role is to create websites, and they are often kept on hand for continuing updates and fixes to the sites they create. Whether you use a WordPress website or have built something from the ground up, a developer is a great resource to have on hand when it comes to managing and optimizing your site.
In order to obtain the skills necessary for this job, it is important to enroll in the continuing education of some sort. However, this job rarely requires more than a 15+ week certificate in coding and a great portfolio. Many millennials got into this trade through basic coding exercises learned on early social websites like Xanga and MySpace.
Because there are fewer schooling requirements for a position like this, the average pay for an in-house web developer in the United States is around $82,000 per year. However, freelance web development can be a very lucrative career trajectory as well. If you’re looking to hire a web developer or places to display your portfolio and get new clients, these figures provide insights into the industry’s compensation standards.
IT Manager
IT Managers are also in high demand as a direct result of the pandemic. With people having the expanded capacity to work from home – and many people being out of work – technological failures, data breaches, and hacks have increased exponentially. In the third quarter of 2022 alone, data breaches had increased by 37% when compared to the second quarter. While not every company invests in cybersecurity professionals, many come to rely on their IT Managers and any relationships they have in tech to help protect them, as well as to handle more simple day-to-day tech work.
IT Managers need to build awareness of a company’s full technological reach and are responsible for keeping everything running smoothly. These positions often require a 4-year degree and your chances of getting hired increase with advanced degrees and certifications. What’s great about this position is that working outside of a corporation, your duties may be far less involved than if you’re working with a bigger company. Each individual has the capacity to steer their services in the direction that they’d like.
Regardless of how your 2023 is shaping up – and whether you are seeking a new career or not – always be sure to approach your work in a way that is sustainable for your own health and peace of mind. Here are some tips on downshifting your career – and managing your stress levels – this year.
