Scale Up Strategies: The Business Podcast for Coaches, Consultants, and Speakers
Embracing Change and Seizing Opportunities in the Job Market: Top Roles in 2024
Mar 11, 2024
Laura Bashore and Mary Fain Brandt
Are you ready to navigate the ever-evolving landscape of hot careers and industry shifts? That's exactly what we unpack in this episode, where we bridge the gap between personal growth and professional transformation. Laura and Mary pull share from their own lives to demonstrate how adapting business operations and embracing new hobbies can refresh our outlook and approach to work.
We zero in on a pivotal study by Forrester and Indeed which points to the high-paying jobs of 2024, boasting flexibility and remote options. From mental health's surging prominence to supply chain opportunities that sidestep the college degree requirement, we lay out the red carpet for those yearning for a career pivot that doesn't set them back to square one.
Strap in for a career advancement masterclass as we dissect the art of leading processes or people and the transformative journey through coaching.
We reveal how today's job market rewards those who couple their performance with visibility and soft skills, and we share practical tips for proactively managing your career trajectory.
Your participation fuels our podcast, so we're sending out a call to action for your reviews and stories.
Visit our website for an array of tools that align with our commitment to helping you redefine your career path, and join us next week as we continue to explore the frontiers of work and opportunity.
BuzzSprout Thinking about starting your own podcast or leveling up by switching hosts? Use our code: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2110162 Receive $20 through BuzzSprout's Refer a Friend Program
Are you ready to navigate the ever-evolving landscape of hot careers and industry shifts? That's exactly what we unpack in this episode, where we bridge the gap between personal growth and professional transformation. Laura and Mary pull share from their own lives to demonstrate how adapting business operations and embracing new hobbies can refresh our outlook and approach to work.
We zero in on a pivotal study by Forrester and Indeed which points to the high-paying jobs of 2024, boasting flexibility and remote options. From mental health's surging prominence to supply chain opportunities that sidestep the college degree requirement, we lay out the red carpet for those yearning for a career pivot that doesn't set them back to square one.
Strap in for a career advancement masterclass as we dissect the art of leading processes or people and the transformative journey through coaching.
We reveal how today's job market rewards those who couple their performance with visibility and soft skills, and we share practical tips for proactively managing your career trajectory.
Your participation fuels our podcast, so we're sending out a call to action for your reviews and stories.
Visit our website for an array of tools that align with our commitment to helping you redefine your career path, and join us next week as we continue to explore the frontiers of work and opportunity.
BuzzSprout Thinking about starting your own podcast or leveling up by switching hosts? Use our code: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=2110162 Receive $20 through BuzzSprout's Refer a Friend Program
Mary Fain Brandt:
Welcome to the Redefine Your Career Journey Podcast, where we help career minded professionals like you become the CEO of your career.
Laura Bashore:
I'm Laura Bashore and I'm here with my co-host, Mary Fain Brandt. Together, we have over 25 years of experience in career development and coaching.
Mary Fain Brandt:
We're thrilled to share our insights and expertise with you on this podcast.
Laura Bashore:
Grab your favorite cup of coffee, tune in and let's start the show.
Mary Fain Brandt:
Hey, laura, when I say change, a lot of people cringe right. There's so much change going on in the world. I'm wondering, laura, what do you want to implement in your life this year? What changes do you have on your list?
Laura Bashore:
A few changes. I am not somebody who's opposed to change this. So, listing out those changes, I kind of evolved with whatever's going on with my business, with my personal life, but a few things I know we talked earlier in streamlining my processes for my business. Well, business is because I've gotten to another spot where it's time to reevaluate, get things a little bit more streamlined and get that going. And then making sure that I put in enough time outside of work to focus on the things that feed into me so that I don't feel like I'm rushing from place to place. I feel like I always have to reexamine that and make sure I hate to be rushed. I don't like that. How about you?
Mary Fain Brandt:
Streamlining processes in the business. 100% getting fillable PDFs and just making things simpler is definitely on the business change. And then, personally, I have two changes that I'm implementing. One I want to explore more right here in Arizona. There's so many quirky little towns to visit. And then, as you know, because I shared some with you when we were at PodFest, I'm starting to make more of my own food, like muffins and my own protein bars. So that's a change that I'm trying to implement this year, and you know what I was just going to say.
Laura Bashore:
I came home and I talked with my husband about all the good food that you fed me, that you had pre-packed. So I endorse that. Keep making more food.
Mary Fain Brandt:
We'll do. I just mastered the banana chocolate chip muffin recipe. It's amazing, but you know, speaking of change, if you are thinking of changing careers, this episode is for you. You know, the world of work has always been subject to change, right? It's highly fluid and it's influenced by a lot of different factors, and certain conditions within the past year have spurred a rapid evolution in some sectors. I'm not going to talk about AI, but y'all know I'm thinking about it. You know what we want to do. This episode is just to highlight reports and market trends of what's hot in 2024. What careers might you want to look at if you're thinking of pivoting? So we did some research and we have a few different reports that we're going to share and we're going to list out and share 10 to 15 positions or careers that you might want to take a look at, because these are the hiring trends for 2024.
Laura Bashore:
Yes. So grab your piece of paper, grab your notes or your phone whatever you use to take this down, so you can do a little bit of research on your own. And don't forget to look at the show notes, where we will place the things that we're sharing today. So in a recent study conducted with Forrester indeed found that job seekers continue to name fair pay as the number one factor that will increase their workplace well-being, with flexibility as a close second. And that's not shocking, right?
Mary Fain Brandt:
We know that, not shocking at all, just conversations that they're having.
Laura Bashore:
Yeah, so indeed, compiled this list by including jobs with a salary minimum of at least 75,000, with a 10% of postings to include that they indicate remote or hybrid. So here we are, highlighting some jobs that are not entry level, but that are a sustainable level of income that also will give you a little bit more flexibility. So what do you got for us, mary?
Mary Fain Brandt:
You know, one thing that I found interesting not shocking, but interesting is that six out of the top 25 jobs featured on this year's list pertain to mental health.
Mary Fain Brandt:
Laura, three times as many, as we saw two years ago. So mental health like if that's an industry that you've been curious about or you're in that position already, just know that that's a solid career path right now. And it doesn't really shock me because our health industry, they're always hiring. Right, If you think about we're living longer, there's more things going on in the world, more diseases, unfortunately and so that health industry is exploding.
Mary Fain Brandt:
I know travel nurses are in big demand. They just they can't even hire enough. So travel nurses, you're not attached to a hospital, you actually travel and you fill in where they need you. So that is an amazing option if you're a nurse, because you get paid a little more. They pay for your housing and everything. So I just found that the medical industry is always hiring. Mental health is six out of the 1025 jobs and career filter listed laborers and freight like supply chain analysts. There's 150 over 158,000 jobs being hired and no college degree is required for the labor and freight, so you could start at that level and move up to supply chain analysts. I cannot talk today, Laura.
Laura Bashore:
That's OK. I'm glad that we're recording this. These things happen. So I think that's something where people are looking at transitioning into different careers. They get a little concerned as to, ok, do I have to start from the bottom, do I have to get re certified or go back and get a different degree? So another thing that we wanted to share today are some of the top jobs that are out there and list a few things that maybe you're already in the industry to what you were speaking to, mary, or maybe it's something that is highly transferable with the skill sets that you have. So, according to money US news, the best, or top 10 out of the best 100 jobs for 2024 nurse practitioner, financial planner, software developer, it manager, physician assistant, medical and health manager, information security analyst, data scientist which isn't as sciencey as it might sound, I'll just say it, it's analytical, it's just analyzing all the data Exactly and then actuary and speech language pathologist.
Laura Bashore:
So, with the speech language pathologist, think about maybe when you were younger I don't know if you had this but I could not say my L's, which is funny since my name starts with an L, but it's like wolf, I used to say wolf, and so I had to work with somebody. This is basically the fancier name of that now, so those are definitely needed, but I also wanted to share. I know someone personally who transitioned from being an engineer to a successful financial planner.
Mary Fain Brandt:
So that's like from A to C.
Laura Bashore:
It is, but it's something that can be done, you know, with the transferable skills that you already have. So take a look at this information that we're sharing with you guys and see if something speaks to you. Do a little bit of research on your own and see how that might align with where you are currently and where you wanna go in the future.
Mary Fain Brandt:
Hey, I'm gonna take over and talk about the tech industry. So we all know that there were some layoffs happening in 2023 and the beginning of 2024 in the tech industry, but it is anticipated that the tech industry will start hiring again. Now some of those jobs are being replaced by AI. That doesn't mean the robots are coming in. What that means is, if you understand AI and know how to work with AI, you will be a top candidate in the tech industry. So start learning about AI if you haven't already done that.
Mary Fain Brandt:
What Chief Economist at Indeed puts it? In reality, it isn't generative AI that is going to take your job. Instead is the person that knows how to work with the tools that generative AI has given them. So again, it's not AI taking the job. It's those people that don't understand or know how to use AI. You know, and another industry lore that I think we should talk about that is changing, evolving and going to have people applying is the marketing industry. So you know, I see a lot of positions being advertised for content developers, marketing managers. So that job is not going away. It is actually going to be increased in 2024, the number of positions available, but they're gonna want you to understand how to use AI. So that is what I have to say about tech and marketing.
Laura Bashore:
Well, and I would just add to that that what's going to happen, or where I would see that shift, is not at the bigger companies and organizations, but I would be thinking about with our entrepreneurs who are possibly paying our other entrepreneurs to run their marketing for them.
Laura Bashore:
Maybe they might think oh I could just take this over and do it myself, but what I wanna add here is that if you don't know how to create an actual persona using AI, that's not going to do the same thing for you. So think about who you're working with. You wanna make sure that they understand how to use AI, or you need to get trained on how to use that for that specific task or area that you're looking to fill, because just because this tool is available to you, if you don't know how to use it, it's not gonna do for you what you want it to do. You don't wanna sound generic and that's why, to your point, mary, those people who are utilizing AI and incorporating that into how they improve their workflow are gonna be the ones who see the most success.
Mary Fain Brandt:
And to actually piggyback on that. Corporations the big big corporations are all in on AI. 84% that were pulled said that they are going to infuse and implement AI in 2024. And I know of three big companies no names said here that have already hired someone as a marketing consultant that is certified in AI, has proven himself and he's going in and he is training their marketing team on how to use AI.
Laura Bashore:
Exactly. I mean, eventually it's just going to be like the tools that we list on our resumes, where we say, okay, I know how to use Canva, I know how to use Excel, I know how to use Microsoft. You need to also learn how to use the AI, and we keep talking about it throughout our most recent episodes. But that's because it is here and we need to talk about that. There isn't any way to get around it. I think those are all really interesting things that we've been sharing out there today for those listening. What do you find when someone tells you I want to make a career change, but they don't know what industry they're interested, that they want to go into, or they don't know the exact job title? How do you work with those clients, mary?
Mary Fain Brandt:
Well, it really starts with some assessments. You know what are the skills that they already have, what are their interests, and I do something that might sound really simple, but I have them go find five companies that entreat them or interest them and five positions, and we go from there because I want to see why were you attracted to that company, what was it about this position? And we dial it down, go through the job description, what was it that intrigued you about that? So it really starts with analyzing where the person is at, what their current skills are, what they're interested in, and then do they need any more training or certification? So that's like the very first step. What about you, laura?
Laura Bashore:
Yeah, I love that. That is the same thing. So I evaluate where they are and then I help them by saying okay, here's a couple of job descriptions that I'm thinking of. To your point I say do not look at the name of the company, I want you to just read the job description. We're trying to figure out what works, what does it, and then from there we can start to plot out where those next steps should be. Because, I get it, it's very overwhelming and it's hard when you just know you're done where you're at, but you're not sure where you want to make the next move. So I think those are some great tips to share out there when people are just feeling stuck and they don't know where to get started.
Mary Fain Brandt:
The other thing to do is to talk to people about industries that you might be interested in. So you might not know, but I was going to go into HR. I thought, oh, I'm going to become an HR manager, it's just what I want to do.
Laura Bashore:
I could see that with your degree right, With your organizational leadership, right.
Mary Fain Brandt:
So this was after my bachelor's but before my master's, and I had told my boss I'm thinking I want to go into HR. And he's like Mary, I don't think that's the right fit for you. I was like, really, I think I'd be great at that. The process isn't everything right and the people. And he's like it's not what you think it is. He's like I'm going to pay for you to take two HR classes. You pay for my first two classes and my master's, and they were all HR and I was like you're right, it's just pushing paper and following rules to a T. He saw and he knew me how I, you know, do I love processes? Yes, but I'm also, laura, as you know, this very creative person, and if you told me, I can only color in these lines and I can't. Hr isn't really about helping people, or it wasn't 10, 15 years ago, right, it wasn't about being that employee advocate, and that is where my strength is.
Mary Fain Brandt:
So talk to someone that's in the industry. Shadow them for you know an hour, go visit where they were and get an idea of what that feels like, what that looks like, what does that day look like? Do you want to work a 10 hour day Because some industries that's what you're going to. You know that's what you're going to work. You know you're going to have to work on your house jobs, even as a operations manager. Depending on where you're working, it could be a 10 hour day. So I really believe in having those, those conversations and doing the homework and the research. We talk about this all the time, laura research.
Laura Bashore:
Yeah, and that's a really good point too, because when I'm speaking with any of my clients, the number one question that I will ask them in our consultation is are you, are you interested in processes and leading the processes, Are you interested in leading the people?
Laura Bashore:
Now, on occasion, you have the person who wants to do both, and that's great. They will move and talk to that. But I learned that a long time ago, because many people feel that the only way to move up, or the more obvious positions to move up, are when you are leading other people, and so that'll kind of stifle their next move or their career choices, because they think, well, I don't want to manage people, so this is the top. This is where I talk about, but partnering with a coach to help you out on that and will help you realize, know, there's other different job titles and different places where you can utilize your processes, skills and continue to move up the ladder in a way that you want to, instead of getting stuck in a position that you're not going to find very much enjoyment from.
Mary Fain Brandt:
I love that, and as you and I. One reason we started this podcast is we want people to learn how to become the CEO of their career.
Mary Fain Brandt:
Take charge, manage your career, have a strategy for where you want to be, whether it's a career pivot or an advancement or changing industries right, maybe you love what you do but you don't like it in this industry anymore and you want to take your project management skills and you want to I don't know go to Google or Sony or a nonprofit or a sports team, I don't know, but you want to do what you do, but just not where you're doing it now, right?
Mary Fain Brandt:
So I think it's really important to also understand, laura, that the job market and how you get promotions has changed. It's not just about going in back in the day. Would you agree that and I'm talking way back in the day like you went to your job, you did your job and if you did well and you performed well, you would get a promotion and you just kept working up that corporate ladder. I don't believe that that's the case anymore. I don't believe that performance is how you get a promotion. Visibility, asking you're taking control, showing like your vision and sharing your ideas of how to make something better. I don't believe anymore in just going to work and doing a good job is going to get you that promotion.
Laura Bashore:
Yeah, you're absolutely right.
Laura Bashore:
I mean, in my career I never experienced that, but it's because I never waited around to see if that's what was going to happen, and I always work with my clients, just like you said, to help them gain that control and figure out where to put that momentum, because it is more about soft skills when you're looking at moving up the ladder, because technical skills can be taught.
Laura Bashore:
All those things can be learned. So you need to figure out how to position yourself, and we're sharing a lot of information today. And what I just want to put out there is, although we're sharing a lot of information and you'll have it at your fingertips, if it's feeling overwhelming to dive into this and you really feel like you would prefer to have some insight on that, then you're going to want to reach out to Mary and I so that we can discuss with you how we can partner up and help out, because it just benefits to have somebody whose only goal is to help you move forward, listen to where you want to go with your career and bounce some ideas off of them.
Mary Fain Brandt:
And it doesn't have to be chaotic and frustrating. And when you're trying to do it yourself like I, you know, when I try to do it myself like it is overwhelming trying to get everything in order. And back in the day I didn't have a strategy and I wish I wish I'd had a different strategy 20 something years ago. Right, I'm happy where I'm at now but, matt, if I'd had that strategy, I think I would have maybe taken a different path.
Laura Bashore:
Yeah, yeah, absolutely so. I think that's also one of the reasons why I got into this and to help people, because, yeah, I wish that some of the advice I give, I wish I had taken that myself Right, exactly Like if we'd only known what we knew now.
Mary Fain Brandt:
who knows where we'd be right now? Would we still?
Laura Bashore:
have our businesses.
Mary Fain Brandt:
Maybe or maybe we'd be running a business or a nonprofit, I don't know. I just wish I had known what I know now and how to manage my career and have a strategy, and not I'm from the days of you go to work, you do a good job, you get a promotion. Those days are gone. You have to. It's more about the visibility and the relationship that you have with your manager or director or boss, whatever their title is.
Laura Bashore:
Exactly so. I think we are going to wrap it up here and just remember all the links to the stats that we shared today. The different jobs, the different industries that are growing in 2024 will be in our show notes, as well as your ability to contact Mary and I.
Laura Bashore:
If you think you know what, maybe I want to change up what I'm doing and get a little bit of help to see am I on the right path or how can I improve what I'm doing. So, mary, I don't know about you, but it's raining out here. I have got to get myself on the road so I can get home and be in more drive safely.
Mary Fain Brandt:
Drive safely Right amount of time. I'm home today, but the rain is coming tonight, so stay safe out on the roads, folks, and we'll see you next time. If you enjoyed the podcast, show us some love. Please rate, review and subscribe to our podcast, and if you have any feedback, go ahead and share that with us too, because we want to hear from you and don't forget to visit our website. We define your website as a website. We have a website that you can use to help you find out what you need, and if you have any feedback, go ahead and share that with us too, because we want to hear from you and don't forget to visit our website.
Laura Bashore:
We define your website as a website. We have a website that you can use to help you find out what you need. And don't forget to visit our website. We define your career journey so it can help you take the next step in your career.
Mary Fain Brandt:
We'll see you next week with another episode to help you redefine your career journey. Until then, stay focused, stay motivated and stay caffeinated.