Yahoo Finance The skills that will get you a higher-paying job
As wages growth continues to stagnate in Australia, securing a pay rise in your current profession is getting harder.
Is it time to consider shifting roles or industries where pay rates are traditionally higher?
No degree required
While many six figure salaries require a university degree, there are still plenty of options that don’t.
Construction managers, air traffic controllers and crane operators earn good salaries with no degree required.
As well as people in sales and those working in the mining sector. Bear in mind for many of these roles certification or accreditation is necessary, and so learning and training is important.
Seek influence
Social media has opened up whole new avenues of employment for people. Social media influencers come from a whole range of backgrounds - many with no qualifications in the space they are promoting.
Of growing relevance are micro influencers. These are everyday people - not celebrities - who are known via social because of a particular niche and have devoted followers.
You'll find them, for example, in health, beauty, fitness, entrepreneurship, and many earning big dollars for endorsing products and services.
Know the market
At the moment, there’s a skills shortage in IT, cyber security, automotive and engineering trades and construction sectors. If you take IT for example, where there’s one of the biggest shortfalls you don't always need to have a degree to get your foot in the door.
Be prepared to start at entry level, such as working on a help/support desk or in a tech call centre and work your way up.
Also remember, the daily rate for contractors is usually higher than for permanent employees. While this accounts for them not getting get sick leave or holiday pay and their work is less stable, it can also result in overall higher take home pay.
Search for future growth
There’s no doubt that the future is bright for roles that are based on or extended by the use of current, new and emerging technologies.
This includes, for example, roles such as: data analysts, software and applications developers, social media experts, along with AI and machine learning, big data, process automation and robotics engineers.
Skills to learn that pay dividends:
Software development
Digital marketing
Project management
Negotiation
User experience design
Less focus has been placed on the increasing need for emotional skills as more and more of us work in jobs that involve human to human interaction.
Whether it is working directly with customers, working in a cross functional team or agile environment, or in service-based roles.
It is expected, for example, there will be further growth in roles such as customer service, sales and marketing, learning and development, organisational development, and innovation.
Michelle Gibbings is a change leadership and career expert and founder of Change Meridian. Michelle works with leaders and teams to help them accelerate progress. She is the author of ‘Step Up: How to Build Your Influence at Work’ and ‘Career Leap: How to Reinvent and Liberate your Career’.
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