If you’ve always dreamed of being a personal shopper, you’re not alone.
If quitting your day job to become a party planner, interior decorator or personal shopper is on your bucket list, 2015 might just be the year to finally cross it off.
A Canadian online career college has announced that the "top jobs" on its website this year are all in the personal service sector.
"Something that people can do that doesn't involve being in a conventional workplace – being a life coach; a surprising [job] that's quite popular is becoming a motivational speaker," said Therese Goulet, dean of the International Association of Professions Career College, which offers online certificate programs and has offices in Calgary and Princeton, N.J.
Here's the full list of IAP's most popular courses:
- professional organizer
- business consultant
- caterer
- image consultant
- party planner
- house cleaner
- makeup artist
- interior designer
In 2015, four out of five employees in North America will pursue new career opportunities, according to a recent poll by Right Management, a talent and career management company based in Philadelphia. The upswing in popularity of a career in the personal service sector suggests a renewed emphasis on the value of human interaction in an age inundated with smartphone apps and talking fridges.
"Technology has allowed business and personal services to be more remote … but in the delivery of those services, we have certainly found that our engagement rate still demands that we see people eye to eye," said Cam McRae, a career coach and the president of McRae Inc.
Jobs such as life coaches, retirement counsellors, massage therapists, dog walkers, and nannies are growing "exponentially" in popularity and demand, Mr. McRae said.
"Anyone who can teach your children how to do anything – music, sports, personal trainers; caregivers for the elderly" are also in demand, he said.
Indeed, Mr. McRae said he sees many of his clients taking up service sector jobs after they retire from their traditional nine to five position..
"We have clients that come out of traditional jobs [and] then take that opportunity and maybe that severance package and create their own business."
In an era of two-income families, where both parents have a lot on their plates, households are increasingly willing to hire a housekeeper or dog walker if it will free up time to spend with the kids, Mr. McRae said.
"People pay a premium to have things looked after for them that they would like in some cases to be able to do, but don't have the time, or simply don't want to," he said.
The result is a service sector that is more well-paying and robust than ever before. Career coaches, for example, are now charging between $75 and $125 an hour, Mr. McRae said.
"When I started off as a career counsellor, I made $15 an hour."