- Services
Find a Job You Really Want In
Yes, the field of professional services is a great career path. The professional services industry is a broad term that covers a lot of different jobs; that’s part of what makes it such a great career path. You can follow your interests in a lot of different ways and be employed in the professional services business.
Professional Services encompass basically anything a business needs to outsource to do their job more efficiently or to do it at all. They’re not tangible goods but services and skills that people who are experts in the field provide to other companies.
If you’re interested in exploring the field of Professional Services, the following list of jobs will give you an idea of what options are out there and might inspire you to find a career path in professional services.
Here are 11 great jobs in professional services:
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Information Technology Professionals Jobs (Overview)
The 5 Best-Paying Jobs in Professional Services
Professional Services careers exist in just about every field. Imagine the top paying professions, and you’ll be able to find people doing that job on a contract basis and filling the description of professional services. Here are a few of the highest-paying jobs in Professional Services.
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Attorney or Lawyer
Average Annual Salary: $118,390
You already know that lawyers or attorneys make a lot of money. They have tons of education and knowledge that make their skills very valuable and in-demand; that’s why they can charge so much for what they do. They are near the top when it comes to professional services because many companies can’t hire their own attorney; instead, they reach out when they need one.
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Computer and Information Technology Professionals
Average Annual Salary: $76,000
The world of IT is ever-changing and so complicated for people who aren’t willing to dedicate their lives to stay on top of new tech and trends. That’s why computer specialists and IT professionals are in such high demand, and they’re paid for their experience and knowledge too.
This profession is only going to keep expanding and growing, so it’s a great field to get into if you love tech.
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Average Annual Salary: $94,000
Another tech field that’s exploding is software development. People who enter this field are masters at manipulating the online experience to customize it for their customers. If you have these skills, you can work for a company of developers, always working on a new project, or you can set up your own shop and go out and find customers who you want to work with.
Either way, this is a job that’s usually farmed out to someone in professional services rather than an in-house position.
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Financial Managers/Accountant
Average Annual Salary: $52,000
Financial managers and accountants aren’t often the same person, but either position helps a company manage its money and is highly paid for doing so. If you have a head for business and finance and have earned the degrees and certifications you need, you can do very well in the world of professional services.
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Marketer/Advertising
Average Annual Salary: $38,000
Even companies that have a marketing or advertising department often reach out into the world to outsource some of their needs.
From printing to coming up with multi-million dollar advertising campaigns, this business is booming, and it’s usually done on a professional services model, where the company or individual is hired for consulting or brief engagements rather than being on the payroll.
10 Entry-Level Jobs in Professional Services
If you’re considering diving into the Professional Services field, there’s some good news when it comes to entry-level positions. Whether you don’t have an education beyond high school or you’re fresh out of college with your new degree in hand, there are a lot of job openings that you can fill.
The main reason is that professional services can cover just about any profession. It just depends on where you look for that job. These are just a few of the opportunities for entry-level jobs in professional services.
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Average Annual Salary: $29,000
There are a lot of different call center representatives needed in the professional services industry. Some of them work for special events or campaigns, and some companies simply prefer to outsource this job rather than hire people to do it for them.
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Average Annual Salary: $36,000
Most companies that have administrative assistants need them all the time, but this is still a huge business for outsourcing companies because there are times when a temporary employee is needed to fill in, or business is booming, and extra help is needed.
This can also be a great place for a temp-to-hire opportunity. If you’re looking to get your foot in the door while testing out the industry or a particular company, temp-to-hire jobs are professional service jobs that give you some flexibility with the opportunity for full-time work in the future.
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Average Annual Salary: $49,000
When it comes to hosting events, planning parties, and even managing trade shows, a lot of companies don’t have staff on hand for this job, they reach out to the professionals. This job doesn’t require a lot of outside education, but it does require a willingness to work hard and to learn the job through experience and working under someone who understands the business.
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Product Demonstration Expert
Average Annual Salary: N/A
You see these professional service experts in grocery stores, at trade shows, conventions, and even fairs. Everywhere you see a product being demonstrated, spotlighted, and even tasting events, it’s probably being managed by someone hired to do just that.
Sometimes these are simply modeling jobs, and in other situations, you’ll have to learn about the product first, and then you can go out and start demonstrating and selling.
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Social Media
Average Annual Salary: N/A
This is an interesting entry-level job because it’s relatively new, and it’s changing. But you can go to college and get a degree in social media or communications and start doing this job on a consulting or professional services basis.
You can also fall into this job by being an influencer on social media, and then companies will seek you out to hire you to promote their products.
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Average Annual Salary: $48,000
A bachelor’s degree or an associate’s degree in graphic arts will get you an entry-level job working in professional services doing what you’re trained to do. This is a job that some companies keep in-house, and others outsource, so there are a variety of options for your professional future.
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Average Annual Salary: $47,000
Most people think of teachers as someone hired by a school district with a permanent job, but there are people who can turn this into a professional services position – especially substitute teachers.
But that’s not the only option for teaching on a professional services basis. Some companies hire people to teach their staff how to be more efficient, how to handle sexual discrimination and harassment in the office, and how to do specific tasks – the list of opportunities for teaching on an outsourcing basis is limitless.
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Freelance Writer
Average Annual Salary: N/A
The only way to get into freelance writing is to start hunting down work and clients. Most freelance writers are in the professional services business; that’s essentially what freelance means. It’s not uncommon for a business to need a great freelance writer in their back pocket when they need a little help with a project or some marketing support.
Some companies hire writers both internally and externally to keep up with the ebb and flow of their business.
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Cleaning Services
Average Annual Salary: N/A
Easily an entry-level position, this job requires no education but attention to detail and a willingness to get dirty. Many companies hire a cleaning service to keep their offices looking spotless. This is a great professional services industry to be in, especially if you’re interested in earning money and not going to school.
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Gardener/Landscaping
Average Annual Salary: $30,000
If you’ve got a green thumb and simply love being outside, then why not dive into this profession and start working right away. This is an entry-level profession for people who have no experience and are willing to learn on the job.
It can also be an entry-level position for people who have degrees in horticulture, landscape architecture, etc. The field of gardening and landscaping is often outsourced, making it a great professional services business.
It’s also a place where there is high demand for all sorts of professionals, from those doing the hard labor to those sitting in offices and designing gardenscapes.
Why Choose a Career in Professional Services
The best reason to choose a job in professional services is that the options are so incredibly vast. You can pick the field that most interests you and begin working in that field on an outsourcing basis. If you’re a real go-getter, then you can set up your own business and do some consulting and outsourcing of your talents.
Working in an industry that is as ubiquitous as professional services has a lot of benefits, making it a great fit for many people.
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Job security. Why rely on just one employer when you can have several. This means that if one of your customers or clients goes out of business or goes elsewhere for your services, you’ve got others to back you up. That sort of security is definitely good to have.
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Income is unlimited. Many people find that in this business, you can make as much money as you want – as long as you’re willing to work really hard and long hours.
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Opportunity to be hired full-time. To be honest, some people actually prefer the reliability of a “nine to five office job” and the benefits that come with full-time employment. Working in the service provider industry gets you in the door of a lot of companies and can lead to a full-time job if that’s what you want.
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Flexibility. Many professional service jobs allow you the flexibility to pick your own hours and your own days of working. Some don’t, but they usually do have more flexibility than you would have if you were a traditional employee.
Education and Certification Requirements for a Career in Professional Services
This industry has a lot of entry-level positions that only require a high school diploma or a GED. In fact, that might not even be necessary. But there are also positions that require a master’s, and a doctorate may be in order for some. So how do you get started?
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High school or GED. The first step is getting your high school degree or a GED. This is a base requirement for many entry-level jobs. After that, you can work in the industry and work your way up, or you can see where you might need some additional training.
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On-the-job training. A huge part of what you do in the professional services field, no matter what your job or education, is going to be based on the training you get specific to your position. The savvy professional will take that knowledge and apply it to other situations so you can expand upon your professional repertoire.
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Associates or tech certifications. If your chosen field needs these degrees, then that’s something to set your sights on. Not all professional service fields require additional certifications and degrees, but some definitely do – in fact, getting advanced degrees might be necessary.
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Bachelor’s, Master’s, and Doctorate degrees. Obviously, if you’re choosing a professional services field that requires one of these advanced degrees, then you’re going to need to earn that degree before you can work in the field. But that’s no surprise to you.
What Do People Working in Professional Services Do?
People working in professional services provide a number of specialized business and/or technical services. It’s a field that’s exploding, rising along with the gig economy; and for some, it’s the same thing. Others are taking their education and skill to new levels and finding that working as a contractor or consulting is the way to go.
This field offers an unlimited level of autonomy and pay. It all depends on how you work, your connections, and your skills. The more adept you are at making business connections and growing your network of customers, the better you’ll do.
Staying on top of trends and keeping your education and credentials up can also be a big boost, depending on what area of professional services are your specialty.
One of the biggest reasons that people like being in the professional services industry is that they can take their expert skills and turn them into their own business. In the past, this has been more difficult to do, but companies are now willing to bring on additional help when they need it, rather than having people be on staff.
When you have your own business doing what you’re good at, you can set your own hours and fees and establish your own system of operation – which is a win/win all around for savvy professionals.
- Services
Author
Kristin Kizer is an award-winning writer, television and documentary producer, and content specialist who has worked on a wide variety of written, broadcast, and electronic publications. A former writer/producer for The Discovery Channel, she is now a freelance writer and delighted to be sharing her talents and time with the wonderful Zippia audience.
