Career planning in different sectors – who has the best perspectives

When planning a career and choosing between several sectors, it is important to consider many factors that can determine both the short- and long-term perspective, the competitive environment and salary levels. Thus, when choosing the field in which to plan your career, you need to take into account many factors that may be of different importance for different employees. Recruitment differs from sector to sector, both in terms of the size of the players in the sector, the attractiveness of the sector and the concentration of workers in the sector. Recruitment companies work with different sectors and can therefore compare most objectively how recruitment differs from sector to sector and where prospects are best. We can therefore identify 5 factors to consider when choosing a sector and planning a long-term career in it.

1. The sector’s long-term outlook.

When planning a long-term career, it is important to anticipate how relevant the knowledge acquired in a given sector will be in 10 years or more. Changing sectors is quite a complex process, especially when the knowledge is extensive and all of it is quite specific. That is why it is important to choose a sector with a growing outlook. Such sectors are: IT, e-commerce, digital marketing, etc.

2. The sector’s largest employers in the labour market.

Recruitment often starts with a list of target employers. The same principle should be applied to job search, especially when it comes to selecting the most promising sectors. The simplest way would be to select the 3 sectors of most interest and compare the attractiveness of the top 5 employers in the selected sectors. If the difference is visible and significant, then this should be seen as an important factor in the choice of sector for a career.

3. Number of professionals working in the sector.

As interesting as the prospect of certain sectors may sound, it is necessary to assess how many people are currently employed in these sectors. A higher number does not necessarily lead to a higher prospect, but a very low number can lead to rather dim career prospects and a rather difficult job change in the future due to a low number of job offers. When recruiting staff, recruiters always consider the concentration of employees in a sector as a parameter of the complexity of the recruitment process. If it is too low, then the selection becomes very difficult.

4. Salary scales in the sector.

The remuneration levels in a sector reflect not only the demand for specialists, but also the overall value created by the sector through human resources. If the average remuneration is low and has not risen in recent years, then the sector’s prospects may be exhausted and the current situation should be seen as likely to continue for a long time. Of course, if the average remuneration is high, then all is well, but if it is low, it should be assessed how motivating it will be in the long term. By the way, it is important to look at salary averages not only for the country as a whole, but also for the city where you live and work. In Lithuania, averages vary widely from city to city and if you are planning your career in a particular city, it is most convenient to choose its averages.

5. Legal environment of the sector.

If a sector is heavily dependent on legal regulation, then it will always be much riskier. Such sectors are tobacco, alcohol, financial services, etc. This by no means makes them less promising, but volatility in these sectors can be particularly high and sometimes difficult to predict. These fluctuations can be an unexpected obstacle in the pursuit and planning of long-term careers.

Taking all these 5 factors together can make the choice of sector a motivated and informed decision. Recruiters often meet candidates who change sectors and rarely do so from a curiosity-seeking perspective. In most cases, the change is forced due to employees making the wrong decision when choosing a sector. Thus, an objective assessment of all the risks and prospects can lead to the selection of a sector that is ideally suited, viable and financially attractive, and where the demand for workers is consistently high.