Are you aware of all the career options that are open to you? We’d be prepared to wager that you’re not; you have probably never taken the time to look into many of them, imagining that the skills and experiences needed are not ones that you possess.

This is a great shame because the advent of the ‘digital age’ has opened up a broad range of career opportunities to the average Jo, or Jill; careers that would have previously been well beyond their reach. In fields as diverse as journalism, and finance, it is now possible to carve out a career using the technologies available without following the prescribed career trajectory which would have been expected just a decade ago.

Here we take a look at 5 careers that are on-the-up and might be worth considering if you are thinking about a change of direction.

Vlogger / Youtuber 

Scoff as you may, a great many people have made a great deal of money through creating video content, and with Youtube on track to be 2016’s 2nd most popular website (after its big brother Google) this newly accessible career path doesn’t show any signs of slowing down.  It is not only the rise of video sharing sites, and the advertising revenues which come along with them that we have to thank for this, the advances in video recording and editing technologies have made this career path accessible to anyone for the minimum of initial financial investment.  Some of the world’s most popular creators of online video content make millions of dollars every year, with the top subscribed YouTubers including the likes of PewDiePie,  and HolaSoyGerman.  The vast majority of people engaged in this career earn a far more modest income, but by cultivating your audience cleverly and being creative with your monetisation strategy practically anyone can earn a tidy sum.

Journalist

The internet, and particularly the rise of social media has completely revolutionised the way the world receives its information and subsequently the way that journalists carve out a career for themselves.  In order to be a journalist these days all one needs is an internet connection, something interesting to say, and a bit of aptitude for the work.  The mass consumption of written online content means that there is a constant demand for skilled journalists, and live video streaming services such as Periscope and Facebook live have made it possible for aspiring journalists to reach a global audience at the touch of a button.  Combining together a number of social media sites such as Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube will give you the opportunity to amass a cross-platform audience as well as build a reputation within your chosen field, which will ultimately improve your prospects of making a career out of online journalism.

Forex Trader

This sounds way more daunting than it actually is.  It’s quite simply the exchange of one currency for another, aka Foreign Exchange or Forex.  The rise in popularity of online trading has greatly enhanced the accessibility of Forex Trading to the general population, with easy to use online trading platforms and social trading sites helping to further embed it as a potential career option.  Once such platform which offers Forex Trading as an option for users is FxPro, which also features a number of CFD Calculators which will help you to complete a number of important trading calculations

Coder

Surely the first thing that you will need to do in order to become a coder is complete a degree in computer science? Not anymore.

Coding ability is fast becoming one of the most sought-after skills in the workplace, as employers are becoming ever more keen to move as much of their business online as possible.  But coding as a career is no longer reserved for those with a third level education in the subject- it is open to pretty much anyone.

There are countless quality resources online which will help you to learn, develop, and practise the skills you will need, many of which are free.  Once you have got the basics down, you can begin by designing simple websites in HTML and CSS, before moving on to front-end, and eventually back-end development.  

Online Retailer

You can sell pretty much anything online– a fact which has given many people the opportunity to make quite a lot of money.  One of the great things about the explosion of ecommerce is that your ability to sell no longer relies on your location or the amount of money you can afford to spend on retail premises- you can sell from anywhere.  In particular the development of online marketplaces / retail services such as Amazon, Ebay, Etsy, and Shopify have created valuable readymade ‘shopfronts’, as well as a highly motivate potential customer base and reliable review systems which help good retailers to stand out from the crowd.  

With the ever increasing popularity of services such as click and collect, and drop shipping, the process of selling goods online is becoming ever more convenient, and is set to grow enormously in the coming years.