Before you start working in the consumer services industry you might want to know if consumer services is a good career path for you in the current job market. It is important to know what you can expect from a new job and potential future career opportunities. When you work for a company you get experience in certain skills and also build connections. These skills and connections could be used in future jobs.
However, those skills might be most valuable if applied to companies in the same industry. Because there is a higher chance that some of the skills are important to employers in the same industry. Additionally, if you are looking to potentially change jobs later, it might be good to know what kind of companies you could be working for then.
Before choosing consumer services as a career path it is good to know, how many jobs are available in consumer services. More open jobs mean that there is more potential for you to find a job.
What Companies Are in the Consumer Services Industry
In order to know if consumer services is a good career path for you, you should know what kind of companies you might be working for. Consumer services is a very broad term that encompasses all services that are catered towards consumers. Meaning as long as it is not a product but a service and the user of the service is a consumer and not a business it’s part of consumer services.
There are many different sectors that fall within this category, for example, the tourism and leisure industry, which can include travel agencies or restaurants. However, also companies that are for example in delivery, shopping, and retail but also healthcare or finance could be a consumer service.
Here are some examples of consumer services companies:
- Retail companies where consumers physically go to buy items like Walmart, Cosco, and Home Depot.
- Delivery services, which can be personal transportation, food delivery, or packages, like USPS, Uber, Doordash, and FedEx.
- Leisure industry and travel companies like Booking, Expedia, Marriot, Macdonald, and Disney.
- Financial services, investments, or loans like Visa, Mastercard, and Robin Hood.
Type of Work in the Consumer Services Industry
Since there are a lot of different companies in the industry there are also a lot of different types of work available. The main similarity across all companies is that the services are for consumers. So any work that directly interacts with consumers or people will always be required in the industry. This means that any skills concerning consumer satisfaction will be important.
Think for example about direct interaction jobs like being a waiter or working in a hotel. But also customer service work or calling potential customers as a call center representative or helping with problems require direct interaction with consumers.
On the other hand, there are jobs that work to maintain the business but might not directly require interaction with consumers. For example, Amazon is a platform where consumers can buy something. But there are a lot of Amazon workers in warehouses or administrative employees that work on keeping the service up and running.
The work can include physical work and desk work, like warehouse workers, waiters, and cooks. But also office work like customer service or coders, system managers, managers, or administrative work.
Food, entertainment and tourism is also a major sector and it can include anything which has to do with experiences rather than things. Think about for example going to the movies, eating in a restaurant or going on a cruise. The delivery sector is also very much related to consumer services and ties in very well with other sectors like retail and food.
On the other side of the spectrum the financial, healthcare and insurance sector is also partly a consumer service, depending on the specific type of company. Think for example about car insurance, personal banking or personal loan services.
What can be seen is that a very broad range of companies can be considered consumer service. That is why it might be hard to define consumer services, it can basically mean anything that has to do with consumers and is classified as a service.
Important Skills in the Consumer Services Industry
If you are looking for a career in consumer services these skills might be good to have or to try and acquire before working in the industry. When applying for a new job it might also be a good idea to highlight which of these skills you have, where you learned them and how they are applicable to the job.
Friendliness is a very important skill, especially when working in a position that will directly interact with people. This also includes physical attributes like smiling and greeting people in a physical workplace.
Being able to work under pressure. A lot of work will involve people, there might be moments that get a lot more hectic quickly and you need to be able to deal with that. Additionally, people could be dissatisfied and let you know this and it would be important to keep a cool head should that happen.
Flexibility or problem-solving skills would be very useful skills to have because when other people like consumers or colleagues are involved it is important to be able to be flexible. The ability to quickly change or pivot when required is important because people are all unique and different and you cannot predict exactly how everything will be or how people will react.
Being organized, although this skill would be applicable in a lot of different situations and not just work. It is very important to be organized in an industry where you will have to directly interact with a lot of different people. Or where you are responsible for making sure deadlines are met and the service keeps running and others in the company and the consumers could all be influenced or even dependent on you.
What do Consumer Services Jobs Pay
The actual pay of a consumer services job is dependent on what kind of work you are doing, in what sector of the consumer service industry, and in what position you are in the company. If you do physical work like being a waiter or working in a warehouse the pay might be lower than a managerial position or office job in the same company. Additionally, the level of experience, education, and skills you have will impact the potential pay.
It is also important to take into account what kind of pay you are receiving, are you receiving only a dollar wage for your work or are you also receiving additional alternative compensation? Alternative compensation could impact the consumer service job salary and compensation significantly in any job function within the company.
Is Consumer Services a Good Career Path for you?
So to answer the question of whether consumer services is a good career path depends on the situation and what exactly you are looking for in the job. The consumer services industry is very broad and there are a lot of different potential jobs or careers you could choose from.
Because of the size of the industry and since consumers are the primary focus, it is likely that the industry will still be there in the future. This means that there is a likely chance that there are many jobs available in the consumer services industry. This could make it a good career choice to try and improve your skills and try to follow a career path.
There are a lot of potential options to start in the consumer services industry without much prior experience. As well as jobs that require much more experience, making it a very interesting industry with potential for many job seekers.