As you are reading this article, I want to ask you a simple question. What is your current profession? or if you are a student then what is your dream job or profession? Let me take a guess!! Most of the people will answer as software engineers, doctors/health professionals, finance experts, chefs, teachers, businessmen, creative arts and sportspeople. Most of the responses will fall within these categories and there will be only a few outliers who will choose something extraordinary. The reality is that most of the people in the world are doing similar kinds of jobs and aren’t aware of the hidden careers that they might be good at.
In this article we will go through the different categories of careers, will talk about some of the rare professions in the world and look into data insights around the global workforce.
Reason people tend to choose common professions
Let’s dive into the reasons why people choose common professions
No awareness on hidden careers
Our education system globally is very stringent and always focuses majorly on professions like engineering, finance and healthcare. Students are never encouraged enough to seek a different career. Once an individual takes a career it becomes very difficult for them to experiment something unique or out of the box.
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Peer pressure
Most of the students choose a stream or a career by getting influenced by other people. It is obvious to get inspired by their seniors who are getting a high salary package in a common career. But students will never try to test themselves whether they are really made for these common careers or something totally out of the box.
Hasty decision while choosing a career
While choosing a career people should take time to explore different professions, get high level knowledge on them, and should do small projects to check their interest and capability. But this is not the case because our education system does not give that much flexibility. In schools and colleges we have to earn good grades so that we can get a high salary package; this is the only motto most of the students follow.
Less scope for the hidden careers
The hidden careers or rare professions are often having a very less scope from a financial perspective. That is the reason people hesitate to take the less travelled road. Also, parents specially in Asian countries never motivate their children enough for the unexplored paths because they are concerned about their future and they want it to be safe. Somehow, the whole machinery keeps us away from choosing a rare or unique profession.
Categorization of Careers
We have divided the global workforce into three categories as following:
Common Careers
Common careers as the name suggests are very much visible in the global market. Most of the schools and colleges primarily teach these processions. Most of the graduates take these careers. Here is a list of some Common Careers in the world right now.
- Software & IT Roles
- Healthcare Professions
- Education (Teachers etc.)
- Sales & Retail
- Finance experts
Invisible Majority
This is the career category where professions are mostly invisible to the market because they are not aspirationally promoted by schools and colleges. But still these careers dominate the major global workforce. Here is a list of some Invisible Majority careers:
- Agriculture & Natural Resources
- Construction & Skilled Trades
- Logistics & Transportation
- Admin & Back-Office
- Hospitality & Services
Rare Professions
These professions are the most unique and are real hidden careers in the market. No school or college endorses them. In reality, these are very niche jobs and there is a very minute no. of people in these professions. Here is a list of some Rare Professions:
- Wine Tasters
- Wood Patternmakers
- Golf Ball Divers
- Marine Acoustics Specialist
Data Insights
According to the International Labour Organization and World Bank following are few data points describing the percentage of global workforce in different career categories
| Common Careers | |
| Profession | % of Global Workforce |
| Software & IT Roles | 4–5% |
| Healthcare Professions | 7–8% |
| Education (Teachers etc.) | 5–6% |
| Sales & Retail | 12–15% |
So, this shows the common careers dominate approx. 50 % of the global workforce.
| Invisible Careers | |
| Profession | % of Global Workforce |
| Agriculture & Natural Resources | 26–28% |
| Construction & Skilled Trades | 7–8% |
| Logistics & Transportation | 5–6% |
| Admin & Back-Office | 6–7% |
| Utilities & Infrastructure | 3–4% |
| Hospitality & Services | 6–7% |
| Security & Local Services | 2–3% |
The above data depicts that even the less inspirationally promoted professions are also dominating around 40-50% of the global workforce.
| Rare Professions | |
| Profession | % of Global Workforce |
| Wine Tasters / Sommeliers | ~0.002% |
| Master Perfumers (“Noses”) | ~0.00001% |
| Flavorists | ~0.0001% |
| Wood Patternmakers | ~0.001% |
| Golf Ball Divers | ~0.00005% |
| Hippotherapists | ~0.0002% |
| Forensic Entomologists | ~0.00003% |
| Odor Judges | ~0.00001% |
| Pipe Organ Builders | ~0.00008% |
This depicts that the Rare Professions are very Niche and there are only handful of skilled people belonging to this category.
Misconception on the Career Distribution
Usually people think that the Common Careers are more popular and dominate the whole global workforce, but this is not the case because there is a Silent Majority Careers which is quite similar in number to the common careers but are less promoted and mostly invisible. The Rare Professions are not hidden because they are unimportant, instead they are hidden because very few people are capable of doing them. Most people in these rare roles never planned to enter them.
Historical Shift of Careers
The current distribution of careers was not the same all along. Let’s check out the Career Category Dominance over the span of 100 years. The following data is
In the 1920s – 1940s (Early 20th Century) Invisible careers dominated 70 -75% of the global workforce. The reason being the majority of the world was involved in Agriculture at that point of time. The common careers of today’s era constituted 20-25% only and Rare professions were 0.001%
In the 2000s – 2020s (Recent 20 years) Invisible careers have considerably declined to 45-50% and the common careers of today’s era dominate the 45-50% of the global workforce. This is all because of the gigantic growth of the IT and healthcare sectors. Another factor is the increase in accessibility of education over the past decades. Even the rare professions have increased by 10 folds that is 0.01%, but their number is still very minute.
This means that 100 years ago the current invisible careers were common careers of that time and it is vice versa in the current times. This shift of career dominance can again happen in a few more years and this time with the advent of AI it might happen faster.
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Final Thoughts
As a conclusion, I would say that in today’s modern era we should not be chasing a career just because it has a lot of scope and it is widely accepted. Rather every individual should be aware of the hidden professions so that they can explore different careers with utmost flexibility and are then able to move forward in their Career path layer by layer.