Industry Profiles
The list of possible career opportunities is numerous and career decision making can be overwhelming. To assist you in launching your career research and broadening your awareness of career opportunities, staff and volunteers at the Career Centre have compiled reliable and relevant information about a variety of industries. You will find detailed information about an industry which will help you recognize the different skills, abilities and knowledge required for a particular role.
Advertising Careers
Advertising is not marketing. Marketing is not advertising. The distinction between the two industries can be unclear. Individuals often believe advertising and marketing are synonyms and therefore interchangeable; however, the two are quite distinct. Advertising is an aspect of marketing and is conducted in an effort to complement an entire marketing campaign related to a product or service.
Areas of Specialization
Creative Director
Managing advertising campaigns and advertising agency teams, the role involves ensuring a client’s product and campaign strategy is consistent which entails communicating the campaign strategy to a team and supervising the entire project.
Account Manager
Managing sales and the relationship between the advertising agency and the client, account managers networks with organizations and clients to draw in more business. They maintain all aspects of the client relationship to encourage client retention and ensure the client is informed on specific advertising issues.
Art Director
Developing the artistic vision or concept for advertisement, art directors supervise graphic designers and communicate the agency’s vision for the client’s advertisement. They are expected to have well-developed graphic design skill and judgement. They oversee the transfer of an advertisement onto media.
Copywriter
Developing the specific textual content, placement and vocabulary for advertisements, copywriters choose words or phrases to be used in advertisements very carefully. They often work in close tandem with the art director. This also involves ensuring copy placement, size and colour are consistent with the overall ad campaign.
Related Avenues
- Media strategy: People within these roles choose through which venue to deliver advertisement content. It involves negotiating and buying advertisement space.
- Brand strategy: Focus on strategically creating a ‘brand’ for a client so the client experiences differentiation in the marketplace.
- Public relations (PR): PR professionals may work in advertising agencies or within any corporate or large not-for- profit environment. They help plan and maintain a particular public image for a client.
Note: In addition to the above unique roles within advertising, professionals also work in information technology, accounting, finance, customer service and administrative support.
Advertising Websites
Fashion Careers
“Fashion is not something that exists in dress only; fashion is something in the air. It’s the wind that blows in the new fashion; you feel it coming, you smell it… in the sky, in the street… Fashion has to do with new ideas, the way we live, what is happening.”
– Coco Chanel
Jobs within the fashion industry are extremely diverse. If you are creative, have a flair for fashion and love to be innovative, this could be the right path for you! You can work for organizations of all sizes from well-known fashion houses to independent shops.
Areas of Specialization
Designer
Designers are responsible for creating garments and executing new trends. They turn their concepts into something appealing and wearable. Fashion designers must not only be able to sew, make patterns and drape, they must also be unique, creative, and know how to execute ideas and concepts.
Buyer
A buyer analyzes sales and inventory figures, and studies market reports to determine which fashion products to buy. They do a great deal of negotiation with suppliers as to quantity, prices and delivery schedules and attend a variety of trade shows to predict consumer demand.
Trend Forecaster
Trend forecasters are responsible for analyzing the current market while discussing trends among other people who work in the fashion industry such as designers, buyers and retailers. They forecast trends up to 24 months in advance.
Merchandiser/Display Manager
The role of merchandiser/display manager advises on the design and layout of products to foster increased sales and can also advise on the packaging of products.
Agent
Discovering new talent to book for upcoming shows and print pieces, agents are responsible for creating lasting relationships with photographers and magazine editors. They must have an eye for detail and an eye for the right look.
Booker
A booker works at various talent agencies and sends models out to various castings. This is a great job if you are good at networking and making connections. You are constantly multitasking trying to accommodate both the model and the agency.
Marketing/Special Events Coordinator
Marketing/special events coordinators plan events like trunk shows, meet and greets, fashion shows and seminars. In essence, the coordinator wants to educate clientele on upcoming events and make sure important people in the industry attend their events to create awareness.
Journalist
This role researches information on a wide range of topics (fashion publications being one of many options) and communicates the details through effective written submissions in various platforms including newsletters, newspapers, magazines or Internet information sources. There are different types of journalism ranging from news journalists covering several stories per day, to investigative journalists involving more fact-gathering, time consuming articles. A love of writing and the ability to thrive under often deadline driven environments is key to success in this role.
Publisher
Publishers run the companies that produce books, magazines and electronic media resources. They manage editors, production, marketing and circulation staff. Often, they are also responsible for the financial performance of a company and serve as the leadership for developing long-term goals and business strategies of the publishing firm. The position of publisher is very rarely a direct-entry job, but rather a job that is secured following many years in one or more areas of the publishing industry.
Retailer
Responsible for merchandising designer garments, retailers must be able to market products to the public and sell them to the masses. They can either work for a store, including big box stores or specialty boutiques, or manage one.
Fashion Industry Websites
Insurance Careers
Jobs within the insurance industry are extremely diverse but are connected by the fact that they all involve the primary goal of helping individuals and businesses manage risk to protect themselves from loss. Many young professionals may initially dismiss the idea of a career in insurance due to the perception that most jobs involve sales. While the industry offers a variety of sales opportunities, a majority of careers in insurance do not pertain to sales at all.
Areas of Specialization
Actuary
Actuaries utilize statistical and mathematical analysis to determine the risk of providing coverage to individuals and/or businesses. Being an actuary requires keen math, statistics, analytical and problem-solving skills.
Underwriter
Underwriters evaluate an applicant’s exposure to risk and decides whether an applicant meets an insurer’s standards. Underwriting requires strong attention to detail, analytical and problem-solving skills and a natural curiosity.
Risk Manager
Risk managers identify risks and makes recommendations to organizations for dealing with these risks. The recommendations may include the purchase of insurance, adoption of precautionary measures and presentations to upper management. They are involved in the management of employee benefit plans. Valuable skills include knowledge of the insurance industry and of business practice as well as skills in making presentations to senior management.
Loss Control Specialist
Working to keep accidents and losses to a minimum, a control specialist may visit factories, shop floors and businesses to identify potential hazards and help to eliminate them. In the health insurance area, you might work with an organization to promote preventive health care in the workplace or to limit exposure to certain types of ailments. This work requires an understanding of safety management or engineering. A combination of a technical major and a business major would be good preparation for this job.
Service Representative
Service representatives are the link in the field between agents who sell policies and insurance companies who write the policies. Field representatives must be good listeners and communicators. This position requires knowledge of the company’s products and an ability to establish good rapport with those working for the company. A background in liberal arts can be great preparation for this type of position.
Claims Adjuster
A claims adjuster negotiates insurance claims with people who have experienced a loss. The adjuster is responsible for reaching a claim settlement that is fair to all parties involved. Doing well in this job requires a person who is resourceful, tactful and has strong interpersonal skills. Some adjusters work in the field, while others work out of an office.
Agent and Broker
Agents and brokers advise people and organizations on how to protect valuables by selling customers insurance contracts. An agent/broker is the first person contacted after an accident, fire or injury. An understanding of insurance contracts is essential. A career as an agent or broker can be financially rewarding. This work is highly time-flexible, requires some background in business and is best if you enjoy interacting with people.
Note: In addition to the above unique roles within insurance, professionals also work in information technology, accounting, finance, marketing, customer service and administrative support.
Insurance Industry Websites
- Insurance Canada
- Insurance Institute – Career Connections (profiles all career areas in the insurance industry)
- Canadian Association of Insurance Women
- Insurance Brokers Association of Ontario
- Insurance Institute of Canada
- Underwriters Laboratories of Canada
- Top Canadian Insurance Broker
- Canadian Underwriter
- Claims Canada
Legal Profession Careers
Careers within the legal industry involve considerable strategic planning because there are many career options from which to choose. Many people do not consider a career in the legal field as they perceive the only option is to be a lawyer. However, there are various other careers that do not require going to law school.
Areas of Specialization
Paralegal
Paralegals are regulated by the Law Society of Upper Canada and are primarily self-employed professionals who handle small claims court or traffic court cases. Paralegals help reduce the workload, increase efficiency and lower legal costs of clients. Skills include and attention to detail, empathy, organization, deadline driven, research skills and flexibility. Paralegals are typically permitted to work in certain areas of law without supervision and are more often self-employed. Visit the Law Society of Upper Canada for an outline of the permitted scope of practice for paralegals.
Law Clerk
Law clerks are primarily employed by law offices or corporations and always work under the direct supervision of a lawyer. Law Clerks handle a great deal of administrative and research work for legal proceedings. The majority of employment opportunities in Ontario require you to be a member of the Institute of Law Clerks of Ontario (ILCO). Being extremely organized and efficient is a must for this position as Law Clerks manage document production and retrieval as well as manage and track deadlines to ensure that work is on schedule.
Mediator
Mediators are people who facilitate generative discussion among plaintiffs and victims, or within families as a conflict resolution process, often to circumvent the need to undergo an expensive court process. Mediators must possess very strong communication and facilitation skills to ensure both parties feel heard and understood to move the parties toward problem resolution.
Law Librarian
Aiding lawyers in receiving information quickly and easily, law librarians often assist with reference questions and legal research, track relevant cases, legislation and regulations and assist in finding legal forms and checklists. The position generally requires a Master of Library and Information Science and some experience in library or legal environments.
Conflicts Check Specialist
These specialists work with lawyers to resolve potential conflicts. Assist in keeping the firm up to date on ethical regulations. Skills include organization and an attention to detail, and the ability to examine legal and factual data is an important aspect.
Legal Investigator
Legal investigators often work with lawyers as they are in charge of interviewing witnesses, locating witnesses related to cases and constructing background checks along with many other responsibilities that involve communication with people. Due to the fact that they are mainly dealing with people, rather than paperwork, it is key that they have strong communication skills as well as the ability to focus on the goal at hand.
Legal Transcriber
Legal transcribers often employed by courts, court reporting service firms or even self-employed. Most of their work revolves around court procedures as they are in charge of recording proceedings as well as making a complete and thorough record. Technical and computer skills are mandatory for audio and video tapings of court procedures.
Note: In addition to the above unique roles within the legal field, professionals could also work in accounting (e.g. business loss consultant), or a science student, for example, could become an environmental consultant and provide expert opinion and research services in the case of land disputes (e.g. contamination).
Legal Profession Websites
Library and Information Science Careers
Library and information science offers a rewarding career for those interested in issues regarding accessing, managing and maintaining information. While the majority of information science professionals are employed in various library settings (e.g. legal, academic, public, school), there are a variety of related fields that involve employment in corporate settings as well.
Areas of Specialization: Library Setting
- web content design and development
- user experience/user-centred design
- special collections
- sales manager (library resources and solutions)
- reference services
- research services
- project management
- policy development
- marketing and communications
- media monitoring and analysis
- intellectual property/copyright
- information literacy
- liaison/community outreach
- digital curation and preservation
- collection development/acquisitions
- cataloguing/metadata/taxonomy
- book history
Related Fields
Records Management
Prospect Research
Knowledge Management
- Knowledge Management Professional Society (KMPro)
Archives
Library and Information Science Websites
Postsecondary Education Careers
There are many diverse career opportunities within postsecondary institutions besides that of professorship. There can be multiple educational paths to these careers, all of the following requiring a master’s or bachelor’s degree. If you have a passion for education but do not want to be a classroom educator or researcher, careers relating to education in the post-secondary setting might be a great fit for you.
Areas of Specialization
Learning Services
Learning services professionals are trained in educational theory and practice, educational psychology, curriculum and disability/accessibility issues. Their role often entails creating academic programs, developing workshops, working with curriculum designers and professors, and performing individual consultations with students. Learning Services can include a variety of outlets through a host of programs such as accessible learning centres as well as writing and math centres.
Academic Librarian
This role involves providing references and research services for students and faculty which entails demonstrating how to utilize resources and equipment. Academic librarians often concentrate in a specific type of public, technical or administrative service.
Career Consulting
Career practitioners perform a variety of tasks on a daily basis including one-on-one consulting with students and alumni, delivering workshops, and maintaining career centre resources. Consultants possess a plethora of information to provide students about the current job market, resumé writing, interviewing and networking skills, as well as further education programs.
Instructional Technology
Instructional technology professionals provides technological support for professors, staff, librarians and any other learning instructors within the college or university. A large portion of their work is consulting with individual instructors on how to incorporate technology into learning and to advise various departments on technical issues.
Registrar
Professionals in this postsecondary department manage all current and past student admission/academic and registration records. The registrar is responsible for course enrolments and coordinating class and exam schedules. The registrar is also responsible for directing the activities of the professional and support staff in their departments.
Recruitment/Admissions
Recruitment professionals assess potential student admission and enrolment while performing a variety of duties such as developing and executing recruitment programs, attending committees and working with the Faculties. These professionals serve in a ‘public relations’ role to field inquiries from students and parents with a focus on securing a strong attraction to the university. Admissions specialists process applications to an institution, respond to potential student inquiries, and coordinate admissions with individual academic departments.
International
Most postsecondary institutions offer an international office. These offices work with international students as well as domestic students seeking academic exchange opportunities in other countries. Student abroad advisors and liaison officers provide students with the skills to effectively communicate, learn, and adapt in an intercultural setting during their academic and non-academic life.
Alumni Relations
Alumni professionals seek to build and cultivate lifelong relationships between the university and its alumni, continuously reinforcing the value of affiliation with the university. This is achieved in a variety of ways including organizing a variety of alumni events that reconnect alumni and engage them with the university, facilitating communication with alumni, providing alumni volunteer opportunities and recognizing alumni accomplishments through awards.
Public Affairs
University communication professionals create and deliver the university’s key messages, provide information and advocacy on behalf of the university, and assist in effectively positioning the university in the postsecondary sector. This is done in a variety of ways including the promotion of newsworthy events to the media and to the public, writing and designing online and printed publications and managing social media channels.
University Advancement/Development
Professionals in this department contribute to the sustainability of the university through strategic fundraising initiatives. Identifying prospective donors and managing donor relations is an integral part of the role resulting in opportunities to continually create innovative programming and scholarships for students.
Note: In addition to the above unique roles within postsecondary, professionals also work in accounting, finance and administrative support.
Postsecondary Education Websites
- Learning Specialists Association of Canada
- The Chronicle of Higher Education
- Canadian Council for the Advancement of Education
- Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada
- Colleges and Institutes Canada
- Canadian Association of Career Educators and Employers
- American Association for Adult and Continuing Education
- University Affairs
- Ontario Universities Registrars’ Association
- Council for Advancement and Support of Education
- Association of Fundraising Professionals
Publishing Careers
Jobs within the publishing industry are extremely diverse. If you have an interest in reading books, magazines and newspapers, in either print or online - then a career in this industry may be for you!
Areas of Specialization
Publisher
This role manages the companies that produce books, magazines and electronic media resources. They manage editors, production, marketing and circulation staff. Often, they are also responsible for the financial performance of a company and serve as the leadership for developing long-term goals and business strategies of the publishing firm. The position of publisher is very rarely a direct-entry job, but rather a job that is secured following many years in one or more areas of the publishing industry.
Copywriter
A copywriter works in close connection to clients to understand a company’s product or service in order to write advertisements. The individual in this role strives to identify the best means of delivering a client’s message which may involve writing TV or radio commercials, or advertisements for print or online publications.
Editor
An editor collects and produces high-quality written work. An editor’s role varies based on the level of responsibility and the type of publication. For instance, acquisition editors make decisions about which books or articles they want to publish. Developmental editors work with an author to shape the direction of a book/essay, while production editors coordinate the design and layout of a book, magazine or newspaper. Copy editors mostly review and edit a writer’s work for accuracy, grammar and style. In smaller organizations, a single editor may do all of the above.
Journalist
A journalist researches information on a wide range of topics (depending on the publication) and communicates the details through effective written submissions in various platforms including newsletters, newspapers, magazines or Internet information sources. There are different types of journalism ranging from news journalists covering several stories per day, to investigative journalists involving more fact-gathering, time consuming articles. An interesting in writing and the ability to thrive under often deadline-driven environments are key to success in this role.
Production and Circulation Staff
This staff monitors book or electronic publication production schedules and interact with authors, compositors, printers, proofreaders, copy editors, designers, illustrators, and photo-researchers. Production staff know a great deal about the printing process, desktop publishing, and electronic product development.
Designer
A designer consults with clients about projects, audiences and budgets. Designers prepare rough drafts of designs and present them to clients for approval. They gather visual elements for inclusion in print publications including text, illustrations and photographs.
Sales
Sales involves selling advertising space within a magazine, newspaper, directory or online forum. This work is best suited for individuals who enjoy the art of negotiation and who are both people and goal-oriented.
Marketing
Professionals in marketing coordinate activities associated with development and promotion through market research, market planning, advertising, and direct mail campaigns.
Copyright and Permissions
Professionals in copyright and permissions respond to requests to duplicate publications by ensuring compliance with copyright protection laws.
Note: In addition to the above unique roles within the publishing industry, professionals also work in information technology, accounting, finance and administrative Support.