Maybe you’re the sort of person who plans their work outfits a week in advance. Maybe your favorite things in the world are IKEA drawer dividers, sticky notes and ring binders. Maybe back in school everyone asked to borrow your notes, because they were so organized and detailed.
No matter the case, we see you, we hear you, and we’ve put together this list for you — since you love lists so much — in hopes of helping you out in choosing the right career path for yourself.
So, let us not waste any time: here are 20 careers for organized people that you’ll want to be familiar with while choosing your degree or embarking on your job search journey!
1. Event planner
Average annual salary: $52,560
Event planning is stressful for most people, but not for someone like you!
Type A personality types thrive in time-sensitive situations, which is why becoming an event planner is a good option. Typical tasks include keeping track of details like costs, guest lists, décor, accommodation, invitations, schedules, and so forth.
2. Public relations specialist
Average annual salary: $67,440
Becoming a public relations specialist takes a lot of dedication and patience, but it’s a great challenge for someone who loves organization!
A PR specialist’s role usually involves liaising with influencers and publicists to ensure that the company or brand you represent is presented in the correct light. Behind the scenes, they’re also responsible for a lot of administrative work, which involves filing and spreadsheets.
3. Personal assistant
Average annual salary: $44,080
As a personal assistant, you’ll be responsible for managing your boss’ daily schedule.
You’ll be required to organize their calendar, confirm appointments, arrange for business trips and run any other errands that they might need throughout the day. On top of that, you’ll have your spreadsheets and daily tasks to keep you on your toes.
4. Professional home organizer
Average annual salary: $55,700
If you love organizing, you’ve probably heard of The Home Edit’s famous owners Joanna Teplin and Clea Shearer: two women renowned for organizing people’s houses, including top celebrities like Reese Weatherspoon and Khloe Kardashian. These ladies have single-handedly made this profession popular.
If you love to organize pantries and closets, consider following in their footsteps and becoming a professional home organizer!
Remember: these jobs for organizers can vary greatly in terms of salary, as they’re pursued on a freelance basis in the vast majority of cases — meaning people can set their own rates.
5. Wedding planner
Average annual salary: $52,560
Similar to event planning, wedding planning also requires plenty of attention to detail and patience.
As a wedding planner, you’ll be responsible for organizing someone’s special day, selecting the color scheme, liaising with vendors and ensuring everything runs smoothly on the big day.
6. Visual merchandiser
Average annual salary: $38,120
Visual merchandisers are responsible for the display of products and garments throughout stores in their geographical area.
They usually follow a style guide provided by the head merchandiser, and ensure that all products look appealing and encourage shoppers to make purchases while they are in the store.
7. Travel agent
Average annual salary: $46,400
Travel agents not only recommend holiday destinations and have a wealth of knowledge about the countries that they are selling, but they also need great organizational skills.
They are responsible for preparing itineraries and packages, arranging invoices, booking flights and tours, and making restaurant reservations. It takes a lot of skill to ensure that the itinerary is booked as promised and that the timings are correct throughout their clients’ trips.
8. Project manager
Average annual salary: $95,370
Project managers can be found within any organization. Their main duty is to ensure that ongoing projects run smoothly. They create tasks and delegate them accordingly by overviewing a team’s progress and efficiency.
To succeed in this role, you will need great organizational skills and to be able to trust the team that you’ve hired.
9. Real estate agent
Average annual salary: $65,850
The role of a real estate agent is fast-paced and extremely hectic. You must be able to organize your day, which will include viewings and locations, as well as managing lots of paperwork involving client details, invoicing and contracts.
Besides this, you’ll usually be working against targets to gain a certain commission amount per month.
10. Logistics manager
Average annual salary: $77,520
Logistics managers are responsible for planning, directing and coordinating various departments, including purchasing, distribution, forecasting and customer services. They must ensure that the operations between these departments run smoothly and effectively.
11. Lawyer
Average annual salary: $135,740
Becoming a lawyer requires a lot of hard work, skills and organization. Besides studying for over four years, you’ll need to practice for another two or three before you obtain a training contract and qualify as a lawyer.
Throughout your studies and work life, you’ll need great organizational skills to work on multiple cases simultaneously, highlight evidence and make notes to ensure your work is carried out thoroughly. It’s a job that requires a lot of effort, but it is highly rewarding once you become a professional lawyer.
12. Proofreader
Average annual salary: $48,770
Editing and proofreading require a lot of patience and attention to detail. As a proofreader, you’ll be responsible for spotting and correcting the smallest mistakes. And after hours on end of starring at the same screen, it can get tiresome.
That said, it’s a job that is perfect for an organizational guru like yourself. You’ll form your own method of working to ensure you’re getting through all the pending content in time!
13. Housekeeper
Average annual salary: $31,920
While this isn’t considered to be one of the most glamorous jobs out there, it’s ideal for organized people who like to clean and tidy up. You’ll gain immense satisfaction after every spotless room or household.
To work through a handful of hotel rooms in an allocated time, you’ll need to have great organizational skills and ensure that you don’t get side-tracked.
14. Interior designer
Average annual salary: $61,590
Who says organizing jobs can’t be creative?!
Interior designers have a knack for knowing what colors, fabrics and styles mesh together to create a breathtaking and inviting space. But besides being creative and artsy, they also must possess great organization skills to liaise with different clients and vendors.
In addition, they must ensure that everything looks tidy, uncluttered and presentable. Therefore, it’s a job that requires a handful of very specific skills and a friendly personality.
15. Training and development specialist
Average annual salary: $63,080
Training and development specialists spend a lot of their time working with organizations to ensure their staff are up to date with the latest procedures and that they are fully trained to perform well on the job.
They can be found working in-house with various teams or traveling to different companies to help with specific training issues. It’s a job that requires a lot of preparation and organization, especially if you hold a permanent role within a company.
You’ll need to prepare manuals and other paperwork, check employees’ work performance and then offer critical remarks to upper management, as well as carrying out quarterly or yearly appraisals.
16. Administrative assistant
Average annual salary: $44,080
Administrative assistants are oftentimes the glue that holds an office together. Their jobs require them to perform a wide variety of tasks on the daily, supporting both management and employees, such as data entry, answering phone calls and emails, taking care of travel and meeting arrangements, and preparing letters and reports.
Given the breadth of their responsibilities, administrative assistants must be well organized so they can successfully juggle all that’s expected of them.
17. Paralegal
Average annual salary: $59,200
A paralegal is a lawyer’s right-hand person. They’re responsible for gathering evidence and documentation for review, summarizing reports to help prepare for trials, taking formal statements, and drafting letters and legal documents.
As their role is critical in the legal world, and because their responsibilities are varied, paralegals must be exceptional at organizing, working meticulously and being proactive.
18. Teacher
Average annual salary: $62,360
We all know that teachers are hired to, well, teach — but the profession entails far more responsibilities than that! Teachers have to also plan lessons in advance, assess their students’ strengths and weaknesses (and adapt their lessons accordingly), grade tests and assignments, and overall support their pupils’ academic and personal development.
Depending on what age groups they teach, teachers might have several classes in a day and even teach several subjects. That’s why they have to be extremely organized and show great time management skills on top of strong communication and interpersonal skills.
19. Account manager
Average annual salary: $138,730
Companies that work directly with clients, such as marketing agencies, require well-organized, well-spoken individuals to take on the role of account manager.
An account manager has direct communication with the client, discussing briefs, actions and desired results with them, and then transferring what’s been said on to the rest of their team: they’re the link between their own colleagues and the company’s clients. This level of responsibility is reflected in their wages: they have an average salary of nearly $140,000!
Often, an account manager will be called to handle several client accounts at once, hence the need for strong communication and organizational ability.
20. Archivist
Average annual salary: $53,420
Archivists most commonly find employment in museums, galleries and historical sites. They’re hired to authenticate, preserve and maintain historical documents, keep electronic records, organize and classify archival materials, and help in the maintenance and display of collections.
Being detailed oriented, having an analytical mind and demonstrating excellent organizational skills are all vital to landing this unique role.
Final thoughts
As you can see, there is a wide selection of careers for people who like organizing, some of which can be pursued at entry level right out of university, and some high-paying ones which will require you to work for a few years before being able to land them.
Of course, just because a job appears to be right up your alley doesn’t mean that it will turn out as fulfilling as you’d imagine. Indeed, career satisfaction is often influenced by various elements, so if you’re just starting university or contemplating a career change, make sure to take more things into consideration, such as your ideal work environment, work life balance and, of course, benefits.
Which role on this jobs list has grabbed your attention? Let us know by joining in on the conversation below.
Originally published on October 4, 2015. Updated by Electra Michaelidou.