Portland is a city of the future, and the significant career trends reflect in the marketplace. While the 2020s have many uncertainties about what industries will emerge as most successful, it is becoming increasingly clear that specific fields will be vital in employing hundreds or even thousands of people, compared to past decades. 

In any healthy team of professionals, there will occasionally be disagreement. Team members bring different perspectives, priorities, and risk tolerances, so they will advocate for different paths forward. This discord seems like an annoying roadblock until you realize it’s better than the alternative. Corporate cultures where a single suggestion is mindlessly accepted offer far fewer opportunities for refining and finding the best option available.  

You don't have to give up efficiency or give up having a variety of opinions on the table. Healthy disagreement, respectful conversation, and finding a truly ideal solution are possible when you work toward inclusive leadership.  

It's been true for decades that gender roles in United States workplaces have been changing. While this can sometimes feel jarring if you grew up expecting to interact in one way with men and another with women, culturally, learning these changing norms can be very helpful. Furthermore, the growing inclusion and acceptance of transgender and nonbinary identities in the professional sphere has added additional challenges for those who may not understand these concepts or simply not be aware of how to address their colleagues. 

The turbulence of the pandemic has caused a shift in the way we think about work. After the pandemic ends, 26% of employees are planning on switching jobs, 80% of those are doing so out of career advancement concerns, and 38% of workers feel stuck in their careers during the pandemic. That shouldn’t be too surprising since a year prior a worker survey found 58% of those switching jobs were willing to take a pay cut to do so. People want to make changes that aren't just moving within the same field; instead, they require switching industries, responsibilities, and working knowledge altogether.  

The internet is key to so many companies and industries, and every single website has to be created and maintained by someone with knowledge in web design. Learning web design, unlike some other computer-related fields, is incredibly straightforward. After a short course, you can launch a variety of careers in web design. After establishing expertise, web designers can continue learning new programming languages and new elements or software, building your skills to be more versatile and keep up with the times. 

The Portland housing and rental market is red hot, and rental properties can offer job opportunities. However, if you’re looking to manage rental property in Oregon, you must first obtain a property manager license. While this may seem like an inconvenient step to take, it’s one that will help Oregon residents stay in compliance with the law while entering a field that’s reliable and high-demand.