A hospitality degree opens many doors towards different industries and trains you in a wide range of valuable core skills. The most important and helpful assets are analytical thinking, problem solving, verbal and written communication skills, negotiation, teamwork, IT skills and the ability to network.
Moreover, good knowledge of employee management, the importance of how to deliver excellent customer service, and hospitality management – amongst other things – aids you to be prepared for any challenges you may face in life.
If you are looking for an alternative career with your degree in hospitality, here are some ideas for you:
7 Alternative Careers You Can Get With a Hospitality Degree
- Team Leader - Customer Service
- Sales Representative
- Recruitment Consultant
- HR Assistant
- Communication Coordinator
- Tour Manager
- General Manager for the Baking Business
1. Team Leader – Customer Service
With the hospitality degree, you are experienced in suggesting optimal solutions in accordance with internal procedures due to the problem-solving and negotiation expertise acquired during your degree and a perfect fit for the Team Leader position.
Additionally, you are prepared to promote positive employee behaviour by leading by example since you studied the importance of positive positioning and the impact it has.
Lastly, you will have no problem achieving qualitative and quantitative objectives defined by your Supervisor, thanks to your analytical thinking and the ability to come up with a realistic and effective plan to make it work.
2. Sales Representative
As a Sales Representative, you will be more than prepared to bring new ideas to develop, enhance and grow the market due to your expanded knowledge of critical thinking and action planning obtained during your degree.
One of the most important parts of any sales job is to be able to build a good relationship with a customer - a degree in hospitality, therefore, prepares you well for applying those skills into practice. Moreover, you are more than skilled in providing calm and informative responses to the client’s inquiries with your verbal and written communication competence.
Ultimately, executing and achieving your sales targets will be a piece of cake for you since you are a self-driven, enthusiastic person with great people skills.
3. Recruitment Consultant
Strong communication skills - both written and verbal - are required in the Recruitment industry. Consultants need to successfully manage the conversation between the candidate and the company.
Furthermore, the staff in the hospitality and tourism industry depend on a productive and effective exchange of information, tasks, and interaction with the customer, which ultimately gives you the advantage to perform well as a Recruitment consultant.
Lastly, a sense of professionalism, strong attention to detail, and the ability to develop a relationship, as well as to multitask and prioritise are all requirements for the role. And they are not something you will be lacking after your hospitality degree.
4. HR Assistant
The position of Human Resources assistant is very valuable in any company. The employee with that title has to have: a Bachelor's degree, good communication skills, a positive attitude towards the right approach to any challenge, and excellent problem-solving and analytical skills.
After obtaining your hospitality degree, you will surely realise that your qualifications fit perfectly with the demanded skills for the HR position.
Careers in HR are among the career paths most frequently chosen by graduates of the most prestigious programmes, such as the BA in International Hospitality Management at the Swiss Hotel Management School.
5. Communication Coordinator The Communication Coordinator position can be applied to many industries, just like was the case for the HR assistant. There are a variety of companies that hire for those roles.
The most important thing to mention is the needed skills for this position - which are relevant to any industry chosen afterwards: project and time management skills, interpersonal and communication skills, teamwork, ability to work under pressure with tight deadlines and solution-oriented.
Having a hospitality degree gives you the advantage of having a developed capacity to prioritise and organise your tasks, and maximise the productivity needed to achieve them - which was developed through the course via evaluating and presenting arguments and data to your peers.
Moreover, you gained your experience working independently and in groups with the different projects during your course in hospitality which is highly appreciated and advisable to present in interviews.
6. Tour Manager
Regardless of whether you are managing a group of musicians or a group of tourists, the main role of a tour manager is to make sure that a trip runs smoothly, ensuring that travel arrangements go without a hitch and that your group is accommodated for.
If you are passionate about travel, well organised, and speak other languages - then working as a tour manager could be the perfect job for you. Most tour managers are self-employed or freelance, and the role means that you are responsible for the experience of all of your group.
As a candidate with a hospitality degree in your hand, this would be a suitable experience with your expertise in multitasking effectively and organization skills.
7. General Manager for the Baking Business
Ultimately, having a hospitality degree prepares you for an entrepreneur mindset – it expands your knowledge on how to plan, build and execute an action plan to start your own business.
If you love baking, a career selling your baked goods is an excellent option. And don’t worry if you think that you have some knowledge gaps regarding it – you can take courses that can teach you the skills that you need.
Miss Macaroon, for example, has set up a course to help young people have the confidence and skills to get into the hospitality workplace. Additionally, she said that the candidates “are supported by the programme leader, work buddy, psychotherapist and counsellor and have a mentor for six months after the course ends”.
Conclusion
Changing careers can seem daunting and challenging, but after obtaining a Hospitality degree, you are more than skilled in taking over the world and presenting effective arguments sustaining your mission. In the end, a Hospitality degree allows you to easily choose alternative careers while having the best motto in your mindset: Imagine, plan and execute it!
Samuele Ugazio2mo ago
Insightful and to the point!
Insightful and to the point!