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Sick of obeying the law that “the customer is always right” outwardly while you scream expletives in your mind? Looks like it’s time to embrace one of the many other exciting and profitable career paths out there.
Customer service can be a grueling profession, but it doesn’t always come with a paycheck to reflect the difficulty. However, that doesn’t make it any less daunting to switch things up in your career — what if there’s nothing better out there, you might wonder?
The good news is that customer service is full of transferable skills that organizations in many booming industries would be happy to snap up. All that’s left for you is to take action. We’ll run through the best jobs for former customer service workers, along with upskilling tips for customer service employees who want to transition into better opportunities.
We’re not here to waste your time, so let’s jump straight into one of the best career options for former customer service employees. And, surprise surprise, it’s all about the tech industry.
We’re not here to waste your time, so let’s jump straight into. And, surprise surprise, it’s all about the tech industry.
Ask the average person to name a profitable career path, and something related to technology or computers is sure to leave their tongue. Sure enough, computer and information technology occupations are forecasted to grow 13% between 2020 and 2030, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. You may have discouraged yourself from working in this field if you don’t have technical skills or knowledge, but there are (high-paying) jobs you can do without them. One of them is a citizen developer.
Think of a citizen developer as a programmer that doesn’t code. That might sound like a contradiction, but a wide range of applications allow you to do everything a traditional developer can, but using visual elements (e.g., drag-and-drop) instead of coding.
And guess what? Many organizations are embracing this movement and hiring citizen developers to automate workflows, build websites, and create apps.
$90,000-$125,000
At first glance, it might seem like citizen developers have little in common with customer service agents, and it’s true that you’ll need to learn how to use new software. However, as a citizen developer, your ultimate job is to solve problems using your understanding of a company’s needs — all things customer service agents should have some familiarity with.
There are no two ways around it: If you want to become a citizen developer, you’ll need to put some blood, sweat, and tears into mastering the right technologies. Your number-one priority should almost certainly be learning how to use no-code platforms.
But you’re never going to be a master of everything (at least, not at first), so you need to think about the type of development you want to focus on. This could be any of the following areas:
It might sound daunting to learn this from scratch, but with the internet at your fingertips, there’s no reason to be afraid. For instance, the NoCode Institute offers a 7-week No-Code Foundations Program where you can learn to build all kinds of no-code applications — including databases, websites, apps, and automations. You’ll receive feedback and support from mentors and finish the program with your very own portfolio, ensuring that you feel ready to conquer the working world by the end of the seven weeks.
We’ll outline some more info later, along with other tips for how you can upskill. But for now, let’s run through some different career options.
Becoming a citizen developer is a great choice for skilled customer service agents that want to try something new. However, everyone is different, and you might not think it’s the right path for you. Here are some roles to consider instead.
💰 Average Salary: $45,000 - $120,000 per year (including commission)
📈 Growth Trend: Sales jobs are expected to grow in 2025, with an increased demand for hybrid sales professionals.
A Salesperson is responsible for selling products or services, negotiating deals, and building customer relationships. If you thrive in communication and persuasion, sales can be an incredibly lucrative and fast-growing field. Many companies offer commission-based earnings, meaning the harder you work, the more you make.
Key Responsibilities:
✔ Identify and approach potential clients
✔ Negotiate contracts and close deals
✔ Maintain relationships for repeat business
Skills & Certifications:
✅ Best for: Goal-driven individuals who want high earning potential with no degree requirement.
💰 Average Salary: $50,000 - $90,000 per year (+ commission for agency recruiters)
📈 Growth Trend: According to LinkedIn, the HR & Recruiting industry is experiencing a demand increase as companies compete for top talent.
Recruiters help companies find, interview, and hire the best candidates. Since recruiting involves communication, networking, and problem-solving, it’s a natural transition for customer service workers. Agency recruiters often earn commission-based bonuses, increasing their earning potential.
Key Responsibilities:
✔ Source and screen job candidates
✔ Conduct interviews and assess qualifications
✔ Match candidates with suitable job roles
Skills & Certifications:
✅ Best for: Customer service workers who enjoy people-focused work and want a stable career with growth opportunities.
💰 Average Salary: $50,000 - $150,000 per year (commission-based)
📈 Growth Trend: With a projected growth rate of 3% to 6%, the job outlook remains optimistic according to Real Estate Insights.
As a Real Estate Agent, you help clients buy, sell, and rent properties, guiding them through the process and negotiating deals. If you enjoy talking to people, networking, and closing sales, this role offers unlimited earning potential based on commission.
Key Responsibilities:
✔ Market and list properties for sale or rent
✔ Show homes and conduct property tours
✔ Negotiate contracts and closing deals
Skills & Certifications:
✅ Best for: Outgoing individuals who enjoy networking and want high earnings with flexible hours.
💰 Average Salary: $75,000 - $130,000 per year
📈 Growth Trend: Operations management jobs are expected to grow 6% by 2028, as companies streamline processes for efficiency.
An Operations Manager oversees business processes, ensuring smooth and cost-effective operations. If you’ve managed customer escalations, cross-team collaboration, or problem-solving, you already have the skills to excel in operations.
Key Responsibilities:
✔ Improve company workflows & processes
✔ Oversee budgets, productivity, and logistics
✔ Coordinate between different departments
Skills & Certifications:
✅ Best for: Customer service workers who enjoy problem-solving, efficiency, and leadership roles.
💰 Average Salary: $40,000 - $75,000 per year
📈 Growth Trend: The global virtual assistant market is projected to grow at 14.6% annually due to the increasing demand for remote administrative support.
A Virtual Assistant (VA) provides administrative, technical, or creative support to businesses and entrepreneurs remotely. Many VAs assist with email management, scheduling, social media, customer inquiries, and bookkeeping. If you excel in organization, time management, and multitasking, this role is an excellent work-from-home career option.
Skills & Certifications:
✅ Best for: Customer service workers seeking flexibility, remote work, and administrative tasks.
💰 Average Salary: Varies ($30,000 - $100,000+ depending on niche)
📈 Growth Trend: By 2027, according to Statista, freelancers will make up over 50% of the U.S. workforce due to increasing demand for flexible and independent work.
If you're looking for control over your career, freelancing is a great alternative. You can use your customer service skills (communication, empathy, problem-solving) to build a career in:
✔ Content Writing – Blog writing, copywriting, technical writing
✔ Social Media Management – Handling social media for brands
✔ Online Tutoring – Teaching language or business skills
Skills & Certifications:
✅ Best for: Self-starters who want flexibility, independence, and multiple income streams.
💰 Average Salary: $60,000 - $110,000 per year
📈 Growth Trend: The demand for Customer Success Managers (CSMs) is expected to grow 14% by 2026, as companies focus more on customer retention and experience.
A Customer Success Manager (CSM) is a proactive role that helps businesses ensure long-term customer satisfaction. Unlike customer service, where you're handling complaints, CSMs focus on relationship-building, retention, and upselling. This is a lucrative, strategic career path for former customer service professionals.
Key Responsibilities:
✔ Build long-term relationships with clients
✔ Identify opportunities for upselling & renewal
✔ Reduce customer churn by improving satisfaction
Skills & Certifications:
✅ Best for: Those who want to leverage customer service experience into a higher-paying, strategic role.
💰 Average Salary: $31,000 to $92,000 per year
📈 Growth Trend: The demand for Community Managers is growing with the global community engagement platform market projected to reach over $2 billion by 2030, according to Forbes.
A Community Manager is responsible for growing and maintaining an engaged audience for a brand, organization, or online platform. This can involve social media management, customer engagement, event planning, and content creation. If you enjoy interacting with people, creating online discussions, and fostering brand loyalty, this is an exciting and growing career path.
Key Responsibilities:
✔ Engage with online communities on social media, forums, and brand platforms
✔ Moderate discussions and manage customer feedback
✔ Create & curate content to foster community growth
✔ Plan & execute virtual or in-person events
✔ Collaborate with marketing teams to improve brand engagement
Skills & Certifications:
✅ Best for: Customer service professionals who enjoy engaging with people, managing online conversations, and creating a strong brand presence.
If you like the idea of moving to one of the careers outlined above but you’re not sure whether to take the leap, that’s understandable. Here are some considerations to ensure your transition is as measured and smooth as possible.
The clearer you are on what you have to offer, the better chance you have of securing the job you want — whatever field it may be in. Everyone's a little different, so it’s best to assess your skills on an individual basis (if you’re really stuck, you can always ask loved ones or colleagues for their input or even consider making a pre-career-change self-assessment).
Below we’ve listed a few core skills that almost every customer service agent develops.
Emotional intelligence
When you’re working in customer service, calming down difficult individuals and figuring out the right thing to say to stop a conflict in its tracks is just part of a normal day. Understanding what makes people tick is a huge part of many, many jobs, so this should stand you in good stead.
Business acumen
Customers are central to every business, and when you’re working with them directly every day, you’re going to get a pretty good grip on how a company’s choices affect customer satisfaction. That translates into business acumen that can take you far.
Problem-solving
Customer service is all about solving customers’ problems, and you may have to correspond with multiple departments or think outside of the box to get the right outcome. Every issue a customer faces a slightly different problem, requiring creative thinking — and helping you develop a great problem-solving muscle.
Resilience
Anyone who has worked in sales or customer service for more than a hot second will know that it can be a tough gig. If you’re able to withstand all kinds of abuse and conflict without batting an eyelid, you’ll be well-set to be able to sail through all manner of future challenges in the working world.
Collaboration
It’s not just customers you have to communicate with in customer service — when you’re providing solutions for them, you also have to work with people from all across an organization. This teaches you collaboration, communication, and teamwork.
Skills-to-Career Mapping Table
Below is a breakdown of how transferable skills from a Customer Service Worker apply to other careers.
*Please note that these figures are approximate and can vary based on factors such as location, experience, and industry.
We’ve already mentioned that you’ll have a head start if you look for a job at a company that lies within your current industry. If you currently work in banking and you want to continue working in banking, that’s perfect — but if you fancy a clean break, don’t feel that you have to stick to the safe option.
People are generally most likely to succeed in an area they’re most motivated to succeed in, so it’s worth putting some serious thought into your greatest interest areas. For some people, a few industries might instantly come to mind — but if you’re not sure what you want to do, start by reflecting on your general interests and see if you can translate that to the working world.
For instance, if you’re a petrol head, could you work for a vehicle manufacturer?
Just because you’ve decided it’s time to get out of customer service, it doesn’t mean that you have to slam the door at your current company and rebuild from zero by sending out job applications. Sometimes, starting a new career can be as seamless and smooth as discussing how to expand your current role with a manager at your organization.
One of the reasons no-code is popular is that so many roles and organizations are crying out for somebody to automate certain tasks. So, if you can identify an area where work could be automated, why not make your pitch to your current company instead of jumping ship? Maybe you could create a chat bot to answer common customer service questions, for instance.
Try talking to your manager or the human resources department and outlining your ambitions. If you’re lucky, the organization may be willing to transfer you to a different department and make your ambitions a reality. Don’t be afraid — if you’re planning on leaving anyway, what do you have to lose?
If you want a new job and you’re not taking the role expansion route, you’re going to have to make some job applications. And to find the roles to apply to, you’ll need to start spending some time on job boards. The good news is that the labor market is moving — according to Forbes 2025 promises to be a pivotal year of transformation in the world of talent acquisition and workforce development. However, that doesn’t mean you can afford to take anything for granted.
Most vacancies posted get dozens of responses. And while many candidates focus on trying to stand out by having the best resume or the strongest cover letter, an under appreciated tactic is simply to respond faster than everyone else.
Also, don’t forget those hidden job opportunities that most people tend to ignore. They are really effective when it comes to separating from the crowd.
Does working in customer service give you a tonne of transferable skills that will stand you in a good stead for a new career? Yes. But that doesn’t mean that you can bypass the need to learn new skills.
Luckily, upskilling has never been more accessible, thanks to free and affordable online courses, industry events, and practical learning strategies.
Here’s how to future-proof your skills and open doors to new career opportunities.
Once you’ve developed a basic idea of what you want to achieve (e.g., learn how to use Google Analytics), you need to break that down into a regular habit that can help you achieve it. SMART goals foster this process.
A SMART goal is:
✔ Specific – Clear and well-defined
✔ Measurable – Track progress with milestones
✔ Achievable – Realistic within your schedule
✔ Relevant – Aligns with your career change
✔ Time-Bound – Has a deadline
Example of a SMART Goal:
🎯 Goal: Spend 30 minutes daily on Google Analytics certification for the next 3 weeks.
📅 Measure: Complete 3 modules per week, take the final exam by Week 3.
🏆 Outcome: Earn Google Analytics Certification to improve job applications in marketing or data-driven roles.
Upskilling isn’t just about the skills you learn — it’s also about developing the attitude needed to succeed. Part of that involves staying on top of the latest trends in your industry and understanding the key issues, which will make you an asset to any team.
Automation & AI Impact on Customer Service
The Rise of Remote Work & Digital Skills
The Growth of Customer Experience (CX) & Data Analytics
💡 Industry Insight: The ability to leverage data & automation will set you apart in any career transition!
There’s never been a better time than today for learning skills. Even if you live in the middle of nowhere and have no money to invest, there are plenty of places you can learn online.
General Career Skills (Soft & Hard Skills)
📌 Coursera – Courses on business, leadership, and communication
📌 Udemy – Affordable skill-based courses (frequent sales)
Marketing & Digital Skills
📌 HubSpot Academy – Digital marketing, SEO, sales training
📌 Grow with Google – Free courses on SEO, analytics, and digital marketing
Tech & No-Code Development
📌 freeCodeCamp – Learn coding, web development, and data science for free
📌 NoCode Institute – No-code & low-code development training
While you can learn a lot from shutting yourself away and teaching yourself new things online in isolation, there’s also something to be said from connecting with others. This can provide extra motivation and give you some accountability — and you never know, that person you meet might just help you to land your next job.
✔ Join Industry-Specific LinkedIn Groups
✔ Attend Virtual Conferences & Webinars: Check Meetup for local events
✔ Engage in Online Communities to Boost Your Career Growth
✔ Look for Internships & Apprenticeships (Even unpaid experiences build credibility)
🌟 Action Step: Set a goal to attend one industry event per month to expand your network!
If you’ve identified digital literacy as one of your top skills to work on or you’re interested in becoming a citizen developer, it can feel like there’s a mountain you need to climb in order to get the knowledge you need.
NoCode Institute structures everything you need to know into an easily digestible online course you can complete over seven weeks containing lessons, assignments, bite-size materials, and mentorship from experts. You’ll learn everything you need to know to understand the logic behind coding and be able to apply this to building your own no-code automations, websites, and apps.
It’s perfect for anyone who’s ready to leave customer service or similar fields and launch a new career — zero technical knowledge is needed.
Working in customer service might be someone else’s dream, but if it isn’t yours, you have the power to change your career path. That might mean using your skills to work in an adjacent industry like sales or upskilling in something completely different, such as becoming a citizen developer. Either way, there are plenty of high-paying jobs for former customer service workers.
If the world of no-code development has piqued your interest, there’s no time like the present to get involved. Apply for the NoCode Institute’s next cohort today and start your journey toward a better career.
1. Can I switch careers without additional schooling?
Yes! Many high-paying careers, like citizen development, sales, and recruiting, don’t require a degree. Instead, focus on upskilling through online courses, certifications, and hands-on experience to make yourself a competitive candidate.
2. Which jobs let me work remotely?
Virtual assistants, customer success managers, community managers, and freelancers all offer remote opportunities. Learning digital collaboration tools like Slack, Trello, and Notion can improve your chances of landing a remote-friendly job.
3. What are the best jobs for former customer service workers?
Roles like citizen developer, sales representative, recruiter, and operations manager leverage customer service skills while offering better pay and growth opportunities. The best choice depends on your interests and willingness to learn new skills.
4. How can I gain the skills needed for a career change?
Use free and affordable online platforms like Coursera, HubSpot Academy, and No Code Institute to learn in-demand skills. Setting SMART goals and networking through LinkedIn and industry events can also accelerate your transition.
5. How do I make my job applications stand out?
Highlight transferable skills like problem-solving, communication, and business acumen. Tailor your resume to each job posting, gain relevant certifications, and apply quickly when new opportunities arise to stay ahead of the competition.
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