‘You’re a What?’ Unfamiliar Job Titles and What They Mean

Job titles these days don’t always sound like traditional positions, and if you’re a little baffled about the roles you come across in this digital age, the following should help you better understand the current market’s newly created or evolved jobs

Imagine a young professional recently telling his or her parents that he or she had recently accepted a position as a Scrum Master. Yet instead of being congratulated, the immediate response the parents give is “you’re a what?” Or, more amusingly, they ask, “When did you have time to get a Master’s Degree in Scrum? Wait, what is scrum?”

As a result of the continued advances in technology and the shift of companies to digital, jobs like these have been, and continue to be, created to support these changes. Meanwhile, others roles have also evolved to remain relevant in the digital era. With these come new job titles, some of which were unheard of as recently as a year or two ago.

As someone considering new work opportunities, you’re surely wondering about some of these jobs that come your way and if, based on their names, they are roles which you qualify for or can be successful in..

While these will likely change in the near future, the following are some of the (now) unique job titles you’ll commonly see on the current job market, along with what exactly positions like these entail.

Data Scientist

Data is considered by many as the new oil. When expertly gathered and sorted, it can provide a company a great deal of insight regarding many aspects of its business, be it the purchasing behavior/s of its target market, the effectiveness of its marketing campaigns in specific areas, or how well or not well recognized its brand is compared to its competitors.

Data Scientists are those tasked to make this happen. They collect, analyze, and interpret data, then present the results in a manner which it can be useful to the business.Those who end up in data science can come from all types of careers- from engineering, market research, statistics, mathematics, economics, and more. Because data science is mostly about using data to find solutions, an innate curiosity to problem solve allows for a natural fit in this field.

Also known as: Web Analytics Analyst, Data Mining Analyst, Data Guru

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ETL Developer

Speaking of data, ETL Developer is among of the fastest emerging jobs in local tech. ETL stands for “extract, transform, load,” which is the process of loading business data into a data warehousing environment, testing it for performance, and troubleshooting it before it goes live. It goes without saying that companies wanting to use data need ETL Developers to complement their Data Science personel.

A primary task of an ETL Developer is to figure out the exact storage needs of the company. They need and clear picture of the organization’s current data situation, and should be able to analyze different options to figure out the best fit. They are sometimes employed by a single company, or may serve as consultants to multiple organizations. A complex job description for a rather vague job title.

Also known as: None. Save for spelling each word out, ETL is as specific as it can get.

See all ETL Developer opportunities available on Kalibrr

Relationship Coach

Not all jobs that have emerged from the current fourth industrial revolution have been the most technical. Case in point: Relationship Coaches. And no, this isn’t the one’s talking on radio or giving advice in a column or book. As social media and other communication platforms have made social interactions lean more towards the digital side, so too have advisory, consultancy, or self-help products and services.

Indeed, some people are too embarrassed to seek relationship advice in person or in public, and online Relationship Coaches have been the way to get the assistance one needs but doing so conveniently and discreetly. The use of different messaging software is the most common technical requirements of these roles, along with skills and experience in empathy, listening, social work, and coaching.

Also known as: Relationship Consultant

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Scrum Master

As technology continues to evolve, the methodology surrounding software development continues to expectedly change as well. Recently, there has been a massive shift from the slow and deliberate engineering developers has long been accustomed to, to a more rapid and agile development that gets products and services out the door quickly. As such, there has been a need for project heads to ensure efficiency in these many development project, which for many, is a Scrum Master.

A Scrum Master is exactly what it sounds like, which is a master of Scrum. Scrum, apparently, is a project management practice developed to encourage continuous feedback for everyone in a development group. So a Scrum Master is someone who manages and facilitates that practice within his or her designated development group, primarily keeping the team on track and working within the Scrum framework.

Also known as: None. There’s really no way to top master, is there?

See all Scrum Master opportunities available on Kalibrr

Community Manager

In the recent past, the words “Community Manager” would have given most of us thoughts of an individual tasked at managing a specified place or group of people. Looking up the actual job title now, and what comes up is totally different. While companies previously had storefronts, or places for customers to congregate, now, most interactions with a brand happen online. Creating a sense of community among customers or users is still just as important- and this is where a Community Manager comes in.

Community Managers are responsible for creating and growing communities by getting people involved with their company’s brand or cause, and building new relationships with consumers and stakeholders. These roles are often confused with Social Media Managers, given that social media is a Community Manager usually starts, but they also have to do some blogging, create communications materials to target audiences, plan and attend in-person events, as well as establish strategic partnerships.

Also known as: Online Community Strategist, Social Media Manager

See all Community Manager opportunities available on Kalibrr

UX Designer

In today’s increasingly digital market, customers or users have plenty of options— that if a company’s product or service isn’t user-friendly, clients can easily turn elsewhere. This has made it increasingly important for companies to create digital platforms or products that customers love to use, and this is where the UX Designers come in.

UX stands for User Experience. It is this which a UX Designer is focused on, essentially creating the “experience” for customers by ensuring a digital product or service is easy to use and interact with, is intuitively, flows well, and has the right look and feel. UX has become very vital to may industries that there are now specialized UX programs and certifications. Aside from these, one can also work your towards a UX Designer role through front-end development or graphic design- aspects in shaping the product experience.

Also known as: UI (User Interface) Designer, Interaction Designer

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Customer Happiness Hero

They say that “the customer is always right”, but in this digital era where most products and services are available at the touch of a button, it might as well be “the customer is always around.” No product or service is perfect, and customers will want to have their concerns sorted out quickly and at any time.

Customer Happiness Heroes are essentially the next level of customer service representatives, ready to swiftly troubleshoot problems and answer inquiries at any time of the day. Customer service roles have never been easy, and professionals willing to take on the role in this time when new and complex products are constantly in development will always find new challenges in the role.

Also known as: Customer Service

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Customer Success Manager

A relatively new and emerging role in business, customer success means managing the relationship between a vendor and its customers. It’s goal is to make the customer as successful as possible, which in turn, improves customer lifetime value (or CLTV) for the company. Customer success roles are most common in the software industry, particularly software as a service (SaaS) companies.

While the specifics of customer success roles vary from industry to industry, these always deals in customer retention. Customer Success Managers, are primarily responsible for cutting potential product or service problems off at the start and making sure the business is meeting what customers need of them. A person looking to become a CSM should highlight communication skills and leadership experience.

Also known as: Customer Officer, Success Associate

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