The Niche Ladder of Careers

Usually we hear the word "niche" as it relates to online content creators.

"The riches are in the niches." Meaning, if you get specific on the person you help and the problem you help them solve, you're more likely to be successful.

For me, instead of "helping people grow their career"... I, "help analytics professionals move from IC to leadership positions".

We can apply the same idea to our careers.

When we niche down and get specific on our skills and the problems we solve, we can climb the career ladder with ease.

The more you niche down, the more valuable you become.

What is the Career Niche Ladder?

The Niche Ladder is a series of steps you go down to identify your place in the job market.

As you go down each rung of the ladder, you get more specific.

• 1st Niche
  • 2nd Niche
    • 3rd Niche
      • 4th Niche

Each rung is a subset of the previous one. If you choose to work in the Marketing industry, the next rung will require you to choose something under that umbrella. You wouldn't choose marketing, then niche further into an accounting job.

The choice for your first niche (industry), will determine the remaining rungs of your Niche Ladder.

The main rungs on the ladder

Since I work in Analytics, I'll use that as an example.

We start by choosing industry (I chose data), then move down from there:

• 1st Niche - Industry (data vs marketing vs finance vs product vs engineering)
  • 2nd Niche - Data Pillar (data engineering vs analytics vs data science vs analytics engineering)
    • 3rd Niche - Technical Specialization (pipelines vs data modeling vs ML vs AI vs data viz vs biz analytics)
      • 4th Niche - Leadership Specialization (people leadership vs project management vs architecture vs product management))

Here's my ladder:

• Data
  • Analytics
    • Biz analytics/analytics engineering
      • People leadership

How to use the Niche Ladder

Start at the top and work your way down.

When you choose your first niche, consider the options at the next rung of the ladder. Do you like those choices? If not, go back and choose a different niche. Then move down again. Keep going until you feel like you've exhausted the options.

The more specific you get, the more valuable you are in the job market. It feels uncomfortable because you feel like your pigeonholing yourself, but it's the opposite. You're becoming specialized, making you the best fit for a handful of jobs.

Being the best at everything means being the best at nothing. Be the best a few things and you will reap the rewards.

This processes is repeatable. Revisit the Niche Ladder any time you feel stuck. Are you trying to be too many things to too many people? Are you spreading yourself too thin? Could you get more specific?

When you veer off the path, niche down again and you'll be back on the right track.

How the Niche Ladder has helped me

I was stuck at the 3rd niche (technical specialization) and wouldn't commit to the 4th (leadership specialization).

I kept switching from ML to data science to statistics to standard analytics. Some of it was exploration, but really I was afraid of choosing one thing.

I didn't commit to my leadership specialization either. I moved from IC to manager and back again, switched companies, and tried getting involved in many projects. I felt like I could never land the plane.

Then, in 2022, I made two commitments:

1. Let go of my desire to be a data scientist
2. Become an effective people leader

I didn't have the Niche Ladder idea back then, but now it's clear I stepped down the ladder by making a decision for Niche 3 and 4.

Since then, my career has been the most aligned and fulfilling it has ever been.

And it's because I made the tough choice to niche down in a way that's aligned with my natural strengths.

So...what's your Niche Ladder?