6 careers for people who love to organize

Do you create detailed spreadsheets ahead of a family getaway (and get a strange satisfaction from doing it)? Do your friends tease you about the over-the-top tidiness of your home? Does the calendar on your phone look like a game of Tetris?

If you find yourself nodding your head yes, there are plenty of jobs for people like you who like to organize. Good organization is a skill sought by many employers, and you can go a long way in the workforce on a foundation of solid time and resource management alone. Below, we take a look at six careers for people who love to organize, including a brief job description and the average salary for each.

So get your pen and paper ready because we know you're about to take some notes.    

Event planner

Event planners and coordinators are naturally organized and detail-oriented. Weddings, corporate functions, and awards banquets are just a few of the events you might tackle, and your responsibilities will include everything from making sure everyone is in the right place at the right time to budgeting costs for food and entertainment and arranging accommodations for guests. While a passion for tidiness is a prerequisite, you will especially thrive as an event planner if you embrace working under tight deadlines and pressure.    

• Median salary: $49,470
• Helpful degrees: Event management, hospitality, communications, business.
• Other critical skills: Communication, networking, problem-solving, budgeting, and negotiation.

Real estate agent

There's a lot to learn when earning a real estate license, but being a competent realtor begins with good organizational skills. There are listings, locations, showings, deadlines, and clients to keep track of, and if any of them slip through the cracks, it could mean losing a big closing. Plus, because real estate agents typically work for themselves, your paycheck will depend largely on your ability to stay on top of the market. 

• Median salary: $48,770
• Helpful degrees: Marketing, finance, accounting, business.
• Other critical skills: Time management, communication, math and finance, negotiating, marketing, and people skills.

"Good organization is a skill sought by many employers, and you can go a long way in the workforce on a foundation of solid time and resource management alone."

Museum archivist

Do you like going to museums? And when you do, do you find yourself daydreaming about organizing all those artifacts and documents? A museum archivist does just that. You'll be tasked with appraising, processing, cataloging, and displaying valuable records and historical pieces. Your organizational skills will be crucial to the preservation of history, and your expertise will be relied upon as a reference. As a bonus, you'll get to surround yourself with some really neat things all day.   

• Median salary: $50,120
• Helpful degrees: History, library science, archival studies, political science, public administration; a master's degree is usually preferred.
• Other critical skills: Writing, speaking, attention to detail, analytical skills, communication, and interpersonal skills.

Project manager

A project is only as good as the person managing it. A project manager is basically a professional organizer and is in the driver's seat for projects in a number of verticals, such as tech and IT, construction, manufacturing, or marketing. You'll get to plan and execute initiatives while working within budgets, deadlines, and staffing capacities. Project managers often lead entire teams of people and communicate with stakeholders throughout the journey to a defined goal. 

• Median salary: $94,500
• Helpful degrees: A business management degree is good in a general sense, but many project managers have a degree in their field of work (e.g., marketing or IT). 
• Other critical skills: Leadership, time management, problem-solving, critical thinking, collaboration, adaptability.

Construction manager

Fascinated by construction but have no desire to get dirty? You may have some value on the managerial side. Construction managers and superintendents see projects through from start to finish. You'll be in charge of organizing schedules, staff, materials, equipment, and budgets. And while you may have a main office, you'll spend much of your time on site making key decisions and putting out fires. As a construction manager, you'll get to see all of your organization and planning come to fruition with the completion of the project. 

• Median salary: $98,890
• Helpful degrees: Construction management, construction engineering, building science.
• Other critical skills: People skills, leadership, decision making, attention to detail, finance, risk management.

Education administrator

If you want to work in education but make more than a teacher's salary, consider a career as a school administrator, particularly at a college, university, or vocational school. Education administrators help plan, direct, and coordinate research, instruction, and other educational endeavors for students along with overseeing the administrative functions of the staff. You may even be involved with the organization of athletics and other extracurricular activities.  

• Median salary: $96,910
• Helpful degrees: Education (bachelor's), school administration (master's).
• Other critical skills: Leadership, communication, problem-solving, creativity, time management, research.

The professional organizer jobs above are just a few of the careers that may be suited to someone like yourself who loves to organize. Nearly every employer appreciates good organizational skills, and it's one skill that never hurts to include on any job application. And now that you know about some of the best careers for organized people, you can get email alerts to notify you when these job openings appear so that you can become a professional organizer in no time.

More career tips for the professional organizer:

There's an app for that: Stay organized with some of the best note-taking apps.

Learn how to answer interview questions about your organizational skills. 

Is your need for organization rooted in anxiety? Here are some jobs that are perfect for you. 

Organization is great, but what are the other essential soft skills you need and why?

Organize your time: How better time management can boost your career.