Career Horizons in Emerging Sectors: Dr A K Puri

We all aspire to move up in life. Our career provides an opportunity to grow and contribute to society that adds value to the life of people around us. A successful career brings along its rewards by way of money, position, name and fame to all those involved in creating and making the product or service available.

An exponential career growth can be achieved in career and profession through innovation and picking up fields of activity which have potential to be more in demand in future. This applies to both entrepreneurial initiatives and service seekers. Innovations in approach and an astute sense of observing needs of people in emerging times offers the way to identify newer pastures for growth and prosperity.

Technological advancements are opening horizons of activities that were not perceived just a few years back. There is huge potential of career growth in careers involving technological advancements like Blockchains, Cloud Computing, Internet of Things and Artificial Intelligence. The core of all these advancements is Information Technology. The application and adaptation of these technologies is going to create opportunities in other spheres in a big way. Every significant technological advancement brings in its vogue a disruptive development in the applied field.

India of present times is witnessing an upsurge in entrepreneurial activity. With globally accepted edge in Information Technology development and application the domestic market is in a buoyancy to lap up technology and deeply involved in devising new products and services. The Union Government is supporting the entrepreneurial initiatives to explore newer horizons of wealth creation.

Some of the sectors with higher potential of growth for job seekers follow.

Solar Energy. Generation and adaption of solar energy to supplement and eventually replace the power generation using hydrocarbons is among the top priority of Central Government. In a short span of last four years India has achieved a leadership position on a global scale on solar energy generation. The sector is destined to register an accelerated growth in near future and holds promise of business and job opportunities in a big way.

Medical Tourism. India has made a great stride in healthcare facilities of global standards in private sector as well. A good number of hospitals and nursing homes are well equipped to provide quality medical care to non-Indians. On purchasing power parity basis cost of getting medical treatment in India is cheaper than similar procedures in many countries, even after taking in to account travel costs.  This has led to creation of business opportunities in offering composite services of travel, stay and medical treatment as a package for destination India. Attracting prospects and taking care of their travel, stay and medical needs has a huge job potential waiting to be tapped.

Smart City Planners. India has identified a staggering large number of habitats to be eventually converted in to smart cities. These cities will have planned, IT based services to be provided to its residents comprising of all the civic facilities one can think of in an advanced city. This is a mammoth task as it needs to conceptualise and execute each sub section of basic infrastructure like power generation and distribution, water, transportation, wi-fi, housing and sanitation in an integrated manner. There is huge opportunity for planning and executing systems for these services. It is estimated that in two decades India’s two third of the population will be living in cities, more than double of the present numbers. Demand for civic services in these cities will grow exponentially.

Rural Sector Development. For Indian economy to leapfrog at $5trillion of GDP by 2022 there is a strong need to create demand of products and services in rural area. It has a vast untapped potential for growth. The last five years have witnessed a rise in aspiration of youth across all segments of economy. The future holds promise to convert this desire for acquiring life style and comforts to be made available for rural population which were hitherto available to city dwellers only. Many sectors including automobiles, FMCG and white goods have witnessed persistent higher growth in demand in rural sector. Proliferation of mobile phone and availability of internet has further fueled the desire to get and use products and services of global standards as available to their urban counterparts. Rural management experts are required in large numbers to study and develop planning, organising and controlling of all types of business including agribusiness and allied fields to bring about a positive change in the life of rural folk.

Food Processing Technology: With a large proportion of agro produce getting wasted or destroyed between stages of harvesting and reaching the consumer India’s focus on developing and adapting food processing industry will contribute to self-sufficiency in food production and also help farmers achieve higher income. The union government has promised to take effective steps to double the farmers’ income by 2022. This will require huge investments in storage, processing, transportation and marketing of processed foods. India needs a large pool of food scientists who can develop nutritious food.

Developing food technology requires food scientists to conduct research, hold experiments, and clinical trials to create safer foods and preservatives and to come up with better food-processing techniques. They may specialize in areas like developing new products, enhancing manufacturing processes, or coming up with better packaging solutions.

Environment Protection. With growing concern about wellbeing of the planet there is an all-round awareness and demand for measures that will conserve environment.  A whole new breed of professionals is required to push the agenda of conservation of natural resources. Green Marketers promote green, organic, environment friendly and renewable services. Environment Economists focus on enhancement of environment around us and suggest steps to keep it safe, while ensuring health and well- being of individuals. Disaster Management specialists handle and manage any natural or man- made disaster. Recycling Coordinators manage recycling process of solid and hazardous waste.

Social Media has opened up tremendous opportunities for brand enhancement and reputation management. Social Media Managers strategise and implement the content and engagement strategy on various social media platforms for individuals and organisations to create and nurture brands. Online Reputation Managers are responsible for branding on the web. They use creative writing, social media, and other web tools to manage the reputation of an organization. Online Advertising Managers oversee advertisements for businesses in online format. Digital Marketing is a buzz word among business executives of present times. Video Producers and /YouTubers create content and amplify dissemination of content on the internet for mass consumption. There are a lot of people who make money out of producing videos for YouTube. Bloggers publish blogs or articles online to influence consumers and opinion makers. They research and write on various subjects and issues to draw attention of readers.

 Ethical Hacking. With data theft, frauds and system failures being reported more of a routine than exception, ensuring cyber security of systems is emerging as a top priority of all businesses and governments. They are dependent on the safety of a myriad network of IT systems for their smooth operations eliminating the possibility of unauthorised intrusion. Solution lies in the skill of ethical hacking. Ethical hacker is an IT professional who is paid to legally hack into organizations’ computer and network systems. It is an ethical hacker’s job to find weaknesses in an organization’s information technology systems in order to prevent malicious hackers from gaining access. They will report on any vulnerabilities and provide recommendations for fixing them. With the increasing use of technology and the fast pace at which it develops, ethical hacking has become critical in helping organizations stay one step ahead of unethical and malicious attackers. Protecting private data is more important than ever now.

Robotics is often used to automate processes or complete work that humans cannot, or prefer, not to do. Robot technology can improve safety, productivity, and efficiency. Robotics engineers look at what a robot needs to do. Then, using computer-aided design software, they create a design and bring the robot to life.  Robotics engineering jobs range from fun to serious. Many robotics engineers are involved in making robotic toys, special effects equipment for the entertainment industry, specialized robots for manufacturing, or robots that are used for deep ocean and outer space exploration. Skilled robotics engineers are valued in several industries; from aerospace and mining to manufacturing and medicine.

With a deeper insight in to these emerging growth sectors and a little bit of innovation one can catapult the career to dizzying heights of success.

Let the journey begin!