New Delhi: As the world of education and work makes a gradual recovery from the effects of COVID-19 pandemic, experts foresee the new trends and dramatic changes that will impact the careers of graduates who venture out in the market in 2021-22 and onwards.
A new technology-driven focus, according to Marwadi University Provost Sandeep Sancheti, would emerge in the jobs that are likely to be in demand in the coming times. In the medical and health field, he lists some of these trending jobs to be: Health-care supporting staff like intake specialists, pharmacy technicians, and certified nursing assistants. This field also has roles such as mental health specialists and health and fitness coaches to be on the rise.
In the IT and Computer space, he foresees demand for data science specialists, data management analysts and data mining experts, along with artificial intelligence and machine learning engineers, user experience professionals like UI/UX design specialists, product design consultants, game developers, full stack developers and cloud engineers and architects, and cyber security experts.
"Among everything else, one thing is for sure, remote work is here to stay. The millennials and GenZ will be the trendsetters with Zoom and Google workspaces as the ruling platforms for remote work and the year 2021 will see more opportunities and prospects for dynamic and multi-tasking professionals with analytical, programming and marketing skills," he says.
As per Sandeep Shastri, Vice Chancellor, Jagran Lakecity University, the career trends currently being offered in the 2nd decade of this century are the most diverse ever available in human history. The fields are demanding super specializations and individuals are training to fill the gaps.
"The digital revolution has shown its effects in the hospitality sector in the form of automation of a huge chunk of repetitive tasks. Public policy traditionally being a blend of political science, law and sociology now has added data analytics to the mix. In areas like accounting and finance, new and extended career roles are outsourcing services, big data analytics, fintech, artificial intelligence, cloud accounting and block chain technology. Post-COVID era brings huge job opportunities in financial institutions like stock exchanges, depositaries, stock broking firms and investment banks etc which are employing tech-savvy economists en masse," he says.
Digital content creators like podcasters, bloggers, influencers, video creators, and voice-over artists will be in demand in the future.
According to Sahil Aggarwal, Co-Founder and CEO, Rishihood University, "with increasing options, access to information, and technological changes", the current generation of students faces a different aspect of career growth.
Here are some tips on capitalising on these career trends:
Entrepreneurial mindset
Employers are increasingly looking for employees who are self-driven. The best employees align with the company's objectives, find new tasks, and work with teams to achieve. Those who work as if it is their own company are more likely to succeed than those who wait to be given a task list.
Interdisciplinary talent
Graduates who demonstrate an understanding of varied domains are appreciated more than those who are narrowly focused.
Creative potential
In a world changing so fast, successful companies are always creating new value for their customers. Employees who have creative potential are far more valuable than those who stick to the routine.
People skills
It is often repeated, and rightly so, that beyond a point, a person grows or stagnates based on how well one can work with others.
Learning to learn
Once we stop learning, we are replaced by other humans or machines. The mindset of learning is key to succeed in the 21st century.