” Which career has the best scope in India and/or Abroad ?” – I often get asked this question by parents (and students), and I always get stumped by it. I answer this question by saying, “There is scope for anything you do, provided you are good at it”. I say this because I believe in this. But over the years I realized that, that is not the answer parents or students are looking for. What they really mean by ‘scope’ is that they want to know which career has the highest number of job opportunities. They actually want to know what should you study so that it becomes easy to get a fairly well paying job, even if you are not that good at it.
So if you want to bet on a ‘safe’ career I would say get into IT/Software development.
If you are in high school and still have a choice of which career to choose, get into engineering and choose Computers or IT engineering or then perhaps take up B.Sc in Computer Science/IT. Then eventually, depending on your interest you could decide one of the aspects of computing to specialize in. The ones that currently are and will remain in demand are:
- Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning
- Data Science
- Database management
- ERP Systems
- Cyber security
- Human Computer Interaction (HCI)/User Interface-User Experience (UI-UX)
- Analytics
If your education is not in a computer related field, then ‘learn programming’. I have often seen many students averse to learning programming. They say they don’t like computers or programming. It doesn’t matter whether you like it or not, you have to admit that computers/software/apps are now an integral part of any and every domain. You can’t run away from it if you want to move ahead in your career. You need not become a pro at computing or software development, but learning programming or some software will always give you an edge in your career.
If you are a college grad or a working professional, and want to upgrade your skills, learn Analytics. This is again a skill that could apply to many fields. Here is an article that can help you start : https://careerfox.in/want-to-learn-business-analytics-heres-where-you-can-start/
Another ‘safe’ and ‘money making’ career is ‘teaching‘. But you have to be innovative at it. You cannot expect to make good money by sticking to a traditional teaching job in a school or college. There is big money in private and online tutoring.
‘Accounting and Finance‘ is another field that has good career opportunities. But you can’t just stop with your basic B.Com degree. You will have to garner additional qualification such as a CA, CS, CFA, BAT, FRM, ACCA etc that will give you specialized skills in this domain.
And finally for those who do not want to do computing or software, do not want to get into teaching or event accounting, finance, or analytics, then get into the ‘Social Sector/NGO’ space. This sector offers several opportunities and money, that many are unaware of.
PS: You may also refer my article on ‘Future Career Opportunities and Trends in India‘ at https://careerfox.in/future-career-opportunities-and-trends-in-india/
In 2005 Jay Rege, along with his wife Jothsna Rege, co-founded Academy One, a career guidance and study abroad counseling venture. Prior to co-founding Academy One, he worked as a software developer with HCL Technologies. He holds a computer engineering degree from Mumbai University and a MBA from the Mays Business School at Texas A&M University, USA. He has also been a visiting faculty at a few colleges where he teaches topics related to entrepreneurship.