As the holiday season comes to an end, students return to their institutions and are once again faced with choices that will decide their future professions. The ever-increasing options have some students stuck at the crossroads or opportunity while others are enthralled by new possibilities. Traditionally, careers in medicine, engineering, accounting and government jobs were considered to be the ideal career paths for students to follow, but now the professions in the corporate sector or those that offer greater freedom and flexibility are gaining popularity among students.
With the rapid advancement of technology and interconnectivity, some emerging careers are lucrative options for the tech savvy. Shebin Shammy, a graduate of computer science and an avid gamer, believes that a future in gaming is on the cards. “Twitch streaming is a career option that fascinates me. Twitch is an online live streaming video platform that focuses on gaming. The name ‘Twitch’ itself comes for ‘twice gaming’, which refers to fast action games that test reflexes, such as first person shooter games. I enjoy gaming, especially first person shooters. Streaming it to a diverse audience would be mutually beneficial. For the audience, it’s entertainment. For me, it’s a learning experience and way to gain recognition in the community. Twitch streamers earn through a variety of ways. The chief source of income are monthly subscribers. There are three tiers of ‘subs’, tier 1, tier 2 and tier 3. Tier 3 subscribers pay the most. Besides this there are donations by the audience, similar to YouTube livestreams. There’s also the option to include advertisements once you gain enough subscribers. If you’re popular enough, brand endorsements are a major income stream, with companies like gfuel, monster energy and electronics companies offering sponsorships. There’s also gaming organisations like TSM and NRG, being included in their teams and winning tournaments is another way to earn.”
As opportunities to work on one’s own terms increase, such careers seem more attractive than nine to five jobs. “Drop-shipping and Affiliate marketing in my personal experience turns out to be a great option for online entrepreneurs,” says commerce graduate Delilah Pereira. “These are quite efficient business model platforms for individuals to run. All it entails is choosing the right niche, implementing an adequate marketing strategy and continuous improvement of customer support. Proper execution of all these steps should get the job done right. The perks of these help you to skip the dreary and monotonous nine to five office jobs, there’s big time flexibility as well as an increase of cash flow which makes earning money quite easily and convenient. While there are no fixed working hours and starting out is challenging, the rewards and independence are more than worth the obstacles. I also enjoy keeping up with trends, following consumer patterns, so I think a career like this would seem like much less of a chore.”
“The two careers that parents are still focused on are medicine and engineering, but there’s so many different scientific and creative opportunities,” days Gauri Usgaonkar, a student of biology. “Newer health related fields like nutrition and sports science are growing. For example the craze around the FIFA world cup and the fact that there will be 12 more teams participating in the next edition. In order for a team to play at their best, physiotherapists, nutritionists and sports therapists are important. As people become more health conscious and start to take better care of themselves, I think careers like this will present not just a way to earn a living, but a way to interact and understand a diverse range of people.”
Siddhant Selvarajan, a student of mass communication, is interested in careers that deal with visuals. “Personally I like jobs that give me an opportunity to get in touch with my creative side. Basically I’m a photographer so I would love if any gigs come up that make me push myself to the extremes of my knowledge and skills, to come up with art pieces that satisfy me.”
For certain students, some traditional career options are quite exciting. Second year bachelor’s student Om Dyamannagol, a career in acting is an exciting prospect. “I have always been fascinated by acting. I know that it’s extremely competitive and challenging to make it in that world, but I am always drawn in. I love being able to embody a character and conveying their story to an audience. The voice modulation involved in mimicry, the fluidity of gestured employed by mimes, I always find them impressive. With success comes money,
fame, and all of those things. But there’s also the opportunity to create your own unique stories and to introduce characters that you want people to enjoy. Another career is fine exciting is psychology. I know it’s not a career that many people recommend now, but I do enjoy it. I think that even if I don’t earn a generous salary, I’ll be content with my career as long as I can pay the bills and afford necessities.”
Research jobs in science still appeal to some students. “I would prefer field jobs, like research work and the survey and analysis of chemical reagents,” says Sumukh Malwankar, a second hear biotechnology student. “I’d be much more involved and committed to my work than if I worked a nine to five job. It would really allow me to grasp the essence of the subject and the concepts that I am interested in.”
