Job churn? AI taking over? Old qualifications don’t work anymore? Stop getting despondent. As the famous saying goes, when one door closes, another door opens. There are quite a clutch of sunrise areas which are throwing up a bounty of jobs that could be yours for the taking.
For example, four crore new jobs are expected to be in the offing in the electric vehicles (EV) ecosystem.
No, it’s no typo. four crore new jobs by 2030, according to a study by Adecco India.
And if you think they are all going to be in some tech-fangled lithium technology or some battery storage or some Tesla-level deep tech, you couldn’t be more wrong, according to Kartik Narayan, CEO of Apna.co, an entry-level job recruitment platform.
"The EV story is often framed as a manufacturing and engineering story. Our data suggests a different opportunity: the real employment multiplier may sit around the vehicle—in financing, sales, delivery, servicing and operations,” he said, adding how EV-related job postings on the site grew nearly 40 per cent last financial year.
“The EV transition is not just changing what India drives; it is changing the jobs India creates,” he added.
Jobs may not necessarily have disappeared, as the zeitgeist might seem to scare you, it may just have done a pivot. For, experts repeatedly argue that it is only the conventionally accepted structure that is going in for a transformation, and that jobs are still up and coming — only, you have to look for them in other places.
Here is a quick list of areas with job prospects as of now:
Sustainability and green energy
Like the EV example, there are more positions to be filled in the larger green energy scenario. Positions require engineering qualifications in the likes of electrical, mechanical and chemical engineering or courses specialising in sustainability management. There are also certifications in carbon footprint accounting, solar grid integration or specific skills related to battery, especially in lithium-ion battery management that could be looked at.
Health tech
Health is wealth, always has been, and literally and figuratively. But the tech twist the field has taken, with bioinformatics, clinical research and digital health product managers means there is a lot of scope a BSc in life sciences or a professional degree in health management could gain you. With genome data sets, stem cell and other new technologies coming in, good health (expertise) is always a bonus
Semiconductors
‘Boring’ engineering streams like mech might just be having their revenge, with the rise in advanced manufacturing and the ongoing semiconductor revolution. In fact, the semiconductor plants that have come up in Gujarat as well as elsewhere have been hard put for the right skilled personnel that they have been going to colleges and picking up fresh graduates — and then getting their senior experts from parent companies in Malaysia etc to come here and train them!
FinTech
UPI may be king, but the world can’t have enough of the digital twist that the banking and financial world has taken. BBAs and MBAs in finance and CA, with a booster dose based on digital know-how can take you places, and don’t believe the AI naysayers. Analytical skills would be of great benefit here.
Agriculture
Not the boring Indian trope, though. Think more on the lines of, yes, tech analysts of agriculture data, weather, drone management etc. Food, after all, is something man will always not just need, but want!
