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Choosing the right career options is like playing a strategic game. Most of us spend over one-third of our lives working. Knowing that a lot of your waking hours will be spent at work, the work you choose to do must be carefully planned. When the career options were limited, it may have been simpler to decide. However, it’s much more challenging to pick and train for a career now when so many career options are accessible.
While a change can be challenging, it also creates new opportunities. The same is true for the job market. New career options originate as industries adapt to the changes in the market or the world in general. The career options available today may evolve into different roles, creating more opportunities in the future.
The appraisal of your skills is the first step in deciding on a career. You must understand what you excel at and what you enjoy doing. It’s pointless to work a job that you’re not interested in. So, to begin, do a little self-assessment test and respond to the following questions:
Step 1: Figure out what you enjoy.
Which classes and fields did I like the most in school?
Was it historical beliefs of mankind or fanciful English stories? Is it true that I prefer painting to sports? Was it the science experiments that piqued my interest or the cultural activities that allowed me to show off my skills?
Because you spent 12 years of your life in school, this is the most important phase in determining the greatest career alternatives for you. You may not realize it, but you uncover many of your skills and talents during these 12 years. Children who appreciate English, for example, might pursue a career in teaching or writing. Those who enjoy math and science, on the other hand, are more likely to work in the finance or healthcare areas.
Step 2: Concentrate on your long-term goals.
The next step is to make a list of your long-term objectives. This can include financial goals such as purchasing a home or a car. Alternatively, some of them would have career goals such as achieving the top position in a firm or obtaining a certain work title. It could also mention any obstacles or flaws that you want to overcome. Consider queries like, “I’m not excellent at public speaking; what job can help me gain confidence?” Or anything along the lines of “I’m terrible at expressing myself.” Which professions offer the most opportunities for me to improve my communication skills?
Step 3: Do extensive research on all of the available options.
The final step is to conduct research and identify work opportunities that are relevant to your interests. Based on your long-term goals, talents, and interests, you must create a list of at least eight excellent job alternatives.
All of these elements play a significant role in determining your success in whichever career options you choose. So, before pursuing any career opportunity, take your time and consider all of these factors.
As you plan what to become in future, here are a few of the trending career options that may still be the most promising careers in the next 10 years.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) Specialist Career
AI and ML jobs are in demand today and they are certainly the best tech jobs for the future. Reports from various sources have highlighted the growth rate in demand and salary in the domain. AI and ML specialists are involved in developing systems that can process information like humans and make intelligent decisions.
These systems have found use in speech recognition, natural language processing, automated stock trading, fraud detection in banking and finance, security, home automation and innumerable applications in various industries. ML models use data from various sources that are relevant to the problem. They are then trained to recognise a pattern in the data. With the availability of immense data and computing power, ML is finding innovative applications even in our daily lives like recommender systems in streaming services and e-commerce.
AI and ML projects require you to work in a team of people with different roles. Each role requires a different skill set and you can choose the one that resonates with your aptitude. Depending on what you want to become in future, you can take up the courses that prepare you for the role. Some common skills are – pre-processing data, exploratory data analysis, programming in Python, proficiency in ML algorithms and maths. Individuals with domain expertise are also required in the team, so you could be an expert in banking, finance, healthcare or any other field that requires an ML solution.
Data Scientist Career
Data scientists are some of the most sought-after professionals in various industries. As data is much more easily available and computing power is getting cheaper, data scientists can successfully provide answers to real-world problems. This has led to an increase in their demand throughout the entire spectrum of industries.
As a data scientist, you are required to derive insights from data. The insights are used for data-driven decision making. The professionals are required to design data storage, manipulation and analysis to answer specific questions. They create predictive models for various business scenarios. Data scientists are part of the ML teams also where their skills are used to work on data.
If you are keen on future opportunities in data science, then you must work on important skills required for the job. You should be proficient in programming languages like Python or R, statistics and data exploration techniques. Several courses have the potential to help you capitalize on the scope of data science in future.
Software Developer Career
This role has been in demand for several decades now and will remain equally, if not more, popular in the future. It doesn’t come as a surprise considering the explosive growth of apps and software solutions for almost every domain.
As a software developer, you conceptualize and create the blueprint of a software solution for any given problem. You then write the code to develop the solution yourself or work with programmers to get it ready. The solution or product is then tested using various methods and the documentation is completed for the end-user. You are involved in the complete life cycle of the product and are expected to have a good combination of technical and soft skills. You must be proficient in programming languages like Java, Python, C#, C++ or any other language being used. You are also required to have good communication skills, problem-solving skills and team management.
Most software developers get a degree in computer science or a related subject as employers usually prefer such candidates. You can supplement your degree with certifications in your preferred area. Companies hire candidates directly at the campus as well as through other channels. (To be continued)
– The writer can be reached at vkmalout@gmail.com
