Data science to digital marketing: Career options & in-demand professions in 2021

The need for constant technological innovation and skill enhancement has become the essential norm of the day. The COVID-19 pandemic has also necessitated a pivotal transition towards digitization and remote working in the global business vista. Therefore, upgrading one’s existing resources by gaining novel proficiencies assimilating emerging skill-sets is imperative for staying relevant and job-ready in the near future. Not just up-skilling, 21st-century professional must also consistently reskill themselves to stay attuned with the ever-evolving business and technology landscape.

Prof. Col. Shishir Kumar, Director, ImaginXP in a conversation with Republic World has talked about the future career options, the need for upskilling and reskilling in the time of the pandemic.

"The year 2021 has witnessed a tumult of disruptive developments, thanks to the pandemic and various geopolitical disturbances. The rapid technological acceleration and improvements in Research and Developmental Innovation have also considerably pushed the boundaries of social institutions and conventions like education, finance, trade and commerce. Amidst such an overarching paradigm shift, it is essential for Indian students to stay on par with the global learning curve if they wish to land the most sought after jobs in the industry," Kumar said.

Future Prospects: Which career options will be the most in-demand professions in the year 2021?

The events that unfolded in the aftermath of the pandemic have shepherded a wave of uncertainty and unrest amongst all factions of the global business sphere. A number of organizations have resorted to job cuts and salary slashes in wake of the post-pandemic turbulence. Therefore, to sustain this testing period, it is important for professionals to keep improvising their technical faculties and imbibe future- pertinent skills that can help them stay ahead of the numerous disruptions in these unstable times.

In order to develop an illustrious career in the professional sphere, it is essential to be aware of the various career options that are slated to fetch the highest demand in the coming times. First to emerge is the new-age field of Data Science. Slated as the new oil, the Harvard Business Review even went on to dub Data Science as the most prolific job of the 21st century. As almost every industry vertical is seeking to optimize data-driven insights to further productivity and business ambit, data scientists, data architects, data analysts and other data science professionals are assured of a lucrative and promising road ahead.

Second comes digital marketing, one of the few disciplines that were seemingly unperturbed by the ravages of the pandemic. What’s more; digital marketing also proved to be an elixir for a plethora of firms who otherwise would have succumbed to the pandemic. Growing at a torrential pace, the digital marketing industry is expected to reach INR 230 billion in 2021, while expanding at an annual CAGR of 12-13%. With a number of specialized job profiles such as SEO Specialist, PPC Expert, Social Media Marketer, etc falling under this domain, the future indeed appears bright for digital marketing professionals.

Another vertical that has always enjoyed a significant demand in the tech industry is UI/UX designing. With improving the overall user experience for customers fast becoming the foremost priority for organizations and the pandemic-induced rapid digitisation at the turn of the 21st century, UI/UX designers have become even more sought-after by a number of tech giants like Google, Amazon, Adobe, etc.

With the global business landscape embracing a digital shift and companies resorting to remote working due to the pandemic, Cybersecurity has become an urgent need of the hour. Companies that have made the digital cut are even more under the threat radar of malicious cybercriminals. With data assets worth millions of dollars at stake, every organization today is seeking to fortify its cybersecurity defences to the fullest. By the year 2021-22, it is anticipated that there will emerge over 3 million new jobs for cyber security professionals with a number of specialized job profiles such as Ethical Hacker, Cybersecurity Consultant, Network Security Engineer, etc.

Similarly, Cloud computing has also been developed into a full-fledged professional vocation since the overarching digital transition occurred. With companies rapidly moving to cloud-storage platforms, the cloud has seemingly captured the industry like no other. The cloud computing market is further expected to touch USD 350-380 Billion by 2021-22 and is slated to reap exponential dividends for numerous Cloud Software Engineer, Cloud Architect, Cloud Infrastructure Engineer, etc who are associated with this domain.

What upskilling and reskilling would be required for the student?

This is the optimum time for students to acquire new skills and enhance existing ones. The education industry is also imbibing an adventurous spirit and is aiming to venture into hitherto unexplored vistas. The dawn of online education has seemingly remoulded the way students approach learning and pedagogy. The rise of the new-age gig economy is expected to multiply freelance opportunities that can counter the mass pandemic-induced unemployment and job cuts. In order to forge a promising career ahead, students must focus on developing strong technological skills, thinking aptitude, application skills, communication skills, creativity, and the ability to design original concepts.

With emergent tech vistas like Artificial Intelligence and Robotics coming to the fore, it is essential for students to learn skills that are relevant to these novel tech horizons. The education industry must embrace virtualization to stay abreast with the evolving times. Students must aim for the sky and understand that the relentless tech acceleration has led to past technologies becoming outmoded. Therefore, they must constantly up-skill and re-skill themselves to stay in tune with the change in technology.

How to study, specializations, jobs, and future scope? 

When it comes to fresh graduates, they should swiftly up-skill themselves in an array of futuristic skills like AI, ML, Data science, Healthtech, Cybersecurity, IoT, Robotics, Blockchain, FinTech, Digital & AI Marketing, Cloud computing, AR/VR, Robotics Process Automation, etc. Students should also gain a hands-on understanding of social Innovation & problem-solving skills that can be imbibed in a practical environment under the supervision of corporate professionals. There are a plethora of new-age tech institutes and skilling academies in the country that specialize in churning a young and talented workforce that is ready to take on the challenges of the future. The government of India must also aggressively campaign for establishing future-specific training centres and tech-skilling institutions that can open up new directions and possibilities for the students of our nation.

(Disclaimer: The article is authored by Prof. Col. Shishir Kumar, Director, ImaginXP. Views expressed here are personal. Republic World does not take any responsibility for this.)