Which Career Options are Most Demandable in 2021?

K. C. Raj who helps young people find their career paths has compiled a list of the most in-demand careers in 2021 and how to begin on those paths.

2020 had been a tough year for everyone as there were significant uncertainties in the job market because of the global pandemic. Many companies started downsizing their workforce, and the employees faced salary cuts too. In such a scenario, it was a crucial year for freshers who were going to begin their professional careers in 2021. Though many job profiles have been outdated, luckily, some career options are still in demand this year. This includes a career in cybersecurity, digital marketing, and others that we will explore in this article.

Popular career paths in 2021:
i. Content Developer:
This career option has a promising future and has not been negatively affected by the global pandemic. It is expected to witness an annual growth of 13-15% annually. Various ed-tech firms, digital marketing companies, and many other companies rely on good content to thrive.

Firms need candidates for creating content for training programs, social media posts, blogs, YouTube videos, podcasts, and others. So if you have content writing skills, then identify your areas of expertise to get paid for your efforts. Even freelancers have a good scope in this career option.
 
ii. Cybersecurity Professional:
Cybercrimes have been on the rise in the form of hacking and other similar activities since the lockdown started. This has led to an increase in demand for Cybersecurity professionals by 7-8% in the past few months.

It has various other profiles such as network security engineer, cybersecurity consultant, and ethical hacker. Hence the interested candidates can focus on gaining hands-on experience and practical exposure with certifications to move ahead in this path smoothly. The pay package of entry-level professionals in cybersecurity starts from 4-5 LPA in India. iii. Digital Marketing Expert: This is another career option that is currently in high demand. Digital marketers help companies to reach the right target audience. Hence job opportunities in this are expected to grow by 12-13% annually. Besides applying for some specialized domains coming under this category like SEO specialist, social media marketer, and PPC expert, you can also try affiliate marketing and blogging. iv. Data Science Professional: 9 out of 10 industry experts say that this job is in high demand as organizations depend on the insights driven from data for evolving. This necessitates companies in different sectors to hire data science professionals. Interested candidates can try specific profiles such as Data Architect, Data Scientist, Data Analyst, and others in this career field. v. UI/UX Designer: UI/UX designers play a vital role in enhancing the user experience. The position is crucial for a business to strengthen its customer base, and hence there is a spike in demand for experienced candidates in this field. Even the tech giants such as Amazon, Google, Adobe, and others need professionals who can enhance the platforms and products for the users for a more convenient experience. Besides the technical skills, candidates need to work on their problem-solving skills and creativity for a better career. You can expect a salary of INR 6-8 LPA in India in this role. It would be easy to get noticed by renowned firms with a good portfolio and get paid even higher for your skills and efforts.

vi. Full stack developer:
As per LinkedIn Report 2020, this is the 4th position in top emerging jobs. With a decent experience of 5-8 years, a full stack developer can expect a 13-15 LPA package in India. Full-stack developers have gained more prominence over the front-end developers, back-end developers, database engineers, and others owing to their flexibility in resource planning and various other aspects. These candidates have back-end as well as front-end development knowledge. Those who have proficiency in any one of these can acquire the required skills to become a full-stack developer. vii. Cloud Computing Professional: Cloud computing has been dominating the tech world for some time now, and this market is expected to reach USD 350-380 billion by 2022. Most tech giants rely on cloud technologies to remain ahead in the competitive market. Studies show that more than 80% of software applications will be developed around cloud technologies in the upcoming years. This indicates a surge in demand for professionals in cloud computing. It has scope for freshers to highly experienced individuals. So interested candidates can acquire skills to establish a strong career in this domain easily. One could become a Cloud Architect, Cloud Infrastructure Engineer, and Cloud Software engineer in this domain. Entry-level professionals can get INR 5-7 lakh package in India.

viii. Physiotherapists:
With the advancement in technology, our lives became more comfortable but sedentary at the same time. This sedentary lifestyle leads to many serious health issues in the neck, back, joints, and others. Hence, there is a rise in demand for physiotherapists. Even athletes suffering from any injuries in muscles consult them to get massages, hydrotherapy, and similar treatments to get relief and remain fit.

ix. Environment Management:
Our current lifestyle with the development of advanced modes of commutation and industrial development has severely impacted the environment. This has become a serious concern and governments from various countries worldwide are taking steps to reduce the impact. It has led to the increase in demand for environmentalists whose primary function is to plan ways to get out of these problems. For example, there is a plan to enhance solar power by 500% to 100GW by 2022 in India. Similarly, wind power has been targeted to increase by 270% to 60 GW by 2022. Such targets will open up jobs for 2 lakh people for wind energy projects and 10 lakh jobs for solar energy projects as per the Council on Energy, Environment, and Water (CEEW), India, and National Resource Defense Council (NRDC).*
 
When you know the domains that offer promising career opportunities in 2021, you can enhance your skill sets to stay ahead in the competitive market and easily get hired by companies providing a good pay package. So, identify your skills and start working on improving them now.

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The author

K. C. Raj

K. C. Raj is a career counselor and recruiter with many years of experience. Interested in topics like human development, education, immigration, inequality, and many other international issues. He is a socialist in thinking and believes in "One Nation, One World" theory.

https://kcrconsultants.com/