The world all of a sudden came to a standstill when the coronavirus pandemic broke out. Students who were graduating from college and planning for higher education or were starting out their careers were affected by this adversity as well. The post COVID-19 world is a whole new era to say the least. This implies that career and education trends have drastically changed.
The past decade saw an upsurge in unconventional career domains, stereotypes being shattered, and an increase in the variety of career choices. The time has come to understand the cluster of ‘Future-proof’ careers. During the times of Covid, unfortunately we had to witness industries being shut, corporations filing for bankruptcy, unemployment at an all-time high. This is the time for students to think in retrospect, and understand the gravity of the situation, vouching for a backup was never as imperative.
The career trends in a post COVID-19 era are bound to change. To help you understand the kind of career trends to look out for, a list is compiled below:
- Research:
Right from the advent of COVID-19 in China, when the health authorities around the world were contemplating the extent of this virus, research has taken the centre stage. Be it doctors, scientists, pharmacists, analysts, economists, policy professionals, or journalists, each of them along with several other professionals had to rely on research. Considering the scenario, the importance of a research based career has seen a significant rise in a post COVID-19 world.
- Journalism:
If it weren’t for News Anchors/Reporters, Journalists, Mass Media Professionals, Magazines, Newspapers, can you imagine getting any relevant information at all about the COVID-19 updates from around the world. This is the new dawn of Journalism that we witnessed. These diligent professionals were on the front lines, risking their lives for the news coverage, just to keep us all informed. The career opportunities in this domain have risen, as some of the major Broadcasting and Media Houses are already hiring professionals globally in order to expand their virtual reach.
- Digital Payment:
As we all continued to stay at home through the lockdown, we still needed to pay for the necessities, such as groceries, food, electricity, etc., thus witnessing a significant increase in Digital Payments. People were more careful and exchanging currency for a transaction did not comply with the norms of social distancing. The Government as well was encouraging people to use digital methods of payment, and also supported the retailers to transition to digital payment mechanisms. Thus, employment opportunities have seen a significant increase in the mobile payment technology domain.
- Cloud Computing:
Who would have imagined that Cloud Computing will be the foundation for each and every corporation in the future? I am certain Satya Nadella would be proud today.
As cloud computing is affordable and convenient a post COVID-19-era witnesses considerable growth when it comes to scaling a business. Working from home has been successful only because of successful cloud computing technology. With organisations like Google and Microsoft working religiously to further improvise their respective Cloud Computing Network, it can be ascertained that cloud will move beyond the foundational infrastructure and also cover other areas of the organisations like operations, marketing and sales.
- Content Creation:
From Marketing to Movies, content is what prevailed even during the times of uncertainty. With several businesses surviving because of posting relevant content on social media and other platforms, to production houses, releasing their movies on streaming platforms, the industry welcomes creative and diligent minds and will continue to do so in the future. The most intriguing aspect is the diverse nature of content creation. You can start your blog tomorrow if you have the right ideation and agenda, and a touch of creative aspect, as all of us have transitioned to a virtual network, the chances of your blog or work gaining the due appreciation is highly likely. A creative mind can never be at rest, and it certainly can never be contained!
- Healthcare:
Doctors, Nurses, Pharmacists, Pharmacologists, and other related professions in the Medicine field continue to thrive. Not only have they worked day in day out, to help the affected patients, but also a number of them have sacrificed their lives to serve the community during the pandemic.
Allied medicine, and associated industries that manufacture medical equipment, and machinery have seen a progressive growth as well. A huge influx of capital is invested on a global level, for the advancement in Medicine. Careers and research areas like Immunology, Virology, and Genomics, have seen a positive growth as well.
- Education Technology:
The schools and Universities around the world closed their gates for students in consideration of the COVID-19 pandemic. But the show went on, a student’s education should never be compromised, a belief shared by each and every Educator in the world. Online platforms and virtual classrooms have never been so relevant.
The Universities and schools around the globe comfortably adapted to the new normal. Platforms like Coursera, edX, class Central and many others providing online courses for credits to University students had been really convenient, and viable. Similarly, schools used Zoom, Google Meet and other platforms to conduct the regular classes with students. It would be right to acknowledge that the educational institutions have come of age, and traditional teaching standards have become a thing of the past. This transition is pervasive and has been observed right from pre-school to Universities. Teachers, administrators, and other education providers, have switched to modern pedagogical tools and ways of teaching in a post COVID-19 world.
There are several other careers that have observed a positive trend in a post COVID-19 era such as: Automation, Insurance, Cyber security, Robotics, and certain industries have scaled further such as E-Commerce. These are some of the careers that have attracted talent and witnessed significant hiring, amid and after the pandemic has subsided.
Conclusion:
Change is inevitable, but the learning must go on. The COVID-19 pandemic has encouraged us to acknowledge the sensitive nature of our career decisions, and how unprecedented events may lead to a complete turnaround. Thus making us to be more pragmatic in our career choices, and taking decisions that run in tandem with the career trends in a post COVID-19 world.