Careers in the 21st Century

Write something about the picture that you see below – This is a task that I give to students as part of my workshop.

Invariably everyone will write about the coloured triangle, its position at the center and what not. They completely miss out the wider white space that encapsulates the blue triangle. Our career choices are also hovering around a triangle like this.

In that focused approach to arrive at one of the vertices above, we miss the white space that is probably where you will find the careers of twenty first century. In this rush to become an Engineer, Doctor, Lawyer, Accountant, and other professions, what is happening in the country is that society’s interest in creating other options is weakened. (We of course need Engineers, Doctors and Lawyers, but we need other professionals too)

Moreover, our choices of higher education get aligned to the above professional education and are swinging between the left and the right as depicted below, creating a huge gap of other experts.

Now, what is the Gap?

Profession of a Teacher / Educator:

It is high time that we nurture, inspire and motivate the young minds to consider the profession of a school teacher. A Teacher by choice! To cater to the changing classrooms of India and the needs of our 300 million school going children.

Focus on Disciplines

Let us make learning Sciences, Social Sciences and Humanities popular (again).

Humanities: History, Language & Literature, Philosophy

Sciences: Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Mathematics, Environmental Science etc.

Social Sciences: Economics, Political Science, Sociology, Psychology, Anthropology, Human Geography…

Focus on Inter-disciplinary Themes

Health, Education, Human Development, Climate change, Water, Renewable Energy, Agriculture, Journalism, Media, Arts, Conservation…….These should be subjects / thematics offered in higher education so that the learner can combine / apply as part of their Disciplinary learning.

In the next few paragraphs, I will explain the broad Career options for those who pursue a degree in Sciences, Social Sciences and Humanities. This will require them to engage in a Liberal Educational framework that gives the learner enough depth in the Discipline chosen, and more importantly the breadth in terms of Inter-disciplinary thematic engagement and also the skills that nurture fundamental capacities such as critical thinking and reasoning.

While we introduce Career option to young minds, it is also extremely important to explain to them the importance of school subjects and the broad curricular areas of Language, Social Science, Science and Mathematics.

“Why are we learning what we are learning"? is a session we ought to do for our children. I have written a small note around this here.

Careers in Sciences

Bio-Tech and Agro-Chemical: Explore diverse avenues like biotech, agrochemicals, environmental consultancy. (Agro-chemistry / Agrobiology in particular holds significant opportunities)

Polymer Industry: Contribute to solving environmental issues through research and exploration of polymer studies.

Forensic: A forensic expert is always in demand across organisations.

Bio - Chemical manufacturing: Industries increasingly require Biology / Chemistry experts for refining, testing and manufacturing nuanced products.

Pharmaceutical : Pharmacologists with different specialists are essential for challenging roles in manufacturing medicines, drugs, and chemicals for better healthcare. Roles such as clinical programmer are key in the pharma / healthcare sectors.

Researcher : After pursuing higher studies in Sciences becoming an academic researcher in scientific and technical institutions is a viable goal.

Note : The roles above is not an exhaustive list but the possibilities of work after a degree in Biology, Chemistry etc.

A similar set of roles can be evolved for someone with a Physics / Mathematics degree. These can be in fields such as Astronomy & Space, Climate Science and Meteorology, Education / Ed-Tech, Lasers & Photonics, Medical Physics and healthcare, Renewable Energy, Robotics and AI.

Ref: https://www.iop.org/careers-physics/your-future-with-physics/career-paths

Careers in Social Sciences and Humanities

Social Science and Humanities graduates will be in demand in

> Academic Institutions

> Philanthropic organisation

> Social Enterprises

> Social Development sector and the Government

With additional qualifications, many will also join

> Consulting organisations and Corporations

> Policy Thinktanks

> Research bodies

> International agencies

Some of the roles awaiting them are that of an Economist, Social Scientist, Data Analyst, Journalist, Public History practitioner, Media Practitioners, Academician, Teachers, Content creator, Academic Translators, Editors (in publishing industry) etc.

Meaningfully contributing to the Civil / Public services is also a viable option for those trained in Social Sciences and Humanities.

Careers in Education

Teacher: This does not need any further explanation. A country of 300 million school going children needs trained Teachers at all levels - Foundational, Preparatory, Middle and Secondary stages of school education.

At one end while we must drastically improve the quality of education and learning outcomes, we need trained teachers to work on issues of access, equity, inclusion, and other key concerns in education matters to help the children cope with the demands of a regular school curriculum and become lifelong autonomous learners.

With the B.Ed programme taking the form of ITEP (Integrated Teacher Education Programmes), we are also seeing the IITs and NITs coming forward to offer 4-year Teacher education programmes. (BSc BEd | BA BEd)

Non-Teaching Roles in Education

This century is already seeing many non-teaching roles evolving in the Indian sub-continent. This is also based on our analysis of 1000+ Alumni of MAEducation programme offered at Azim Premji University.

Curriculum Designer/Developer:

“Curriculum refers to the entirety of the organized experience of students in any institutional setting towards educational aims and objectives.”, NCF 2023

You will be a subject-matter expert and designing support manuals for teachers and developing content and instructional materials for the classroom. You will prepare curricular materials that will augment the understanding of a concept / theory. You will set up practices of continuous evaluation to assess students as part of the role.

Teacher Educator: Teachers in the classroom also require continuous professional development programmes to contribute better and for this the role of a Teacher educator is key.

Depending on the context, the training programmes could be on perspectives in education (say on matters like inclusion, child psychology, adolescent learning etc) or to update teachers on the changes in Policy / Curricular frameworks (like the NEP 2020, NCF-Foundational Stage, NCF-School education etc). Some of the In-service teacher education courses and training will be focused on improving the curricular and pedagogic practices in the school.

Researcher in Education: Many would want to continue in the academic field, pursuing their PhD and doing research on education. Alternatively, an education professional could also be in a research role within an organisation, creating research studies and reports for them.

Program Manager (Education interventions) : A program manager in education carries the important responsibility of effective Program Design, Implementation, Direct community engagement, technical advice, coordination with donor agency/local government, budgeting and project reports.

Note : There are other roles such as Content/Textbook Developer, Assessment specialist and also Social Entrepreneurs in Education who can solve some of the complex challenges in school education.

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Now one of the questions that students ask is with AI looming what are the skills that I should gather to ‘compete’ with machines. I answer such questions by saying that Trust your Natural Intelligence and not on something that is artificially generated. That’s in my next blog- Transferrable skills for the twenty first century.

APPENDIX A– CLIMATE JOBS

I have added this as a separate category as we all know that the world is facing considerable challenges of Climate crisis. There will be a need for professionals with a strong understanding of environmental science and its interlinkages with sustainability, grounded in the Indian context.