Get smart on career options

It is hard to find what you are looking for if you don't know what you are looking for!

Today’s youngsters do their best and provide a meaningful, substantial contribution to the society when their activities are aligned with their passions and when they are encouraged, trained and provided with outlets to pursue their dreams. An education and a career that will deepen the understanding of the practicality of the world around them and allow to discover where they want to make a difference.

Traditional careers are considered respectable and more acceptable by the society. But today students have much more challenging and lucrative choices ahead of them. Youngsters today are more open to take up alternate careers or thrilling jobs. There may be less competition when one takes up a field they are interested in and a greater chance of getting recognized and being able to make a difference. Some of the careers which are considered as smart options are

Wine taster is a highly trained and knowledgeable professional who specializes in all aspects of wine service. What it demands is hospitality and communication skill to deal with people.  Love for travel and ready to work for long hours

News reader is a person who presents news on television. May also be a working as journalist, assisting in the collection of news material.  Needs to be knowledgeable, courageous, presentable, self-confident. Should be able to convince people with their high communication skills.

Food stylist makes the food look attractive in the finished photograph. Visual know-how is also a requirement, as is the knowledge of how to translate the perception of taste, aroma and appeal that one gets from an actual dish, to a two-dimensional photograph. Experimental and stylish, should have good colour sense and be aware of the food concepts.

Photo journalist is a person who collects edits and presents the news material for publication or broadcast, which employs images in order to tell a news story. This job is for people high on intuition and love for stories. Should be able to work with compassion, confidence and patience.

Graphic designer is a professional who assembles together images, or motion graphics to create a piece of design. One needs to be imaginative, motivated, honest, passionate, good at time management and should love taking challenges.

Quality analyst is responsible for applying the principles and practices of software quality assurance throughout the software development life cycle. Needs to be business oriented, inquisitive, critical thinker with good process knowledge.

App developer researches, designs, implements and tests the mobile app. One needs to be good at logical skills, being flexible, curious, innovative, and quality conscious.

Ethical hacker is someone who can breach the security of computer systems and get paid for it. Needs to be computer savvy with a good knowledge of coding in different programming languages. High on motivation, dedication, analytical thinking, initiative, problem solving ability and investigative nature. A formal training in ethical hacking is must with honesty, integrity and trustworthiness. 

Web designer encompasses many different skills and disciplines in the production and maintenance of websites with the awareness of usability and web accessibility guidelines. Someone with good communication, creativity and vision and high on technical skills with added artistic ability could take up this career.

Event manager is someone who uses the application of project management to the creation and development of large scale events such as festivals, conferences, ceremonies, formal parties, concerts, or conventions. A person needs to be strong on will, time management energy and passion with great attention to detail.

Holiday consultant is a person who customizes the travel plans for his or her clients to make it memorable for them. This is suitable for someone with high organizational, sales and customer service skills. An interest in travel, good listener, confident with high understanding of  job, patience and flexibility.

Tea taster is someone who not only tastes the tea but also gives advice, does branding, and has a good knowledge of cultivation and manufacturing. Though not a very well-known career option, jobs in this area can be interesting.  One need’s to have patience and good taste buds and more importantly love for drinking tea. What could be better than tasting awesome teas and getting paid for it?

Radio jockeys are those who anchor music programmes on radio and entertain the listeners by playing music or conveying messages in a most attractive and sophisticated way. This is a profession which requires a lot of hard work and presence of mind. A RJ needs to have a style of communicating , a good voice, should be warm, friendly, spontaneous, dynamic and must possess good communication skills packed with energy.

Image consultant is someone who advises individuals, on all aspects of personal appearance, presentation and public speaking. Evaluate a client's overall appearance and determine how best to achieve a look that will reflect his/her best attributes - both personally and professionally. An ability to connect with people, to instil confidence in them and have a natural flair for style and colour, good communication skills, tact and good listening skills.

Food critic needs to have a good taste bud and the ability to convert these taste experiences to words. Exploring restaurants and then publishing the results of their findings in newspapers and magazines. Extreme knowledge about every aspect of food with professional integrity is very important for food critics.

Though offbeat, these careers may give great satisfaction, flexibility of work, opportunity to prove oneself and handsome pay package. The most important aspect being able to do what you really love and at the same time make money out of it.