An engaging book that chronicles the cope, skills, education, pay-pack and the road ahead in respect of each of 25 future careers. It is going to be survival of the fittest. To win in any of the many careers, you must have a strong knowledge of it. It gives an insight into what in the era of Industrial Revolution 4.0, is instored for each of us. 43rd of 2021.
This book is an update of CA to CEO, a book written in 2009 by the same author, with all the updates that have happened since then. The book covers, how the rules have changed and that there's more to come. The 25 careers, and the comping up.
HOW CAREERS ARE CHANGING
Here is a sneak peek at the kind of organization that you will
be working in.
In tomorrow's world, you may work in a company headquartered in
India, whose raw material is sourced from Australia, the finished product is
marketed in America, money is raised in Europe, and the finished goods are
manufactured in Asia. In short, it is a trans-national company. In such a
world, your colleagues, peer, mentors, and leaders will not have the same
socio, economic, and cultural backgrounds. They would come from differing
backgrounds with different workplace ethics that would lead to culture shocks.
To succeed in such a place, you need to understand the changing rules of the
career market.
RULE 1: Uni-functional Vs. Multifunctional
KNOWLEDGE IS POWER
You will have to be thorough in your area of expertise. If you
have majored in marketing, you must know marketing inside out to become the
head of marketing one day. But if you want to head a company sometime in the
future, you will have to understand manufacturing, finance, logistics, HR, and
technology. To score high in your career, you must have a multi-functional
appreciation of happenings in your organization.
RULE 2: 9 to 5 Vs. 24*7
CAREER FIRST
Once upon a time, people went to the office at 9 a.m. and
returned home at 5 p.m. Working on holidays was a strict no-no. Today, you
cannot be a clock-watcher. Today, it is not just enough to show up; you have to
deliver. There is nothing like 9 to 5 office timing. You work at your
convenient hours, and results are what counts and not the hours you
clock.
RULE 3: Grey hairs vs. Grey Cells
AGE NO BAR
RULE 4: IQ VS. EQ
BEYOND KNOWLEDGE
Earlier, to win in the workplace, you had to be strong in your
subject. IQ (aka knowledge) was necessary. Even today, IQ is essential; but it
alone won't do. You must also have the skills the job calls for. Everything is
not taught in colleges and are learned at the workplace. You have to get along
with people, and this calls for both emotional and social skills. Your ability
to communicate, be a team player, contribute as a team member, lead small
groups, generate and take through ideas, motivate others are crucial. These are
the emotional and social quotients.
RULE 5: One Time Vs. Life Long
KEEP RUNNING
Earlier, the availability of knowledge in the world doubled
every 50 years. Later, it started doubling every 15 years, and then every 3
years. This means that if you don't update for three years on the trot, you
will become outdated, like a museum piece. Today, learning is life long and
continuous. The moment you stop learning, your career is over. You will have to
continually upgrade both your knowledge and skills to move to stay relevant.
That will put enormous pressure on you in your job.
RULE 7: Adam Vs. Eve
IT'S A WOMAN'S WORLD ALSO.
RULE 7: Man Vs. Machine
ROBOT AS COWORKER
Newer technologies are disrupting organizations. The constant
question is how much can be automated and how much can be replaced with AI. As
machines begin to replace men, dramatic changes are happening. No, the role of
people has not been abated; it has only been transformed. You will spend more
time working alongside key internal stakeholders, challenging their strategic
plans, and modeling and predicting different scenarios.
PARADIGM SHIFTS
SHIFT NO. 1: NEW SECTORS ARE OPENING UP
The later part of India's Millennial Generation (aka market
generation), born and grew up in a market economy, is getting into the
earn-and-spend mode. The age of agriculture and to a large of extent manufacturing
is gone. IT, ITES, Retail, Communication, Hotel, Banking, Entertainment, etc.,
are booming. These are throwing up tremendous opportunities in the employment
market.
SHIFT NO. 2: PORTABILITY OF JOBS AND MARKETS AND RISE OF THE GIG
ECONOMY
Suddenly both men and money are portable. You can now work in
any part of the world if you are adequately skilled. There is also a shift
in the type of jobs, which are emerging. Today, one in three workers are
freelancers, and many of them are working outside office hours. In fact, in the
gig economy, you will find people working for more than one employer at the
same time. Loyalty will be to the individual and not to the organization.
SHIFT NO.3: BIG TO SMALL COMPANIES -SIZ DOES'NT MATTER
SHIFT NO.4:THE AGE OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
Artificial Intelligence, technical automation, and bots are
transforming the workplace culture. Technologies, however, are yet to master
Emotional Quotient, and this is where soft skills like decision-making and
empathy of a deserving candidate are crucial. In the light of the dynamic landscape
of the job market demands you should have varied skillsets for the job.
Few Interesting Careers that would be of more demand in the
future are:
1) Fraud Investigator: For
those who are interested in tracking the crimes that do not necessarily leave a
paper trail behind them. You would be in great demand in Accounting/law/Consulting
firms, Security and Risk Management firms, Bank and Public Financial institutions
and Government agencies.
2) Mergers and Acquisitions:
It’s the time of Empire Building, with world moving towards monopoly, 18
corporates dominating the entire web. There would be lot of mergers and acquisitions
happening, and it’s a challenging career to be part of.
3) Technology and
Analytics: Technology is now a way of life and the future of any business or
profession would be predominantly tech-driven. You have a wide scope here from
technology implementation to technology governance and audit. More on it later.
If you have analytical aptitude, data management skills, domain knowledge,
Proficiency in understanding charts and graphs, technical skills, application
of data analytics functions, this is what you could try.
4) Consulting: Consultants
work in multiple areas, chief among which are Portfolio Strategies, Business
Strategy, Finance Strategy, People Strategy. If you have problem solving
skills, can create a personal impact, have deep domain expertise, can meet
expectations, keep confidentiality, you can give this a try.
5) Investment Banking: Popularly known as
dealmakers, investment bankers are into a wide range of functions. They advise
on financing alternatives, help raise capital, provide advice on M&A, help
value businesses, Price fixing, Underwrite public issue, research. If you are
interested in these, is conservative and aggressive, with accounting, finance,
legal, analytical, skills, give this a try.
6) Taxation: Some of the
areas where you could work are, Tax compliance, consulting, litigation, International
taxation, Transfer Pricing. Skill sets needed are ability to rad and
understand, interpersonal skills, attention to details, communication,
commercial understanding, Flexibility.
7) Supply Chain
Management: It’s the chain that costs more than gold. Things need to reach from
the Point of Origin (POO) to Point of Consumption (POC), and making that happen
on a timely and efficient manner. The size, type, geographic scope and
organizational structure of the firm that you choose to work for. If you have
analytical skill, research skill, interpersonal skill, accounting skill,
technology skill, you can give this a try.
8) Insurance: In an
Insurance Industry, there would be accountants, Internal auditors, Risk
Managers, Product designers, Product pricing, Digital Officers, investment
managers, claim managers, Advisors. To excel here you would need to have a
flair for numbers, Knowledge of IRDA regulations, knowledge of Indian and
Global market, Forensic skill and legal skill.
9) Enterprise Risk
Management: Every action of an enterprise has a risk perspective. Managing risk
is at the heart of strategic management. If you have reading skills, number
crunching, technology, decision making, people management skill and is
holistic, this is for you.
10)
Teaching: “The influence of teachers extends beyond the
classroom, well into the future. It is they who shape and enrich the minds of
the young, who touch their hearts and souls. It is they who shape a nation’s
future,” wrote F Sionil Jose. The way teachers teach may change, but the
profession would always be there to stay. If you are passionate about it, have Knowledge of the subject and
can Encourage, inspire, and motivate, you can definitely give this a try.
AUTOMATION:
It will kill some jobs, leave some untouched and create new ones
as well, Jobs, that are likely to go away due to automation include:[PR1] call center employees,
data entry operators, insurance underwriters, tax preparers, sales
representatives, translators, and fast food employees.
Bots are set to replace tax preparers, Online shopping is making
the sales rep extinct, Self checkout reduces the need for cashiers, Robots are
replacing medical technicians, lawyers are replaced with bots, BPO can become
machine driven.
Yet, no advancement can upstage psychiatrists, storytellers,
world-class teachers, scientists, actors, and thought leaders because these
roles need innovative and personal skills.
The World Bank estimates up to 69% of today’s job positions will become redundant. But there is no need to panic. For every job lost, new ones will come up. Look at history, for proof. The 20th century hadn’t heard anything like Chief Technology Officer, Chief Delivery Officer, Chief Belief Officer, and Chief Gardener. It is not that job opportunities are not there. It is just that skills set requirements have changed. So what is most important is to ensure that workforce is smart and adaptive and can take up newer roles.
MICRO INNOVATION
Innovation does not evolve overnight. It is
the outcome of years of punishing schedule followed by the fear of being so
near, yet so far. Suspension bridges and skyscrapers did not happen overnight.
The electric car as innovation is taking its time in coming. Two years ago IOT,
machine learning, artificial intelligence, virtual reality, etc., were a
vision. Now, they are work-in-progress. To succeed, you don’t have to get into
big-ticket innovation. If you can copy, localize, iterate and ‘micro-innovate’
you may end up doing spectacularly well. Uber is an example. Uber connected
individual drivers to needy passengers and created a revenue model out of it.
Did they innovate at the leading edge? Fat chance. They used a technology that
has been around for donkeys’ years, GPS. Earlier you paid to access cars, now
you pay money to access transportation as a service. Beyond Uber, there are
other fixers. The pricing differential that you see in Airbnb’s accommodation
especially if you are looking for a stay for a couple of hours has been a game
changer. Some sites help freelancers connect with business owners. Others
provide spaces in cities where you can rent a desk at comfortable prices.
Elsewhere women can borrow saris and kitchen appliances at moments of need. In
short, it’s about quick tweaks on existing products. These companies haven’t
done anything novel; they are merely using big data and algorithms. And the
funny part is none of them own the assets they use! WhatsApp is another example
of micro-innovation that disrupts traditional telecom messaging services. From
Morse code to smartphones the travel has been incredible. In the automobile
industry, the talk is about driverless cars. Our carmakers have always focused
on delivering a better driving experience. Now they will have to look at
providing a better passenger experience!
ARTIFICAL INTELLIGENCE
There are huge data sitting out there, the ability to track both
structured and unstructured data and bring out meaningful insight will be a
critical job in the future.
Both robotics and people will work together. Robots will do the
dirty job, and free up people to do intellectual stuff!
Artificial Intelligence (AI), an omnibus term which I use for a
thinking machine. It can read and grasp reams of data; it can determine
patterns and spot outliers. Unlike automation, it learns from mistakes, and
like human beings, with more practice, it becomes better. AI is meant to free
up time for people for but can never dispense with the need for human
experience and insight.
The new-aga accountant will have to learn to work with and
through the blockchain. It is a digital leader that can be shared across a
network of computers. It helps update real time information, without
alteration.
The Cloud is becoming mainstream. It enables access to networks,
storage, and applications and allows users to process data on third-party servers.
Chief Information Officers (CIOs) are unlikely to invest in hardware anymore.
With the arrival of the cloud, technology is an operating expenditure Bots are
set to replace tax preparers. Robots are replacing medical technicians. Online
shopping is making the sales rep extinct. Self checkout reduces the need for
cashiers. BPO can become machine driven. JP Morgan replaced 1,000 lawyers with
bots.20 ICT Academy Publications and not a capital expenditure. You can rent
them like you rent zoom-cars; meaning you use it and pay for it. All of this is
just the beginning as we will see more of a sharing economy. Organizations of
the future are going to have only one small core team, with everything else
outsourced or hired. An uberization in every part of the company: sales, health
marketing, HR will create many more entrepreneurs than regular jobs. The cloud
will throw up new opportunities. For instance, once a patient puts his
biometrics, the details can be accessed from anywhere and a professional
diagnosis given.
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