Indians may finally be getting over their obsession with engineering or medicine. Cooler jobs across industries beckon them in Asia’s third largest economy.
Sample this: milkers, nutrition officers, panel beaters, and Spanish tour consultants. These are some of the hottest jobs in India, according to TeamLease, a staffing and recruiting firm.
Although these might not be the best-paying jobs, the company says, they are the “cynosure of industry” and the “flavour of the season.”
Following are some of the most interesting job profiles TeamLease highlights under hot jobs. The accompanying numbers represent the average monthly salary on offer for these positions.
Agriculture and agrochemicals
Agricultural inspectors (Rs30,000): Typically involves ensuring agricultural companies follow government rules and regulations, generally related to food and safety.
Milkers (Rs9,100): India is the world’s second largest milk producer. The need for milkers—those who manually milk cattle—is increasing. Production of milk in India is largely non-mechanised, and most of it in rural India by small farmers and agricultural labourers.
Automobile and allied industries
Panel beaters (Rs37,500): This job involves repairing bodies of damaged cars and other vehicles. India is the world’s fastest growing passenger car market and global auto firms want to make the most of it, in turn, increasing employment opportunities.
Used car evaluators (Rs16,667): India is also a big market for this segment and many first-time buyers often consider buying used cars. This job involves valuing an old car’s selling price.
Consumer durables
Actuaries (Rs66,667): An actuary deals with risk analysis, mainly in insurance. The work includes pricing policies and calculating annuities and pension rates. Many consumer durable brands now offer easy payment options along with insurance schemes for mobile phones and other electronic products, thus requiring an actuary’s expertise.
Simulation engineers (Rs21,875): These engineers often test new products to gauge functionality, performance and safety.
Fast moving consumer goods
Nutrition officers (Rs31,250): With most Indian FMCG firms looking to include more healthy products in their portfolio, nutrition officers are increasingly in demand. They help the companies develop new products by keeping in check the products’ dietary and nutrition values, especially for firms in the food-related segments.
Store promoters (Rs18,000): This involves promoting products in a retail store through live-demonstrations.
Hospitality
Spanish tour consultant (Rs32,200): Spain has of late emerged as one of the most popular holiday destinations for Indians. This has also resulted in niche jobs like tour consultants who help plan vacations.
Food production specialists (Rs43,750): Hotels and restaurants need experts on food, resulting in a demand for specialists. The job can involve following safety compliances, dealing with vendors, and quality control, besides other responsibilities.
Information Technology
Digital marketing head (Rs3,75,000): One of the highest-paid jobs in the IT industry, digital marketing involves search engine optimization, increasing the firm’s social media presence and managing content.
Mobile product development engineers (Rs2,08,333): At a time when India has surpassed US to become the second-largest market for smartphones, those with skills for developing mobile-specific products are much sought after. These products include mobile-apps, services, and graphics.
Retail
Retail merchandiser (Rs25,452): Merchandisers are typically responsible for deciding what products will be on offer, inventory planning, forecasting trends, and engaging with vendors. India’s retail market is estimated to touch $1 trillion by 2020 from $600 billion in 2015. This means retail merchandisers would have lot of opportunity.
3D retail visualisers and graphic designers (Rs50,000): Many retail firms have launched virtual showrooms that offer customers a real-time shopping experience sitting at home or in office. With the rise and rise of e-commerce in India, demand for such jobs would only inch up.