Management degree opens unconventional career choices

In an endeavor to excel in life, most students aspire the coveted management degree after completing a graduation in engineering, commerce, economics, humanities and the like. Some choose to write the Common Admission Test as a fresher, there is a majority who do so after working for a couple of years. Aspirants who score well in CAT and perform well in the GD/ PI get through the prestigious IIMs. Those who don’t secure a seat in good private B-schools. Then, comes the day when they are conferred upon the coveted MBA degree or the Diploma PGDM. 

Fast forward a couple of years as a professional and in creeps the saturation, when many question their decision to be where they are. Time has come to quash these thoughts and look at the brighter avenues that a management degree can offer. 

Following are five distinct areas which can be explored to reach the destination of a fulfilling career:

Smart City Planning

The Smart Cities Mission by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Government of India, has opened a plethora of opportunities. The purpose of the Smart Cities Mission is to drive economic growth and improve the quality of life of people by enabling local area development and harnessing technology, especially technology that leads to Smart outcomes. Courses dealing with business and society, social transformation in the country, globalization, systems modeling, six sigma, business models for the future are sure to facilitate the millennial towards a smart career move.

Entrepreneurship

The Make in India initiative, launched by the Prime Minister in September 2014 as part of a wider set of nation-building initiatives, and devised to transform India into a global design and manufacturing hub has enhanced India’s credibility. There is visible momentum, energy and optimism. Make in India is opening investment doors.  In this backdrop, there are a number of doors open to becoming an entrepreneur. Courses like: Entrepreneurship, Rural Marketing, New Ventures, Corporate Governance, Corporate Social Responsibility, Business Ethics, Business Laws, Product Pricing, and Logistics (Domestic & International) inculcate in them the seed of a creator.

Digital Marketing & Social Media Analysis

With the advent of the online world, gamuts of opportunities wait for an MBA, the most popular position being the Digital Marketing Expert/Specialist, and Social Media Analyst. Courses in areas concerning Social Media Marketing, Consumer-oriented Marketing, Internet Marketing, Cloud Computing, Computational Advertisement serve as a takeoff on the runway to achievement.  

Crisis Communication

In an era in which every matter related to money and business is guided by uncertainties, a crisis is the buzz word: whether it is a crisis of malice, technological crisis, natural crisis, a crisis of deception, or financial crisis.3 Every kind of crisis deals with re-building a brand reputation, and this generally begins with facing it, acknowledging it, and assuring that things are being taken care of. This is done by the Crisis Communication Officer/Specialist. Courses like: Crisis Communication, Managing Reputation, Brand Management provide insights into handling these situations.

People Management

The Chief People Officer is responsible for an organization’s workforce, and for creating an environment conducive to work, both for the people and for the organization. This position is a bridge between the employees and the ideal culture that should prevail in an organization. The major emphasis of this role is to effectively listen, and work out state-of-the-art solutions to have a congenial work environment. Courses based on themes like Self Discovery, Creativity & Innovation, Soft Skills which they learn while doing MBA, equip them with the required skill set.

Every citizen of India makes an unsaid appeal to the millennia to create multiple jobs rather than seek one, join hands to come together for social inclusion. With scholarships in research, the present government is facilitating the development of the R & D of the nation. The youth should make optimum utilization of the offered opportunities, rise from the ‘I’ and transform it into a ‘We!

Deepa Sethi

Guest Author Prof. Deepa Sethi is an Associate Professor at Indian Institute of Management, Kozhikode. Her teaching areas include Managerial Communication, Cross Cultural Communication, Written Analysis & Communication. Her research areas also include Soft Skills, Nonverbal Communication, Electronic Communication, Persuasive Communication. Currently, she is also the Chair of the area of Humanities & Liberal Arts in Management at IIM Kozhikode.