Trends Impacting Your Career In The Era Of Digital Learning

Indian education system till Corona entered our lives relied completely on traditional classroom learning. It became the reason why a significant chunk of institutions couldn’t survive the onslaught of pandemic and faced complete shutdown. The educational institutions with required infrastructure and capital support had a stumbling phase in the beginning months of lockdown but later bounced back on track with collective cooperation from students and teachers. Needless to say, this humungous transition from offline to online learning has led to the emergence of new trends in career profiles available for students, coming from Science background.

Some of the prevalent trends which are impacting the career choices of students in the era of digital learning are:

1. Change in hiring culture

A stereotype that goes for students choosing Science stream has been they are rote learners, and too stern when it comes to flexible working environment due to the disciplined studying schedule, they develop right from board exams. Many of these students start preparing for competitive exams like JEE from 9th standard itself, and have limited inclination towards any other extra co-curricular activities. Students are now attending classes from their homes, which leaves them with some extra time. Developing an additional skill during the remote learning phase, will be an considered an asset by corporates who will be assessing the competence of individuals as per the global talent pool easily available for them to hire. Many ed-tech platforms are offering short-term specialization courses for honing particular skills.

2. Multi- tasking learners

Multi-taskers who do not shy away from working under multiple roles, engaging with people from diverse culture and backgrounds would be welcomed to be a part of growing organization. Learning a language apart from English and the native language will give an edge to the candidate over others. It is crucial for students planning to enter in the roles which demand acute digital presence, multilingual proficiency will help them have a better understanding of the varied geographical markets they are catering to.

3. Training courses offered by MNC’s

Many reputed IT MNCs are coming up with courses specially designed for school students to polish their skills and prepare early for their tech-oriented careers ahead. This way young learners are actually getting the feel to be in an industry setting along with their higher education. Such courses demand candidates to be curious and active in all their projects. These courses serve as a building block towards successful career.Schools and coaching institutions can help their students by creating an open and flexible environment, giving them opportunities to compete and explore their skills via Intra-School, City/State level competitions etc.

4. Convergence of online & offline tools

Since learning has completely taken the digital route, individuals possessing knowledge of more than the basic MS Office tools would be preferred. Upskilling will become the need of the hour. Expertise with devices and online tools that find utility in working environment would be a basic requisite in hiring individuals for the IT/ITes firms.

5. Industry driven certifications

Corporate leaders have started giving significant weightage to students with specialized certifications in skills that will be adding on to their work paraphernalia. Candidates must possess ability to carry their specialized roles independently and impart the skills to freshers, this will be making them a valuable resource at their workplace.

Conclusively, it is crucial for the educators, guides and mentors to prepare their students for the cut-throat competition, which exists beyond their school and early education arenas to help them be the next-gen IT professionals ready to tackle every challenge in a constructive manner.

Nitin Viijay

Guest Author The author is Founder and CEO of Motion Education