7 Fascinating Unconventional Career Options for a Good Future

Students in India are offered the choice to choose between three streams after graduating from high school: Science, Commerce, and Arts. We are conditioned to generally think about traditional or conventional careers and not think about unconventional career options. A common student chooses a stream and related careers under parents’, peer or societal pressure and that affects their whole life.

Confucius, an ancient Chinese sage once said,

“Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.”

Dear students, imagine yourself choosing to pursue your passion instead of the old path that is much travelled and overcrowded. These days it has become easier to follow your passion. You can pick an unconventional career or occupation and still be successful. Lets deep dive into it.

Unconventional Career Options

Unconventional careers are those that are not generally supported by the general public. However, as time has passed, the best unusual career possibilities have increased in popularity and some are now in high demand. You can choose your possible career path by quickly reviewing these unusual jobs and the educational qualifications needed to pursue them. Why settle for routine employment when there are so many intriguing and unique occupations available? Today we are here with some top unconventional career options. Have a look, analyze the best for you, understand everything in detail, and choose your career wisely.

1. Photography

With smartphones in everyone’s hands, photography has become one of the most popular hobbies and passions. A formal education in the subject may be required to pursue a long-term career in this field.

Career Options in Photography

Wedding and Event Photographers: Wedding and Event photography is primarily focused on the photography of activities relating to weddings and events. Business in the wedding and event photography sector is booming more than ever.

Photojournalist: Similar to a reporter, a photojournalist conveys news stories through photography. A photojournalist needs to have a journalistic sensibility to capture the events real-time.

Fashion Photographers: Fashion journals, catalogues, and advertising campaigns all feature clothing that has been shot by fashion photographers. To make sure they are projecting the ideal image for the company, they closely collaborate with fashion houses and designers.

Freelancer: Among photographers, freelancing has proven to be the most preferred option. It gives freedom while making a good living.

Average Pay

In India, photographers can expect to make between 0.3 to 6.3 lakh rupees per year. The pay increases with experience.

2. Content Writing

Haven’t we all written essays or participated in creative writing, story writing or poetry writing competitions in our school or college? What if it becomes a full-time career opportunity? There are many employment prospects available in content writing, and the market is seeing an increase in demand in recent years. This field is now deeply ingrained in practically all sectors.

A person with the ability to articulate emotions verbally, with an abundance of vocabulary, and a solid grasp of the language can become a content writer. There are no other precise requirements for a job in content writing.

Career Options in Content Writing

SEO Writing: SEO stands for “search engine optimization”. An SEO writer uses a method, strategy and tactics to boost website traffic and achieve a prominent position on search engine results pages like Google to rank the content.

Social Media Writing: Social media writers create content that the companies use in their social media posts to attract and engage audience and followers.

Blogging: One of the most fascinating careers in content writing is blogging. Writing articles or pieces about a certain niche or sector to connect with readers on a blog is referred to as blogging.

Copywriting: Writing taglines and adverts are known as copywriting. A good copywriter grabs the audience’s attention and persuades them to act in favor of the client.

Average Pay

In India, the pay for content writers ranges from 1.2 to 6.0 lakhs on average. The pay increases substantially with experience.

3. Cartoonist and Visual Artist

We all grew up idolising and watching cartoon characters like Tom & Jerry, Chhota Bheem, Bugs Bunny, Popeye, and Doraemon. However, if you enjoy making cartoons for children or adults, this could be an excellent option for you. A cartoonist constructs a character and defines its entire persona, which could be fictional or based on true events.

A person can become a cartoonist for newspapers, news channels, websites, comic books, etc. It is advisable and advantageous to get a degree or certificate in this by doing a professional course.

Career Options in Cartoons and Visual Arts

Cartoonists: They are visual artists who create still images to entertain, educate, and persuade others. They produce animated films, comic strips like Garfield, and other graphics for marketing and advertising, newspapers and periodicals, comic books, graphic novels, greeting cards, film studios etc.

2D animator:  A 2D animator creates the illusion of movement using graphic representations. They make graphics on paper and computer software, then animate situations to tell a tale. They design a variety of animations, such as logos, action graphics etc.

Illustrators: An illustrator is a visual artist who specializes in embellishing literature or illuminating concepts by creating a graphic depiction of the underlying language or idea. They produce items for a variety of media using their drawing abilities.

Graphic designers: Graphic designers create visual designs that inspire, inform, and captivate customers. They create the overall design and layout for logos and applications such as advertisements, brochures, publications etc.

Average Pay

A cartoonist’s or visual artist’s average annual starting pay in India is between 180,000 and 7,50,000 INR.

4. Ethical Hacker

Ethical Hacking, an interesting and promising field, has grown in popularity in recent times. Ethical hacking is the legal attempt to gain unauthorized access to a computer system, application, or data. An ethical hacker identifies and detects flaws and weaknesses in a system’s security measures which can subsequently be addressed before a malevolent attacker can exploit them. With increasing penetration of internet, cyber activity, and crimes, more qualified people are now needed in this industry.

Career Options in Ethical Hacking

Data Security Professionals: They protect digital information, IT infrastructure, edge devices, networks, and data from unauthorized access, corruption, or theft. They are responsible for preventing data breaches and monitoring and reacting to attacks. They carry out security assessments of software and hardware systems for the organization.

Applications Security Executive: They create, integrate, and test secure application design and architectural strategies within applications to protect against threats such as illegal access and modification.

Certified Security Programmers: Before creating software, security programmers determine what consumers require, and they use their findings as a guide when testing software. These experts include software exploitation expertise, design principles, and programming techniques into their designs and tests.

Web Security Managers: They keep an eye on the channels through which data enters and leaves a company’s information network. They are in charge of keeping track of every operation taking place on the network and running the infrastructure necessary to make those operations possible. Managers of web security are in charge of organizing and upholding security measures to safeguard an organization’s data.

Average Pay

In India, an ethical hacker makes an average yearly pay of INR 6.02 lakh. The average can increase substantially with expertise.

5. Performing Arts

The glamour world attracts many but it always seems like a distant dream. However, social media’s rising use has made it simpler than ever to build a career in the performing arts. Artists in the field of performing arts showcase their skills by giving performances in front of a large audience. Therefore, if you have a talent and are not afraid to showcase it to a broader audience, this may be the best option for you.

Career Options in Performing Arts

Stand-up Comedian: A person who performs in front of a live audience to make them laugh with his or her talent is known as a stand-up comedian. The job requires wit, presence of mind, and strength to face a real crowd.

Music: Music career is not only limited to singing, producing and composing music. It also includes various other careers like a sound engineer, voice artist, music critic, music publicist, etc.

Dancer: Dance is seen as an art form that expresses an emotion or idea by moving the body in a rhythmic manner. One can learn a specific form and become proficient in either Western dance styles or Indian dance styles like Kathak or Bharatnatyam to pursue a career in dancing.

Drama: Drama includes a broad spectrum of careers such as an actor, director, art director, casting director etc.

Average Pay

The average pay for performing art varies broadly. A person can get paid on an hourly basis or a project basis. Once an artist establishes his or her name they can earn millions for every single project.

6. Foreign Language Expert

A diverse country like India already has numerous languages, however you can earn money and build a career from your desire of learning new languages if you master some foreign language. Foreign language proficiency is more crucial than ever in today’s environment. It provides numerous opportunities.

It is one of the best unconventional career options that can open up a world of opportunities for you, both within India and overseas.

Career Options in Foreign Language

Translator: A translator’s job is to accurately convey emotions, concepts, ideas, and words into another language. They translate written texts from one or more languages into the “target language” taking care to ensure that the translated version accurately captures the original’s meaning.

Interpreter: Let me start by saying that an interpreter is not a translator, at least not in the traditional sense. Translators work with written language, whereas interpreters work with spoken and signed languages, to put it very simply. In a nutshell, an interpreter is a person who quickly and in real time transmits information between languages. They are typically required if there is a conversation or exchange between individuals who speak different languages.

International Business Correspondence: Writing or exchanging information are two aspects of international business correspondence. It is something you want people to know about you, about your firm, and about how you handle business transactions. It is one of the fields where language experts are most in demand.

International Sales Positions: Positions in international sales are always available in a variety of industries for job seekers with strong multilingual skills.

Average Pay

It begins with a lower Pay Scale but within a few years, the pay can reach 6 – 9 lakh per annum in India.

7. Social Media Influencer

Influencers are those who have the power to influence others via their words and deeds. Influencers not only have a large impact on the lives of others, but they also make a lot of money doing it. Gone are the days when becoming an influencer required extraordinary skills.

Thanks to social media, today even a boy or girl next door can become a social media influencer and earn in millions. All you have to do is pick your niche, be camera friendly and start creating content around it. You can showcase your expertise on platforms like LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, Reddit, and YouTube.

There are various kinds of social media influencers with huge following.

Career Options in Social Media Influencing

Motivational speakers: You can work as a motivational speaker if you have the ability to inspire and motivate others to overcome negativity and other life obstacles. Select your favorite medium, develop your individual style, and begin shooting.

Vloggers: Vloggers record their daily lives in the form of short videos and updates for their followers. Their earnings increase as their video views and number of followers or subscribers increase. They are very active on social media.

Gamers: These influencers stream their online games. They also provide reviews on different games and gaming equipment and accessories.

Beauty Influencers: These people make content on self-care, skincare, makeup and beauty. They also review beauty products available in the market.

Average Pay

A micro-influencer can earn up to INR 40,000 per month. But it depends on brand deals. On average, an influencer can make INR 15,000 – 5 lakh from one brand deal.

Other Jobs or Careers

There are many other unconventional jobs available. Some are listed below:

• Celebrity Manager
• Gym Trainer
• Designer – Interior, Fashion, Jewelry etc.
• Short Film Maker
• Podcaster
• Special Educator
• Tour & Travel Guide

Conclusion

So there you have it. A career does not have to be a traditional career option that you can only pursue after pursuing a course or degree in Science, Commerce, or Arts. A student can pick a career based on his or her interest, aptitude, and preferences. An unconventional career option can be life-altering. To choose the correct occupation or to pick the right career, it is best to understand one’s competencies and personal preferences and identify true passion for something .

Selecting a career is not always easy. This is why, if you have questions about selecting your career or choosing the right career path, it is highly suggestive to consult a career counseling firm such as EnrichMyCareer for career clarity and guidance on a variety of career-related issues.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. What are the rare courses after 12th (class)?

There are many courses a student can opt for after 12^th other than the conventional science, commerce, and arts. Some of the courses are listed below:

• Culinary Art
• Jewellery Designing
• Film Making
• Animation
• Visual Arts etc.

2. Can I make money from social work?

Yes! you can! You can join an NGO or start your own. Government and many other funding agencies provide funds to these NGOs. But if you choose the non-profit model, your NGO or non-profit entity cannot make profits. If you choose social entrepreneurship or a for-profit model, your social enterprise can make profits too in addition to making a difference in society.

3. Which unconventional career has more scope in the future?

It is difficult to say exactly which unconventional career has more scope in future. What is more important to understand is that a career can be lucrative if you are passionate about it and if you build the necessary skills to excel in that chosen field. It is important to update yourself continuously and align your passion to make it worthwhile.