By Shefali Saxena:
There’s always an alternative to everything you do and chose in life. Similar is the case with careers. Alternative careers are like the life saving jacket in a main stream boat (your main profession/career). Alternative careers have gained much impetus in the second half of the first decade of the 21st century. Today, people not only want to excel in their respective field but also want to try their hands at some alternative careers, either to have a secondary source of earning, or to learn something extra in life, besides their own profession.
Alternative careers provide an excellent platform for those who want to evolve their hobbies and interests into something substantial. Astoundingly, some people have started opting for career options that were previously considered to be alternatives, viz. writing, dancing, singing, marketing, etc. These have gradually become main stream and coveted career options now.
Today, everyone needs and wants to have a parallel career option as an alternative in hand to keep some source of secondary economic profit and reviving one’s talent. Some alternative careers are as follows:
Writing for weekly supplements, magazines, online magazines, websites at regular intervals is a very upcoming form of alternative career. It requires well versed English (or any other language you chose to write in) and decent literary skills, for the public understands simple language and wants to read in an informative tone. From students to old aged literary people, all of them can and are writing for such places. They earn a descent amount and accentuate their experience as a writer by getting it published. Many people are able to make a living by working as freelancers for newspapers, websites and magazines.
Dancing
Dance is one of the most cherished components of India’s cultural diversity. From classical to salsa, dance has always been on the nerves of people. Many do carry it off as a profession or an alternative career. There are many highly educated people or students who indulge in dancing in theatres, or for dance groups which perform at several universities and events and earn while they enjoy. Many working ladies in places like Pune and Mumbai have their dancing classes where every evening they call people from various age groups who are interested in learning how to dance, either for enjoyment or even for family functions. The pay out is usually high for well versed dance teachers who are versatile and have the ability to engage people in the dance.
Translator
Learn a new language, do a certificate authorized course in it and become a translator at the embassies, MNCs, Hospitals, International organizations, hotel guides. The most acclaimed and popular languages are German, Japanese, Spanish, French and English, of course. For being a translator you don’t really require professional degrees in technical subjects. It’s just a matter of learning a new language and being able to communicate the right word to the concerned person. Students often take up this career to get a surprisingly good amount of money and afford higher studies. A typical translator working in an embassy or working as a language teacher makes anything between 20,000 to 1 lakh+ depending on the proficiency.
Web designer
Knowing HTML, php and Softwares on animation, web designing, visual basics, etc. is a fabulous option for an alternative career. It’s immensely creative and highly paid. Wherein every company, college, organization needs web designers these days, this is a surely a rewarding career. A designer can earn anything between Rs. 10,000 to Rs. 1,00,000 and above depending on the type of website to be designed, and the kind of skills a person possesses.
Web content writer
Web content writing is another great option for an alternative career because the web content is usually non-linear, and requires fairly understandable language. So web content writing can be surely a good experience for those who have a command over English and are duly informed.
Citizen journalism
Becoming a citizen journalist is as easy as creating a Facebook account these days. Make a login id and password and post your stories online. Although this might not be financially lucrative but as an alternative career experience citizen journalism can win you fame. The best place to start off with is merinews.com. Citizen journalism portals are now even paying citizen journalists and editors as high as Rs. 20000 for starters.
Online start-up
Websites like snapdeal.com and other advertising websites are commendably wonderful ventures to work online and run a business alternatively, out of which most of the people duly flourish. If you have an original idea for the online industry, venture out.
Tutors
Becoming home tutors or teaching a few students at your home, is another alternative career especially for undergraduates and housewives. It’s a part of gaining knowledge and revising the basics with youngsters, feeling young and constructively using time and knowledge without getting wasted. Good tutors are sought after, the better you are, the more students you teach and the better you earn.
Counselor
These days, counselors are in great demand in colleges, schools, institutions etc. So learning up human psychology or specializing in a specific field to counsel others is a wonderful alternative career.
Voice-over
Giving voice-over for various short films, cassettes and films is a good alternative career is you have a nice modulated voice. Voice over artists get paid high, and the pay goes up in lakhs depending on the kind of projects you take up.
Hence alternative careers are a ray of hope and scope to continue with life while you conserve and appreciate what you already know and what you are good at. All these careers might start with a satisfactory salary, but then, the sky is the limit.