Robert Frost has long ago nailed it when he said: “I took the path less traveled, and it made all the difference!” Today an array of unique and unconventional career opportunities exists for millennials to explore and take up professionally.
Top Unconventional Careers to Explore in 2020
Art Therapist
Those looking for a career in psychology can opt for being an art therapist. Art therapy enhances general well-being by means of artistic expressions. Using art as a method of healing, helps reduce stress and anxiety, improves self-esteem, and provides many such mental health benefits. The salary is also decent. Read more on Psychology Careers – Courses, Top Colleges, Jobs, and Salaries.
Headhunter
Headhunter is another name for a recruiter, employed by companies to recruit executives or higher-level professionals for job positions that are not advertised. It is often difficult for companies to zero down on the best candidate, hence they hire headhunters in order to ease the recruitment process and save time, energy, and money. The average annual salary is highly rewarding. Read Headhunter vs Recruitment Consultant vs Career Coach vs Mentor.
Master Distiller
Similar to the lines of brewmaster and winemaker, master distillers are the professionals who supervise the production of spirits or liqueurs, such as whiskey or rum, for commercial distilleries. Although in an inchoate state, it is now growing fast with the emergence of craft distilleries. While it can be expensive to start this craft, title loans can cover those upfront costs to get your business up and running.
Master distillers need to have expertise in the entire process and technique employed in turning raw materials into finished products which include handling mashing and fermentation procedures, marketing and distribution, accounting, and human resources et al.
Precise responsibilities are:
- Sourcing raw materials
- Ensuring correct production and aging processes
- Quality-control
- Managing workforce and business and brand
- Conceiving new products
- Training and development
Food Scientist
Food scientists make food fun. The food products seen at grocery stores had a food scientist behind it. Food scientists develop nutritious foods that are tasty and are bacteria-free so that they can be consumed safely. Such scientists do research, experiments, and scientific trials to produce safe foods and preservatives. They also conceive advanced food-processing techniques. Specializations required include developing new products, improving manufacturing processes, or designing better packaging solutions.
Meteorologist
Those interested in weather patterns and atmospheric forces can explore the field of meteorology and become an expert on the earth’s atmosphere. Meteorologists need to understand, observe, and forecast atmospheric phenomena and the impacts they have on earth. Contrary to popular belief, meteorologists are not just weather reporters and forecasters. A bachelor’s degree in meteorology or atmospheric science will be of help to take up the career of a meteorologist. Read careers in geology and earth sciences.
Meteorology includes a host of other specializations like –
- Atmospheric – studying atmospheric impacts on earth
- Climate – reviewing historical weather data and forecast climate trends.
- Environmental — working on areas of concern like air pollution, global warming, and ozone depletion.
- Operational— doing research in fields like air pressure, humidity, and wind direction and speed.
- Research — conducting research on definite issues for organizations like the National Weather Service, Environmental Protection Agency, NASA, and the army.
Ethical Hacker
Ethical hackers are IT professionals who are hired to legally hack into companies’ computer and network systems. The job responsibility is to figure out weaknesses in a company’s information technology systems and avert malicious hackers from access. Identified vulnerabilities are reported and recommendations for fixing them are provided by these professionals.
With the boom in technology, ethical hackers are much in demand to help organizations stay safe from unethical and malicious attackers. Protecting private data is now the most critical thing for businesses to survive. Many institutions and online platforms now offer courses in ethical hacking.
Robotics Engineer
Robotics engineering jobs can be both fun and serious. Accomplished robotics engineers are much in demand in industries like aerospace, mining, manufacturing, and medicine. Some such engineers are into building robotic toys, special effects kit, specific robots for manufacturing, or robots used for deep ocean and outer space exploration.
Robotics is also used to automate processes or accomplish something that people cannot do and it is known to increase safety, productivity, and efficiency by using computer-aided design and drafting (CADD) or computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) software.
Job responsibilities are:
- Building robots
- Developing robotic systems
- Designing software that controls robots
- Researching and developing prototypes
- Debugging robotics software
- Installing, calibrating, and repairing robots
- Writing programming codes and algorithms
- Offering technical support for robotic systems
- Integrating robots with other equipment
Video Game Tester
By being a Video Game Tester, one will actually be paid to play video games! They earn a living by playing video games not yet released in the market. Video game developers depend on such professionals in order to test the games. Job responsibilities include careful, detailed attention as one needs to check and make sure that all elements of the game are working properly and that there are no glitches or flaws at any level.
However, there are no academic requirements in becoming a video game tester, experience in working for a development studio can be of help.
Mobile App Developer
Mobile App Developers make apps for Android or iOS devices. To be in this field of app development one needs to think differently and be creative. With more and more people using smartphones, apps are now a raging thing and the demand for app developers is increasing by the day. Remuneration is also handsome.
Acupuncturist
With industry experts predicting a revenue generation of USD 196.87 billion by 2025, the importance of the complementary and alternative medical care market is now globally acknowledged. Increased awareness about the efficacy of alternative medicine, together with the efforts by the governments of a number of countries in improving the reach of medical care are triggering the revenue generation channels. Besides, the high cost of mainstream medicine is further boosting the market, and adoption rates of methods like herbal dietary supplements, yoga and acupuncture are witnessing an all-time high. 60% of the world population is now known to have used some form of traditional medicine.
Acupuncture, a traditional Chinese medicine, which primarily involves the insertion of fine needles on the human skin, is an age-old method of an alternative cure. Acupuncture is a highly skilled discipline and the technicians identify specific points on the body to reinstate balance which in turn helps the body to heal. It is a type of direct contact therapy which enjoys the major share of market revenue of over 70% of the total value.
Acupuncturists start by gauging patients’ health history and making out the existing health issues. This is followed by physical assessments, like checking the patient’s tongue or pulse rate and developing a treatment plan.
Some conditions treated by this method are:
- Back pain
- Digestive issues
- Migraines
- Sleep disorders
- Anxiety, stress, and depression
- Hypertension
- Rheumatoid arthritis
- Addiction
Other unconventional careers –
- Animator
- Web Designer or Developer
- Marketing Specialist
- Fashion Designer
- Hotel Manager
- Graphic Designer
- Interior Designer
- Event Planner
- Counselor
- Cosmetologist
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