By the end of the next decade, the top ten in-demand jobs are going to be ones that weren’t heard of at the beginning of this century.

In a lecture in 1907 George Bernard Shaw said, “I want to be thoroughly used up when I die, for the harder I work the more I live. I rejoice in life for its own sake. Life is no ‘brief candle’ to me. It is a sort of splendid torch which I have got hold of for the moment; and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to future generations.”

Read that quote again and if possible aloud. This has been a horrendous year especially for the class of 2009 who till not very long ago saw themselves embarking on successful careers as soon as they graduated. The definition of success is of course open to all sorts of interpretation and the conventional connotations are falling apart as every moment passes by. While, as humans we have an inherent need for stability which conventional careers maybe able to provide, it is time for the more intrepid and adventurous amongst the young to think out-of-the-box and consider careers in new and emerging fields of development. So, what are these new alternate career options and will those who choose to go down these less trodden paths become Shaw’s metaphorical “splendid torches” of life?

By the end of the next decade, the top ten in-demand jobs are going to be ones that weren’t heard of at the beginning of this century. The current crop of students will need to be primed for jobs that do not exist, as yet, which maybe to solve problems that we haven't been faced with, as yet, using technologies that haven't been invented yet. So investment banking is probably not going to be a hot career to pursue, although the world may need several smart minds to solve the problems created, aided and abetted by the current crop of banking professionals.

The key sources of global conflict and unrest that will arise over the next few decades will be water, air, energy, waste generation, health, ocean wealth and who knows maybe even territories in outer space. Every such challenge we face is associated with numerous opportunities to not only “fix the problem” but also to generate massive economic value through employment creation and wealth generation.

So what are the career options that young people on the threshold of their professional lives can pursue and build meaningfully? The current spectrum of clean and green career opportunities is already quite broad and this is expected to expand significantly in the next 5 to 10 years, with increasing depth in each one of the specialised fields that make up the spectrum. Some of the more popular and visible ones are those associated with:

a. Meeting clean energy demand – Alternative/ Renewable Energy, Energy Efficiency, Carbon Markets (this in itself is a vast field which breaks down into several areas of specialization)

b. Waste management and recycling

c. Climate change, global warming and geological impact

d. Water – Security, Efficiency, Harvesting and Resource Management

Careers in each one of these fields involve traditional fields of study and research such as Economics, Political Sciences, Mathematics, Statistics, Applied Sciences and Technology as well as several cross disciplinary approaches to applying such conventional knowledge and skills to these new challenges that humanity is confronted with.

Some of these cross-disciplinary fields could be very exciting to pursue, involving high quality work, with continuous and fascinating learning opportunities resulting in a very rewarding career and needless to say a life of purpose. Here are a few that I can think of which will give you a flavour of some of the available and emerging fields:

Environmental Law

The legislation and application of necessary local and international laws governing the conservation of natural resources such as water, wildlife, forests, marine life, technology, complex global treaties, international protocols and sharing of responsibility between nations across the globe.

Fund raising for Clean and Green Initiatives

The variety of organization working in this space - NGOs, startups, large corporations, governments to name a few - need to be patiently and steadily funded in order to achieve their objectives. Fundraising is a critical and unique activity in a space that has multiple competing and sometimes conflicting objectives which may not always be based on the cold rationale of financial returns and the understanding of risk maybe constrained by the limited understanding of the. Regardless of the means through which funds are raised – donations, grants, endowments or well defined financial instruments – there is always the need for professionals to formulate strategy, manage the process and maintain accountability in fund raising, disbursement, use of funds, measurement of impact and reporting.

Environmental and Resource Economists

The fields of Environmental Economics, Ecological Economics and Natural Resource Economics are inter-related and involve the cross disciplinary study of the economic effects of global, national or local environmental policies, practices, application of technology, social factors and natural phenomena across the world. Some of the areas of study and application of knowledge and techniques include the costs and benefits of alternative environmental policies to deal with pollution, consumption of natural resources, sustainability, and social dimensions of health, hygiene, security, education and equity and justice.

These are merely a few of the opportunities on the spectrum and there are several more which involve deep technical expertise and knowledge. If I’ve been able to evoke enough interest on this subject, take a look the various jobs available in this space in India at www.envindia.com, or visit www.stopdodo.com which is a global portal for environmental jobs and resumes.

So is the career you’ve chosen or the career you’re about to embark on indeed your calling. Will you be able to look back many years from now and I lived a life of purpose and enjoyed the journey which was filled with many moments with great pride and satisfaction and sense of fulfilment. I can only ask the question.