Every Indian kid has been mentally injected the two primary career options after high school - one was to become a doctor and the other an engineer.

Even commerce and accounting stood a distant third.  The school curriculum was also structured to push you into one of these categories. Even a budding M.F Hussain was forced to relegate that to a hobby and follow the crowd. 

However changing times and uncertainties in the primary career options are giving way to new and offbeat career choices that replace precision and accuracy with creativity and imagination, a talent that can be mechanized. Now the attitude of both parents and schools have changed and the options are endless for a student. No one is shying away from dreaming big and different. Individual interests and skills have actually started to matter.

So, let us look at some offbeat lucrative career options available today for your child.

Relationship Therapists

The profession has already made its mark in the west and with Indians now gasping for some air between relationships and work, it is soon going to be a lucrative career option and agony aunts by hobby are surely going to shine.

Couples counselors focus on several areas to help couples repair their relationship. They diagnose relationship problems (as well as individual psychological issues that may be contributing to these problems); create treatment plans to treat those relationship problems; explore the dynamics involved in these problems and their causes (including past issues that may influence the present); and create new, more positive relationship experiences for couples. For example, many couples’s counselors teach communication skills to help repair current relationship problems and address future problems that may arise.

Salary range: Rs 30,000 to Rs 1 lakh a month

Digital Architect

With the changing roles of the software engineer, a digital architect is a step ahead in dealing with high-end technology and Bid Data. An enterprise architect is required to shape solutions for clients and provide the delivery of it.

The role is necessary for integration, ERP, SCM, e-commerce, etc. A digital architect must know Java: Servlets, JSF, Spring, JUnit, Hibernate, Log4j or another logging framework. This skillset is evolving to add understanding Design Patterns, XP, NET, Java/J2EE or similar industry standards.

Salary range: Rs 45-60 lakh a year in salary after a brief experience.

SEO Analyst

A recent study says that Search Engine Optimization is the most important tool for generating leads today and will remain a crucial marketing channel for acquiring new customers. As per this study, more companies are going to invest their marketing budget in SEO. This will generate more demand for SEO professionals in India.

While the main job is to read between the lines of your Google search and internet surfing, these professionals graduate from content writing or social media.

Salary range: Rs 30,000 to Rs 1 lakh a month.

Technical Writer

So, you are a gadget freak and you have a mind that turns on the magic of all the new mobile phones, computers and laptops, and software applications that are introduced in the market, this must be your career choice. As technology is growing at a rocket pace, a writer who understands technology and makes it comprehensible to rest is important. While writers and content writers are one thing, technical writers are completely different. They also write but their focus is mostly on technicalities related to an IT firm or programming company. For companies specializing in technology like Adobe, Oracle, and similar brands, a technical writer is a must.  

Salary range: Rs 50,000 to Rs 1.7 lakh a month

Growth Hacker

Growth hackers are becoming a thing in the world of startups where entrepreneurs are on an experimenting spree.  A growth hacker has a cross-functional role where they work closely with the marketing team, the sales team, the engineering department and the product management team. If you really want to give growth hackers a department, give them the Growth department. Growth hacking is a process of rapid experimentation across marketing channels and product development to identify the most effective, efficient ways to grow a business. Growth hacking refers to a set of both conventional and unconventional marketing experiments that lead to the growth of a business.

Salary range: Rs 60,000 to Rs 3 lakhs a month

There is a growing focus on achieving learning outcomes in the education sector. With the advent of digitally enabled classrooms, cloud-based content, ebooks and online assessments, these career choices will break the barriers of conventional careers and make a place for the new emerging ones.