Moving away from the beaten path was the biggest trend of 2011. A lot of highly-qualified (think IIT and IIM-A here) and creative people moved away from traditional career choices and did extremely well for themselves.
It started in 2011
Moving away from the beaten path was the biggest trend of 2011. A lot of highly-qualified (think IIT and IIM-A here) and creative people moved away from traditional career choices and did extremely well for themselves.u00a0
For one, young IIT and IIM graduates started their own carbon consulting companies with an initial investment of a few thousand rupees and became the first to tap the over $1 trillion international market potential. Within a year of these companies starting up, these youngsters could boast of having Indian giants such as Pidilite, UB group and Mahindra as their clients.
Secondly, online media became all pervasive, and the boom of social media gave birth to now-ubiquitous social media consultants, social managers and executives.u00a0
These media managers raked in the moolah managing media for corporates, NGOs, artists, brands, politicians, celebrities, etc. Anybody and everybody who matters (or not) now has an online social presence and someone managing their online public profiles for them.u00a0
Lastly, the live music scene in the country saw a huge growth, thanks to the increase in music festivals that were mostly sold out and a spike in the number of international artists visiting the country in 2011. As a result, careers like live music streaming and gig photography have emerged out of this scene. In 2012, as the number of festivals increase and get bigger and audiences and sponsors make their way into the picture, these careers are sure to become big enough for people to consider them as full-time financially viable options.
Big hit in 2012:u00a0Gig photography
There has been an increase in the number of gig photographers in the country. When I started gig photography in Delhi in 2006, I would see maybe two or three photographers documenting a performance. Now, every gig has around 10 photographers. There still isn't a lot of money in the profession, but as the number of music-oriented publications in India go up and the number of music festivals increase simultaneously, the demand for gig photographers is bound to increase. Gig photography has already become a regular feature in the portfolios of a lot of professional photographers and will only grow in the long run.u00a0
ufffd Bobin James, acclaimed gig photographer and Executive Editor of Rolling Stone India u00a0Pic (above) courtesy/ Bobin James
