Dual specialisation has not just made the corporate entry options much easier, but it offers learners the advantage of selecting the topic of their interest while pursuing a fellowship or post-doctorate programme, says Kuldeep Surolia

The factor of permanency is a long lost story from the working scenario of today’s professional walk. The corporate world has now walked into a domain where the success pattern of an industry is not just decided by the relationship shared amongst its demand and supply aspects but also gets derived from the intense wave of influence brought in by time, that is subject to change constantly. The 80s was the decade marked by the rise of medical and civil engineering careers, 90s brought in the boom of IT and Management graduates.

The early years of the 21st century were quite fertile for the real estate and retail professionals to grow, and then came a great swarm in the education sector. Presently, it is the genre of AI and Robotics having an upper hand in the job market. Considering the rapidly changing times, mastery in a single profession won’t guarantee career growth, so as to assure not landing in a career crisis possess degrees and skills in dual work domains.

Era of Multitaskers

Employers are always looking for an option offering the required efficiency level at the least possible expense and usage of resources. But in reality, for the welfare of the organisation, the recruiters had to either compromise with the employee’s skills and knowledge level or otherwise had to flush out a hefty budget. Thankfully, with the onset of dual specialisation in professional courses, employers are on the beneficial end and are getting what they required since ages, ie, expertise in all trades at the least of expense.

The benefits of this double-edged sword are not just restricted to the employers but are working in favor of employees, too. They have opened up colossal avenues of career opportunities that the solo programmes weren’t able to offer ever before. For instance, in today’s digital era, if a candidate has a specialisation degree in Public Relations & Digital Marketing, then he/she stands capable of many bright career prospects than their counterparts. Similarly, degrees in Retail & E-commerce, Hospitality and Hospital Management, Journalism and Mass Communication, HR and Industrial Relations and IT & Electronics attract many more recruiters than the conventional single subject specialisation.

Going with the Trend

Engineering and technology colleges of most of the developed countries are coming together with the Schools of Arts and Humanities to offer joint programmes with the specialised knowledge of both the sectors. Such courses have enabled the students to grab better opportunities to pursue their passions and have an extra edge over the competitors. Though this concept is at its nascent stage in India, the educationists with global vision have already adopted it and are quite successful in giving momentum to the careers of many new learners. Dual specialisation has not just made the corporate entry options much easier, but has also offered the learners with the advantage of selecting the topic of their respective interest while pursuing a fellowship or post-doctorate programme.

Gain More, Spend Less

Indians have had this concept of considering the students with a study background in foreign colleges and universities much more productive in work as compared to those studying in their own country. Every year, on an average, more than $7 billion gets flushed out from the pockets of Indian families to get their kids enrolled in foreign universities. While opting for study abroad options both parents and students need to be extremely careful as there are many B and C grades colleges in America and Europe that are easy to get into both financially and academically, but have lost their charm in India. In contrast, a dual degree from any reputed college of India has better probabilities of ensuring long-term benefits in the professional module as compared to the ones with a foreign study background. So, why to waste the hard-earned bucks of your respective families in something that doesn’t guarantee success, instead go for the professional courses with dual- specialisation to stay ahead in the stiff career war of the 21st century.

Securing the Job in Crisis

The corporate world lies vulnerable to uncertainties; from recession to changing market trends, political instability to natural calamity and availability of resources to trading internationally, any sudden change is enough to disrupt the growth of any particular industry.

The global economic recession of 2008 brought great downfall to India’s textile, fashion, and real estate industries. It was the year when employers were compelled to downsize their workforce to curb the incurred losses, making many unemployed overnight. Several switched the industries, but others weren’t able to do the same as the relevance of their qualifications was restricted to one particular industry.

Taking a clue from the global economic recession of 2008, people need to understand that catering to a particular industry won’t be enough, and it is only flexibility to switch industry that can save their professional career from drowning. And to stand a chance to easily switch industries even in the times of recession, one needs to opt for dual degrees that make them eligible for multiple sectors at the same time.

Upward Growth

Amongst all the resources, dealing and getting the best out of human resources is the toughest task for the organisation heads to do, and this is the reason why company prefers investing in high-end machines and resources to minimise their manpower and ensure fewer conflicts. In such a situation, dual specialisation makes a person a benefitting human resource for an organisation and is not only offered better salary packages but is also able to garner more incentives and hikes than others in the race for promotion.

In every professional organization, HR heads evaluate the employees on two standard criterions, with one being professional performance, other being the educational background. Eventually, the ones with dual degrees have an upper hand here, too and are leading to their professional growth at a pace double to the single degree holders.

The writer is Director, Academics, Sorsfort International School.