Some emerging fields of study come with the promise of exciting career growth. Many are associated with computer science and finance, but they are not necessarily a traditional degree in these two subjects. Moreover, only a diploma or certificate in some of these fields can often be enough to launch a career.
Digital marketing is a growing field that accepts people from various backgrounds
“Digital marketing” has become a catchphrase these days. We keep hearing that many businesses were forced to go online during the Covid pandemic in 2020-2022.
But what is digital marketing? It is the strategies that businesses use to promote their products and services in digital spaces – pop-up ads, emails, social media platforms, and blogs. It involves many skills: writing skills, creative and business skills in copywriting and content writing, technical SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) skills, communication skills in email marketing, data analytics, and budget management, among others. SEO is knowing how to optimize a website's content and technical configuration to be more visible in search engine results.
As digital marketing is a new field that is both creative and technical, it is open to people from a wide variety of academic and professional backgrounds. Sure, it helps to have a first degree in marketing itself, but many professional digital marketers have first degrees in languages, the arts, the social sciences, business and IT. So, if you get an open work visa/permit as an expat, i.e., one that allows you to work in any field, you could switch to digital marketing even if your previous employment history isn't in that field. The field also accepts those who don't have a degree but instead have professional certificates combined with relevant work experience.
The industry recognizes the professional certificates awarded by Google, Meta, HubSpot, LinkedIn Learning, BrainStation, Kellogg Executive Education (from Northwestern University's School of Management) and the Digital Marketing Institute (in collaboration with the American Marketing Association). Some of the certificates are introductory and can be taught over a few days, but others are fully-fledged professional qualifications that take months to complete. Of course, they still can be completed 100% online. The longer courses remain more affordable than a degree, as the most professional certificates cost around $US6,000.
If you don't want to take an online course, it's very likely that small business institutes and the continuing education department of universities in your region also offer part-time, in-person digital marketing classes that lead to a certificate.
Digital marketing is one of the fastest-growing fields right now. As previously mentioned, the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the digitization of businesses in all sectors. In the US, the demand for digital marketers is projected to increase by 10% by 2031. In India, the digital marketing market is expected to grow by 30% by 2028, reports the consultancy Expert Market Research. Given its huge population, India has many internet users (around 390 million in 2023), which explains its great need for digital marketing. On LinkedIn, there are nearly 900,000 job openings for digital marketing specialists around the world, which places it among the top 10 in-demand jobs on the platform.
Not only are there many vacancies, including entry-level vacancies for newcomers and those who've changed careers, but there is also amazing potential for growth and for earning high figures in this field. In the US, digital marketers can easily make around US$50,000-$60,000 a year, while the most senior digital marketing managers make close to US$150,000. It's about the same in Canada: the average salary is around CA$50,000-60,000, but as you progress up the managerial ladder in your career, it can climb close to CA$150,000. In India, the average digital marketer makes around Rs 55,000 a month, while senior managers can make around Rs 150,000. In Australia, the average digital marketer makes AU$60,000-90,000 per year, with those earning around AU$90,000 making as much as engineers.
The very digital nature of the job also makes it highly compatible with remote or hybrid work. This makes digital marketing an ideal field for digital nomads and other expats who need flexibility. In any field involving international business, it is useful to know multiple languages and be adept at intercultural communication – skills which expats, by virtue of being expats, often have. This is another reason why digital marketing as a field might be particularly suitable for expats.
Data science and analytics is one of the fastest-growing STEM jobs
“Data science” and “data analytics” are other words that have been making the rounds in the professional world. What exactly do they mean? Data science is a multidisciplinary field that uses mathematics, statistics and computer science (especially artificial intelligence) to analyze large amounts of data in areas such as healthcare, finance, e-commerce and travel. It spots trends and makes predictions, such as predicting spikes and slumps in airline ticket sales.
“Data scientist” and “data analyst” are two different jobs in that field. The work of data scientists is more complex, as it requires more advanced mathematical and programming skills to deal with raw data. They are the ones who first structure that data into predictive modeling processes and machine learning algorithms. Meanwhile, data analysts communicate that data after it's been processed and make business decisions. They also need to handle programming languages, data visualization software, and statistical analysis, but they don't require technical skills that are as advanced as data scientists.
Data scientists usually require a postgraduate degree in data science, information technology, mathematics or statistics. Those without a postgraduate degree first started out as data analysts and then progressed up the career ladder as they gained hands-on skills through their work itself. Meanwhile, the entry requirements for being a data analyst are lower. Prospective data analysts just need an undergraduate degree, preferably in the area of mathematics and technology, but those with finance and social science degrees are often also able to enter the field – provided that they took courses in statistics and programming as part of their degree. For instance, many fresh graduates in political science now become data analysts for policy think tanks.
As data science and analytics are considered STEM fields, they give expats some visa advantages. For instance, international students who study data science in the United States are able to get a 2-year Optional Practical Training (OPT) work permit for STEM graduates rather than the 1-year one for all other graduates.
The US Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts a stunning 35% growth in jobs in that field by 2032, and it states that the median pay for both analysts and scientists is over US$100,000 per annum. The most experienced data scientists make around US$200,000 a year.
Other countries where data scientists and analysts are highly paid are Australia (over US$100,000/year), Canada (over US$90,000/year), Israel, Germany, the Netherlands, Japan, the UK, Italy and France. Y-Axis, the career consultancy for Indian expats, says that data scientists and analysts earn the 80,000 range in Israel and Germany, in the 70,000 range in the Netherlands and Japan, in the 60,000 range in the UK and Italy, and in the 50,000 range in France. These are good destinations for expats in the field.
The need for cybersecurity specialists has grown as cyber-attacks get more sophisticated
The digitalization of businesses and the increasing sophistication of cyberattacks, especially in the field of fintech, has led to a greater need for cybersecurity specialists.
The cryptocurrency trading firm Chainalysis says that ransomware attacks have been increasing at an alarming rate for the past few years and that, as of December 2023, these groups will have extorted $898.6 million from their victims. Thales Group, the French multinational that manufactures electrical systems, also sounds the alarm when it says that 48% of IT professionals reported an increase in ransomware attacks over this year. According to the tech magazine Wired, the Ukraine war has increased these attacks because many prominent ransomware groups are based in Russia.
Last year, the cybersecurity company Fortinet published a “2022 Cybersecurity Skills Gap" report, which details how, globally, 66% of companies are struggling to hire cybersecurity specialists and 52% are struggling to retain them. The countries struggling the most to find or retain these specialists are Brazil, France, the US, Canada, Thailand and Israel. This gives an indication to expats in the field as to which countries they could envisage moving to for a lucrative career. The specific roles experiencing the most labor shortage are cloud security specialists, security operations analysts, security administrators and security architects.
A bachelor's degree in computer science or cybersecurity is generally the most basic requirement for these jobs. On top of that, companies tend to look for certifications as proof of continuous learning in an ever-evolving field. They look for certifications from trade associations like CompTIA and Cisco (e.g., CompTIA Cybersecurity Analyst or CySA+, Cisco Certified Network Professional Security or CCNP).
In developed countries, salaries in this field are rarely under US$70,000 per annum and can be as high as US$200,000. Even in developing countries like Brazil, where salaries are lower, cybersecurity analysts tend to make around US$2,000 per month, which places them in the higher stratum of the upper-middle class.
Furthermore, cybersecurity specialists often get visa advantages. They are officially classified in lists for “critical skills” or “shortage occupations'' in multiple countries like the UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. This makes them eligible for special visas like the Critical Skills Work Visa in South Africa, which allows expats to enter the country without a prior job offer, and the Temporary Skill Shortage visa (subclass 482) in Australia.
