I'm making this thread in response to someone asking a question on another thread - basically, what industries and careers would be in high demand and be facing rapid growth for years to come:
NUCLEAR
Despite the nuclear catastrophe at Fukushima, nuclear will continue to be a necessity in our world and will continue to experience growth. Current focus in the industry is being directed at disaster prevention and bolstering safety standards for existing plants, but eventually will be redirected towards new construction.
I have a friend who flew to Shanghai with no background in nuclear who, at age 26, is a senior project manager with a nuclear consultancy and brokers multimillion dollar deals between UAE consortiums, Korean construction groups, and Chinese manufacturers. Three years ago he was scraping around for English teaching opportunities.
For all the talk about the switch to renewable energy, oil (and gas) will remain a primary source of energy within our lifetimes. Getting involved in this field in one capacity or another will be a good call no matter how you cut the pie.
I would avoid solar. I've been turning down multiple offers in multiple countries to enter the renewables industry because the industry is heavily based on subsidies. I'm not passionate enough about it to wnt to get into that field anyway.
TELECOMS IN EMERGING MARKETS
A friend of a friend of mine met a director at McKinsey in a SE Asian office in a gogo bar in Indonesia. One thing led to another, and now he is a highly paid analyst for the telecoms industry in SE Asia, with a focus on Indonesia. You think that would EVER happen in New York? HELL NO.
WATER
Water is going to be a huge issue no matter where you are in the world, but particularly in densely populated countries such as Indonesia, China, and India. Skills will be in demand in this area.
Smart Grids, Energy Efficiency, Green Buildings. These will be HUGE. Green buildings in Asia in particular will do well. My former employer, a top 3 global environmental consultancy, is making an aggressive push to become the dominant service provider for LEED services in the entire region. If you can become LEED-certified as a green buildings expert, your skills will be in demand in the US, Europe, Asia, and Latin America.
Energy Efficiency is a no brainer. Cut costs, save energy. This is a broad field that can be applied to many different areas.
Again, I chose these particular industries due to my background in environmental management and engineering. There are many other areas which I would consider high-value and interesting.
MEDICAL TOURISM: I almost got involved in a medical tourism startup before it got really ugly with our potential partners. As healthcare costs skyrocket in developed western countries and standards in places like Thailand, Korea, Colombia, and Mexico continue to meet western standards for 30% of the price, you will see an exodus of westerners flocking to cheaper medical tourism destinations. Especially with the cash-rich and aging baby boomers, which represent some 60-70 million of the US population, medical tourism can only continue to expand.
I strongly suggest you look into the healthcare and medical tourism area. The plethora of different startup opportunities in this field are enormous and mindblowing. If anyone out there with significant tech and/or healthcare experience is interested in discussing this concept with me privately, feel free to message me - but please explain to me your relevant background in this field.
PREVENTATIVE MEDICINE / ORGANIC FOOD AND SUPPLEMENTS:
The focus is beginning to switch from popping pills to healthy living and preventative medicine. I think the fitness field will continue to do well - despite being crowded, this is something that every single person needs, regardless of their demographic.
I look at products like Zumba and P90X and just beam in entrepreneurial admiration. I think it's great that athletes can make fortunes from what they are truly passionate about.
If you can take traditional Asian medicine and rebrand/repackage it in such a way that it's appealing to American/Brazilian/European consumers, you can do well. Acupuncture is experiencing a renaissance of sorts. I was considering importing pu'er tea from Yunnan into the US and branding/packaging it for the US market - but decided that I didn't want to have to deal with Chinese suppliers, or Chinese businesspeople at all.
Hope that helps out some young guns trying to find their way.
And, as always, I suggest you choose an emerging market and become a full blown expat. You will live a much more vivid life.
Opportunities multiply as they are seized.
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NUCLEAR
Despite the nuclear catastrophe at Fukushima, nuclear will continue to be a necessity in our world and will continue to experience growth. Current focus in the industry is being directed at disaster prevention and bolstering safety standards for existing plants, but eventually will be redirected towards new construction.
I have a friend who flew to Shanghai with no background in nuclear who, at age 26, is a senior project manager with a nuclear consultancy and brokers multimillion dollar deals between UAE consortiums, Korean construction groups, and Chinese manufacturers. Three years ago he was scraping around for English teaching opportunities.
For all the talk about the switch to renewable energy, oil (and gas) will remain a primary source of energy within our lifetimes. Getting involved in this field in one capacity or another will be a good call no matter how you cut the pie.
I would avoid solar. I've been turning down multiple offers in multiple countries to enter the renewables industry because the industry is heavily based on subsidies. I'm not passionate enough about it to wnt to get into that field anyway.
TELECOMS IN EMERGING MARKETS
A friend of a friend of mine met a director at McKinsey in a SE Asian office in a gogo bar in Indonesia. One thing led to another, and now he is a highly paid analyst for the telecoms industry in SE Asia, with a focus on Indonesia. You think that would EVER happen in New York? HELL NO.
WATER
Water is going to be a huge issue no matter where you are in the world, but particularly in densely populated countries such as Indonesia, China, and India. Skills will be in demand in this area.
Smart Grids, Energy Efficiency, Green Buildings. These will be HUGE. Green buildings in Asia in particular will do well. My former employer, a top 3 global environmental consultancy, is making an aggressive push to become the dominant service provider for LEED services in the entire region. If you can become LEED-certified as a green buildings expert, your skills will be in demand in the US, Europe, Asia, and Latin America.
Energy Efficiency is a no brainer. Cut costs, save energy. This is a broad field that can be applied to many different areas.
Again, I chose these particular industries due to my background in environmental management and engineering. There are many other areas which I would consider high-value and interesting.
MEDICAL TOURISM: I almost got involved in a medical tourism startup before it got really ugly with our potential partners. As healthcare costs skyrocket in developed western countries and standards in places like Thailand, Korea, Colombia, and Mexico continue to meet western standards for 30% of the price, you will see an exodus of westerners flocking to cheaper medical tourism destinations. Especially with the cash-rich and aging baby boomers, which represent some 60-70 million of the US population, medical tourism can only continue to expand.
I strongly suggest you look into the healthcare and medical tourism area. The plethora of different startup opportunities in this field are enormous and mindblowing. If anyone out there with significant tech and/or healthcare experience is interested in discussing this concept with me privately, feel free to message me - but please explain to me your relevant background in this field.
PREVENTATIVE MEDICINE / ORGANIC FOOD AND SUPPLEMENTS:
The focus is beginning to switch from popping pills to healthy living and preventative medicine. I think the fitness field will continue to do well - despite being crowded, this is something that every single person needs, regardless of their demographic.
I look at products like Zumba and P90X and just beam in entrepreneurial admiration. I think it's great that athletes can make fortunes from what they are truly passionate about.
If you can take traditional Asian medicine and rebrand/repackage it in such a way that it's appealing to American/Brazilian/European consumers, you can do well. Acupuncture is experiencing a renaissance of sorts. I was considering importing pu'er tea from Yunnan into the US and branding/packaging it for the US market - but decided that I didn't want to have to deal with Chinese suppliers, or Chinese businesspeople at all.
Hope that helps out some young guns trying to find their way.
And, as always, I suggest you choose an emerging market and become a full blown expat. You will live a much more vivid life.
Opportunities multiply as they are seized.
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