Trump or no Trump, Indian jobseekers, especially male candidates desire to become an engineer – despite the sudden gloom in the IT sector. About 30% male jobseekers dream of becoming an engineer, while an equal percentage of female jobseekers want to be either doctor or join the medical profession. This came out from the TimesJobs study which tries to understand the deeper insights of what professionals desire as their ‘dream job’. The study was conducted with inputs from over 1,100 jobseekers. 

Nearly 25% male jobseekers want to be a doctor/medical professional, 20% want to be IT professionals, 15% would like to become chartered accountants and 10% are keen to become lawyers.

For female jobseekers, besides the eagerness for becoming a doctor/medical professional, 25% want to be chartered accountants, 20% would like to be IT professionals, 15% want to become engineers and 10% would like to be part of the HR domain.

India emerged as the clear winner of the dream destination for jobseekers looking for aspirational career opportunities. Almost 60% of jobseekers see getting their dream job in India and only about 40% seek their dream jobs abroad.

The study clearly shows that there is a tremendous opportunity for companies to leverage the massive latent ambition, that lies dormant in Indian working professionals. Those companies which can tap into this passion and harness this energy will find they are able to grow exponentially, and remain miles ahead of the competition,” says Nilanjan Roy, Head of Strategy, Times Business Solutions.

IT, Manufacturing and Healthcare are Industries of Choice

With the exponential growth opportunities and hefty compensation packages offered it is no surprise that nearly 35% jobseekers state the IT industry as their dream sector. This is followed closely by an equal preference for the healthcare (30%) and manufacturing (30%) sectors which offer job security and stable growth.

Nearly 25% jobseekers want to be in telecom industry, and another 25% are interested in joining the auto sector. BFSI is the choice of 20% jobseekers, while 16% seek opportunities in the logistics sector. Nearly 15% jobseekers pick retail industry and another 15% choose the ITeS/BPO sector. For 10% jobseekers, consumer durables/FMCG is the dream sector, finds the TimesJobs survey.

Miles to Go

Despite their aspirations, 55% of professionals say they are currently not working in their ‘dream role’.   Interestingly, while most don’t see their current role as the ‘dream profile’, 70% still consider the industry they are currently working in as their ‘dream sector’.

Even then, only 30% feel they are currently working in their ‘dream company’ while the rest still aspire to join their dream companies.

Of the 30% professionals working in their ‘dream company’, 60% claim they changed between 3-5 jobs to finally land a job in their dream company. Nearly 20% jobseekers said they changed 2-3 jobs and 15% changed more than 5 jobs. Only 5% say they could join their dream company in their first job.

Of the 70% of jobseekers who haven’t been able to get a job in their dream company yet, 75% say they are still looking out for opportunities in the company of their dreams, while 25% say they have given up on the idea.