What are the top career fields to watch this year?

If you intend to pursue an ideal career doing the trick for the years to come, consider reading this article until the very end. On the one hand, finding an ideal career requires a thorough soul searching; on the other, you have to consider the prevailing trends as well. Be conversant with the job openings offering ample growth opportunities.

Coming across the ideal career can be a bane, but if you have sound knowledge of the market trends up your sleeves, then you can decide a career serenely. If you are hoping 2013 will pave the way for you to enjoy a sound career, then you must have knowledge about the careers to watch out for in 2013. Following are 10 of them:

1. Software development

Software development has been around for decades, and it is here to stay for a long, long time. The only catch is, you will have to adapt to changes quickly and be ready to embrace new technology. With technology on a high these days, software engineers are enjoying hefty profits working for various applications, and of late, mobile device-related applications. Becoming a software developer can be the ideal pick, provided you have the necessary expertise and passion to get the job done. The continuous expansion of systems and technology can pave the way for thousands of new job openings for the software developers. Last year in 2012, Software Engineer was named as the best job in the US. 

2. Social media marketing

Digital marketing has been swiftly and furiously overtaking the conventional marketing in the recent years, and at the crux of it, say hello to social media marketing. Effective social media marketing strategy engage users, readers and followers, and ultimately enhance branding and positioning. The likes of Facebook and Twitter have become a powerful weapon in marketing; most major companies, if not all, have resigned to the fact that without social media marketing, their products, services and branding are doomed to perish.

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Up to 50 thousand petrol station workers, mainly foreigners may lose their job with the implementation of the minimum wage, beginning this month. Owners of the affected stations are in pressure to find replacement and may have to look for self-serving alternative in sustaining their business.

The minimum salary has been decided at RM900. This is higher than what most of them are getting now, which is between RM600 and RM700 monthly.

Currently, there are about 3,000 petrol stations set up by a number of major upstream oil operators across Malaysia.

Foreign workers are normal sightings these days in Malaysia not only in petrol stations but a wide range of other businesses including restaurants, hotels, cleaning services, security and construction. Many Malaysian employers prefer foreign workers for a number of reasons. These include lower salary demand and low turnover.

The foreign maid service has also seen a drastic drop in the number of workers working in this country. In 2008, there were more than 300,000 foreign maids in Malaysia, but the number decreased dramatically to only about 130,000 today. Other than salary, mistreatment of maids by the Malaysian employers has become a hot issue in the recent years. Neighboring country Indonesia has decided to put a freeze on their maid hiring until 1 December 2011.

Do you think the petrol station service will be disrupted with this job loss?

Year 2013 has come and you might have outlined some of your career plans for the year. Hopefully, most, if not all of these plans will translate to positive outcomes. One of the many things that could be of your thought—many would not see this coming though—is to quit your job in year 2013.

Quitting a job does not necessarily mean a bad thing, especially when you are moving to something that promises you much more. After all, gone were the days where people work for a company for a life. At some point of time, you will need to make a move. Only time will tell.

Nevertheless, before you submit your resignation letter, here is what you should do first:

Validate your reason

By now, you should have established your reason (or reasons) for quitting. It is time to justify and validate them. Some may be valid. Some may not. Remember, circumstances of your move can make or halt your career growth. So thread carefully here.

Are you being approached for a better opportunity? Are you relocating? Are personal conflicts in office getting in your way and hindering your growth? Did you make a bad career move last year and now seeking ways out? Do you have problems with your current boss? Or rather, do you hate your job now and want to try something else altogether?

Did you gain anything from gain current job?

Moving on to another job will be good if you have maximized your exposure in your current organization. Did that happen? A worker who stays on for a couple of years (e.g., between 3 and 5 years) would have learned a significant and valuable experience, and a move now can be timely. Of course, this does not apply if you inadvertently made a mistake in your move last year and now you are looking for a get-out act.

It will also be imperative that you do not burn bridges with your network in the current organization. This is especially important if you are staying in the same industry. As you grow, chances are, you will be meeting the same people again in a few years time. So maintain good relationship with your current network.

Assess your next move

It is critical to assess your next move, i.e., where you are heading. Have you made all the due diligences before reaching this decision? Salary is one of the key factors people consider when making a move but that’s not all. You will need to assess all other aspects that include environment, the company’s prospects, the people you will be working with, responsibilities, growth opportunities and so on.

Talk to people you trust on your plan to quit your job; they can be people from the same industry or totally unrelated. See or hear things from different angles and perspectives, you might be surprised to hear what you have to hear. What you think is true might not be shared with others, so you can weigh your judgment better.

One thing for sure, if you are resigning from your job without a job offer in hand (for various reasons), expect a tough ride when you are ready to be employed again.

Quitting your job can be an exhilarating or traumatic undertaking depending on what’s in the offering before you. So, take your time to thoroughly appraise all the pros and cons before finalizing your move.

In a recently conducted research, PwC, one of the Big 4 accounting firms, was named Top Graduate Employer for year 2012 in Malaysia.

The research was conducted by the GTI Media Asia, a publisher of graduate-related information and trendence, a Europe-based research outfit that specializes in employer branding and positioning.

In the study, more than 10,000 students and fresh graduates were said to have participated in the ranking of Malaysia’s Leading Graduate Employer. The survey was done online for a period of five months.

PwC or PricewaterhouseCoopers, is an international professional services firm with global headquarter in London, United Kingdom. It is currently ranked as the largest firm in professional services category by revenues. It is also the largest company among the Big 4 firms.

Ernst & Young, Maybank, KPMG and AirAsia were runner up, third and fourth, respectively.

This is the third year in a row PwC winning the award.