There are often times in life, when one starts to think about the future in a more proactive way than normal; this is something that a large chunk of youth is doing at the moment. “I want to make a difference”-Even though it sounds clichéd, this is what they all want to do–contribute to make a difference. The next question would automatically be, “How”? To that end their aim is towards creating better future, by improving quality of life for people.

The age old ritual in many societies such as Indian Society, of becoming either a doctor or an engineer, is getting blurred in this era. The rat race for getting admissions in prestigious IITs and IIMs is gradually taking a sharp turn in the opposite direction, towards getting admission in Social Sciences’ courses like Social Work, Sociology, Human Rights and Development Studies.

Moreover, nowadays the competition to bag a seat in such courses is getting more and more strenuous. This shows that the demand of such courses is getting higher and higher. Initially the fight for odds to set a base in development sector was a common practice, especially for the ones with a vision to be a driver of the change in society. But the scenario has changed now. Development sector: the contemporary age mantra has become a full fledged career option, and people have started travelling on this road which was once less travelled.

Youth is the biggest resource of a nation and now they want to contribute to the society of which they are an important part. They want to contribute to the betterment of the society.

No matter how meager their contribution is, but still they want to be a part of this development process. Gradually they have started believing in living for a cause. And as this sector grows in its size and stature, the youth are also expected to contribute towards its increasing professionalization.

The sector looks enticing to the youth since there are no water-tight compartments in such related organizations, which further allows inter domain learning for them.

Today, development sector has emerged out as an unconventional option amongst the youth worldwide. More and more people are heading towards a career in this third sector. A large number of senior corporate professionals, coming from diverse backgrounds, are forfeiting their lucrative corporate base to get associated with social or development sector. The scenario is so, majorly due to the multiplicity of work opportunity this sector is offering. The sector is often referred to as non-profit sector, since their ultimate objective is to support welfare projects by giving impetus to sustainable development in cultural, economic, social, environmental and political issues on which they work upon.

Civil Society Organizations like Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs) are playing an integral role in development activities. The issues these NGOs are catering vary from Gender to Environment, Health to Governance, Rural to Urban, Social Inclusion to Migration, Policy formulation to its implementation and so on. And hence the scope for development professionals is getting vast day by day.

The sector is already offering a plethora of opportunities to individuals, with right skills and expertise in any specific area, which did not exist fifteen to twenty years back from now. The growth of this sector has been quite staggering over the past decade and is likely to grow by leaps and bounds.

The sector being a cause driven sector respects and appreciates Passion, and unlike any other sector there is a wide scope of being connected even after leaving the job. The culture of maintaining one-to-one relationship between work and designation, is also missing in this sector. This aspect is further alluring a lot of people towards development sector. The work environment is conducive, with an element of gender sensitivity involved in it. And lastly, one tends to get exposure to the overall project at very early stage of one’s career, which further boosts up their professional confidence.

So if you are eager in contributing towards a better tomorrow, by being the change agents, and you wish to transform somebody’s life, then development sector is the place to be in.