10 OFFBEAT JOBS YOUR PARENTS WOULD NEVER UNDERSTAND

Thirteen, of course is a thrifty number, because when it comes to Indian parents, if it isn't engineering or medicine, it doesn't exist. Here’s a look at thirteen career options that you just won’t be able to explain to your parents (but are awesome nonetheless) :

1...Celebrity Manager :

Yes, it is a legitimate profession and no, it doesn't involve just schmoozing with celebs all day. Celebrity managers play an instrumental role in shaping a celeb’s identity in the media and the fact that it involves hobnobbing with celebrities doesn’t make it any less legitimate.

2...Social Media Manager :

Given the amount of importance attached to a brand’s presence in the virtual world, it hardly comes as a surprise that social media managers have quickly risen in importance in the career stakes. Good luck though explaining to your parents that you can actually get paid for spending the whole day on Facebook.

3...Wildlife Photographer :

You might not be able explain the thrill of capturing wild beasts, in all their magnificent glory, to your folks but we’re hoping the immense fulfillment and adrenaline rush suffices!

4...Yoga Instructor :

With a population that is increasingly growing fitness conscious, yoga instructors are ruling the career roost, but trying to get people to understand a profession that doesn't involve formalized qualifications will require all of your deep-breathing exercises, and then some.  

5...Tattoo Artists :

On a scale of 1 to Alok Nath, depending on how conservative your parents are, you can expect a tantrum on your hands when you announce that something as unconventional as inking tattoos on various parts of your clients’ anatomy is your chosen career line.

6...Sommeliers :

Tasting and getting paid to test wine may sound like the dream job, but prepare to spend the next decade trying to get people to pronounce it right and the decade after that, explaining that it is indeed a legitimate job.

7...Voice-Over Artist :

Just as well that voice over artists are adept at mimicking a wide variety of voices, because it will require all the tones you know, (and more often than not, the placatory one) when the question of what you do for a living is thrown up at family dinners.

8...Game Testers :

It's difficult to justify a job that involves doing something your folks have been vehemently trying to get you to stop doing ever since you were a child. But nothing really matches the joy of acing that latest game entrant!

9...Personal Shoppers :

If shopping (And spending other people’s money) is your thing, a career as a personal shopper will put you right on the path to self-actualization but you’ll probably end up spending the rest of your mortal life in eternal fear of ‘Sharmaji kya sochenge’ when he finds out that your chosen career path involves something as frivolous as shopping. Consider yourself warned.

10...Graphic Designer :

The job of a graphic designer involves tremendous intricacy and imagination, but announcing that you've decided to make web design as your profession will hold as much weight with your parents as telling them that you've decided to take up a career in doodling.

You might not be able to explain these jobs to your folks but rest assured that nothing beats the thrill and passion of pursuing #OffbeatJobs!