sir, i am 43 yrs old, completed my bachelors in Mechanical engg and doctorate from NIT. Presently, working in a private university with research and academic roles and responsibilities. With the interest of students in this domain has gone down drastically during the past few years, can you advice for a change in career like Data science etc as my present ctc is less than 8 lpa

Ans: Even though a career switch from a Doctorate in Mechanical Engineering to Data Science represents a transition that aligns with the growing interdisciplinary nature of modern research and industry I am of the view that you need to build on your years of academic experience in Mechanical Engineering by leveraging your doctorate in Data Science to further your career as a researcher professor in academia by contributing to cutting-edge research, guiding students, and shaping the field through your expertise.
Also explore consulting assignments in companies, especially in engineering and manufacturing, to help them use data science for optimization, predictive maintenance, and process improvement.
By wearing a Data Scientist in Engineering or Manufacturing hat marry your mechanical engineering background with data science skills look for roles that involve analyzing and optimizing engineering processes, designing experiments, and leveraging data for product development.
These are just two out of a host of options that you could explore by helping your university to build strong consulting practice and let your client see value and pay the top dollar. When that happens, the University will find ways to compensate your fairly for your value add.