The younger generation entering the workforce today wants to pursue the experiences, passions, and ambitions they dream of, while also recognising that financial stability plays a major role in turning those dreams into reality. However, the pay scale offered to freshers in India is often far below their growing needs and aspirations. To cope with the gap between salaries, lifestyle expectations, and personal dreams, many young people in India are turning towards ‘portfolio careers’.
A portfolio career is a flexible working model in which an individual manages multiple income streams simultaneously, such as freelancing, consulting, part-time jobs, creative projects, or entrepreneurial ventures, instead of depending on a single full-time employer.
Aflah Al Zaman, Chief Marketing Officer of Desgro Media International, balances multiple creative roles, including freelance anchoring, social media strategy, and theatre workshops. “In the creative industry, it’s difficult to earn enough through just one job,” says Aflah, adding that theatre is something he continues purely out of passion.
Similarly, Maria, a digital marketing trainer who also runs a small food stall in Kochi, says her side venture gives her more freedom. “Even though we haven’t started earning huge numbers yet, it has helped me manage expenses more efficiently and given me more freedom of choice,” she says.
Building across careers and fields at the same time
Young professionals managing multiple careers often say the experience has helped them become more adaptable and confident. Twenty-six-year-old entrepreneur Jiju Mathai Chacko says that after studying aviation, he explored web development, digital marketing, and creative writing before eventually starting his own food processing company, Zeed Fresh. “I was never interested in limiting myself to just one field. I always wanted to explore everything that genuinely interested me,” says Jiju.
Sneha, a Kerala-based PR professional and lifestyle content creator, believes handling multiple responsibilities helped her grow professionally at a young age. “Every role teaches me something different. Content creation helped me build confidence and a personal brand, while PR gave me professional exposure and stability,” she says. For many in Gen Z, creative freedom matters as much as career growth, with digital platforms making it easier to monetise hobbies.
The challenges behind the lifestyle
Despite the glamour often associated with freelancing and digital careers, portfolio careers come with significant challenges. Managing multiple responsibilities can become mentally and physically exhausting, especially when work starts affecting personal relationships and health. “The biggest challenge is balancing work with personal time and relationships,” says Jiju, who has been managing multiple responsibilities since the age of 16. Aflah also admits that maintaining work-life balance remains difficult.
“I don’t get enough family time or relationship time, and I rarely get to hang out with friends because work keeps taking priority,” he says.
Time management, burnout, and the pressure to constantly stay active online are common concerns among young professionals. Maria says people often struggle to understand unconventional careers because they go against social norms. Sneha echoes a similar view, saying many people fail to realise the amount of discipline and consistency required to sustain such lifestyles. Nevertheless, this model may gradually become less of an exception and more of a new normal for the next generation.