It is estimated that shortly, more than half of the existing professions will disappear, and others will be difficult to recognize. That’s mainly due to dynamically progressing computerization and digitization, but not only. The emerging jobs are also, in no small degree, determined by the development of social media, climate change, and even pop culture.
Dynamic situation on the labor market
In the changing situation of the labor market, flexibility, and the ability to adapt quickly have never been so needed. Today, you continuously need to acquire new skills and participate in subsequent training. More and more fields require combining competences and knowledge from various industries. Soon, it will be important not only to be able to combine skills and knowledge from various fields but also to independently shape one’s professional career.
Flexibility and ability to adapt have never been so needed on the labor market
Agile work methods and flexible forms of employment will become essential. The employee will be more attached to projects or an assumed goal, and less to a position or an institution. The linear career path will transform (also within one company) into a professional life based on the implementation of many diverse projects. Fewer and fewer people are surprised by the fact that it is possible to be, for example, a graphic designer, copywriter, photographer, and programmer at the same time.
Education, what’s next?
Referring to the above, a question arises: what should young people learn at present to find a job that is satisfying in the future? According to data from the University of Oxford, in the future over 60% of children will work in jobs that have not yet been created. In the same time 47% of current professions will disappear from the labor market in the next 20 years.
Over 60% of children will work in jobs that have not yet been created
Since it is already known that completely new skills will be necessary, can we prepare our children to perform professions that do not yet exist? The current approach to education may not be able to meet the changing needs of the labor market. The hitherto conception of education is no longer translated into reality. Therefore, it is necessary to create a new teaching standard and disseminate the concept of so-called “lifetime learning”, i.e., lifelong studies.
A 2018 PwC report says that in the UK over the next 20 years, the number of people employed in the healthcare and social work sector may increase by up to a million. At the same time it predicts a decline in employment in the production sector by as much as 25%.
So, what occupations will we be working in soon?
Although it is uncertain about all of these, experts predict some opportunities and have the following visions:
Personal Digital Curator
New content flows into the Internet and other media channels, which scope of knowledge and a content arrangement is almost impossible for an ordinary person. A personal digital curator is someone who should advise on shaping our private life and professional career online. As a result, it helps people manage their life e-image. The specialist looks at content in a given subject area and pulls out items that seem most valuable to those interested. At the same time, it eliminates the less valuable ones.
Nostalgist
Nostalgist brings memories to life. It’s someone who combines the competences of an interior designer with a carer of seniors, or even a therapist and history researcher. This person helps the elderly to create their homes or apartments in a way that they are corresponding to the people’s past. Instead of a standard retirement home, pensioners of the future will be able to live in a space inspired by their old memories.
Garbage Designer
No, this is not someone who is bad at designing. There is a need for designers who can create things from rubbish, i.e., from what we have thrown away. The task of the garbage designer is to find a new use for already used materials. Sometimes also to redesign the entire company so that its products are easy to process for others. From the beginning, he can also design items from recyclable materials that can be easily recycled after use to gain a second life. Raw materials should be quickly broken down into harmless chemical compounds. Because trash designers are a task for the future – their concept is to live in a more environmentally friendly way.
Simplicity Designer
It is expected that in 10–15 years, we will be less and less working in the office, or rather at home or traveling on various types of projects that will continuously change.
The simplification expert will help companies simplify their operation in both human and procedural terms. In other words, they deal so to say with flattening the hierarchy in companies – because the flat structure makes the company function better, communication is more efficient, and employees are more involved. Then, each of them has a sense of proactivity in the company.
Healthcare Navigator
If we take into account the fact of an aging society (in a few years, 65% of people will be over 60), then the services market will be essential. Pensioners will need different kinds of help, not only in medicine or rehabilitation but also in everyday functioning.
Aging society means that in a few years, 65% of people will be over 60
A healthcare advisor is a personal help in navigating complex healthcare systems. The specialist must be able to identify patients’ physical, emotional, and cultural needs and help them gain access to resources that meet their needs. This person supposed to show a close understanding of such people and build good relations with them; help break down barriers in the quality of healthcare, as well as help in insurance, transport, etc. To be able to navigate well in the system, the professional must cooperate with both patients as well as healthcare providers and social partners.
Digital Death Manager
Our death is as bleak as it is inevitable. However, because we live more and more often via the Internet, it is more important than ever to provide someone with access to digital accounts when we will be gone. The Digital Death Manager is a person whose task will be to terminate our online presence – fully or partially. This applies to both removing traces of our actions which we would like to disappear from the network and closing profiles after the death of their users.
Tele-surgeon
Probably in the future it will really shake the world. The tele-surgeon will operate on patients remotely, from a distance, using robotic tools instead of hands. They will be particularly useful in remote areas where there may not be sufficient healthcare.
Robot counselor
By 2030, robots will be a standard in many homes, helping us cook and clean. Robot advisors will observe family lifestyles, and habits to help them choose the right robot for their needs.
Rewilder
It will conduct one of the most distinguished careers of the future. These days they would be called farmers. However, their future role will be to harvest crops in a much more efficient way, for example, in skyscraper’s greenhouses or vertical farms. They will also do vital work to reverse damage to our environment.
Animal migration expert
Climate change is damaging animal habitats. We will need animal migration experts in the future. They will create for them new living spaces, and homes so that animals can continue to develop; these experts could even save species from extinction.
Galactic architect
Space exploration rushes further than ever. Soon there will be a demand for buildings and vehicles that can cope with extreme temperatures and radiation on other planets and even asteroids (who says we won’t live on Mars until 2030). Galactic architect is not just one of the best sounding futuristic professions of the future. Even today one can think about designing and creating all living structures to withstand the conditions in space.
Sources:
❖ Frey C., Osborne M., “The Future of Employment”, Oxford, 2013
❖ CNBC – “Artificial intelligence will create more jobs than it destroys PwC says”
❖ Mapa Karier – interaktywne narzędzie doradztwa zawodowego
