Editor’s note: This article was first published in May 2010. Its predictions about the jobs most in demand in the very near future date from then, and some have not materialized.
New technologies will cause jobs such as shop assistants and customer service staff, and even professionals such as lawyers, architects and economists who fail to modernize and make use of these technologies, to disappear or see their field of work and their client base shrink considerably.
We’ll walk into a shopping center and won’t find a flesh-and-blood shop assistant. Instead we’ll find a robot with far more information at its disposal than any person, one that will even analyze how genuinely interested we are in buying. Shop assistants and cashiers are jobs that will tend to disappear over time.
Here are the 10 jobs that will be most in demand in the very near future:
- Nanomedic: Advances in nanotechnology will make it possible to cure ailments with robots working from inside the body. The field for doctors with advanced technological skills will be immense.
- Avatar specialist: Something out of science fiction that is closer than we think: people will have their own “virtual self”, and there will be virtual professionals such as teachers or customer service staff. Designing and creating these identities will be a highly sought-after job.
- Uranium recycler: In the wake of disarmament, professionals will be needed to turn nuclear warheads into fuel for nuclear power plants. Another job that requires very thorough training.
- Memory augmentation surgeon: It has already been shown that extra memory can be added to our brain through surgery. Will we one day have an external brain with a USB port, like computers do?
- Bioinformatician: A job already in demand today, since these specialists are highly sought after to study genomes and proteins and to develop drugs. They are scientists who combine knowledge of biology and computing.
- Weather modification police: They will be responsible for overseeing activities that alter weather patterns. They will also be in charge of controlling and authorizing the launch of silver iodide rockets to make it rain.
- Transgenic livestock farmer: Like it or not, more and more professionals are needed to produce genetically modified animals.
- Niche-audience journalist: A job for journalism professionals who will create news, entertainment and information tailored to personal needs and interests.
- Global lawyer: As the internet develops, lawyers will be able to advise clients all over the world online and charge for it.
- Space architect: Designs already exist for greenhouses on Mars and colonies on the Moon. Specializing in this field will guarantee you work well into the future.
As we can see, the future is full of new jobs and business opportunities, but it also brings the need to train for them.
Now let’s look at the most in-demand professions by sector:
- Professions with the most future and demand in the environment
- The most in-demand professions in social services
- The most in-demand professions in economics and finance
Further reading
- How to be a successful entrepreneur (part 1)
- How to get financing for my business
- Why do new businesses fail?
Featured image: Sharon Hahn Darlin, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
