Editor’s note: This article was first published in October 2013, as a forecast for 2020, a year that has since passed. Its predictions, including McKinsey’s graduate shortage, growth in tech-related therapists and booming green businesses, are 2013 projections, and its references to this crisis and current cuts mean 2013.
Although it’s hard to predict the future, anyone about to invest in a business or choose a degree should try to work out which businesses will be booming, so as not to waste time and to play it as safe as possible. Where is the economy heading? Where are industries going?
Experts agree that the business world is changing faster than ever these days, driven by globalization and digital technology.
Remember that when working out which business or job suits you, one of the requirements, besides passion, is that there is demand for it. US News analyzed a comprehensive body of data to try to predict which industries can provide good jobs and good salaries, as well as a working future and, with it, a variety of business opportunities for new entrepreneurs.
The booming industries that will create the most jobs
(Read: Business opportunities in Spain)
The consulting firm McKinsey & Company says a university degree is still worth having, and predicts that by 2020 there will be a shortage of college graduates, so employers will try to recruit the best-trained workers.
Here are the 10 fields to keep in mind for business and careers.
1. Computer engineering
Software development will be one of the most profitable and in-demand businesses in the near future. Technology keeps advancing and changing, to the point that even in investing and finance the best software engineers are working with leading firms to build all kinds of high-speed trading software (high-frequency trading) that gives them a competitive edge in the markets.
2. Selling software to businesses
Companies have to modernize, no matter what, and in the future they will need to invest in the many new technologies that make them competitive in their sector and save them costs and time day to day. Gains in competitiveness and efficiency are what have made business software one of the fastest-growing industries on the market.
3. Data analysis
It’s said that we are at the beginning of the big data era, and big data centers have already become very lucrative businesses. The next level is studying all that data to learn about customers and competitors; in other words, turning data into money. Properly analyzing stored information can give a company an edge, especially in marketing.
4. Counselors and therapists
Counselors and therapists of all kinds, in every field, will be in demand, but above all therapists who specialize in problems caused by new technologies. Couples don’t last anymore and divorce is commonplace. To some extent, new technologies are being blamed for millions of breakups. A therapist in this field will have plenty of work making sure that “what love has joined together, let no Facebook or WhatsApp put asunder.” These experts estimate that by 2020 this type of therapist will have grown by around 40%.
(Read: 13 jobs you’ll struggle to explain to your parents)
5. Scientific research
Despite current budget cuts, science will keep moving forward. New technologies will continue to bring advances in medicine, manufacturing, transport and more, and there will be demand for professionals specializing in biology, chemistry, mathematics and so on. The areas that will see the most demand, of course, will be biomedicine, nanotechnology, robotics and 3D printing. These fields are among the industries worth investing in, according to Goldman Sachs.
6. Veterinarians
Veterinarians appear in the report because interest in pets is greater than ever; in some socioeconomic circles, what is spent on them today can even be double the traditional cost of a school-age child. Pet spas, pet food and even pet psychologists are professions and businesses that are starting to take off.
7. Finance
The crisis has awakened interest in personal finance and financial literacy, not only for individuals but also for businesses. Finance experts will be in demand from both private clients and companies.
8. The business of entrepreneurship
Given that the work of the future will probably come in the form of self-employment, advising entrepreneurs on discovering new fields, and even helping them innovate by returning to more traditional businesses, will be a good business opportunity.
Advisers who specialize in helping people set up companies, and in everything related to entrepreneurship, will be in strong demand in the coming years. A great deal of the business landscape has been destroyed. It needs to be rebuilt.
(Read: Clothing, food and technology among the most profitable businesses)
9. Beauty and youth
Unfortunately, far more has been invested in plastic surgery research than in research into cancer and Alzheimer’s. Plastic surgeons are among the professions with the brightest prospects in the near future. That said, the beauty and youth market will also shift toward more natural foods and alternative therapies. There is still a lot of untapped business in these fields.
(Read: Gay de Liébana: 5 sectors to create jobs in Spain)
10. The environment
Making better use of the planet’s resources will be the main focus of tomorrow’s entrepreneurs. New forms of organic food, green energy and energy-efficient buildings will be booming in 2020.
See also: The 33 most profitable businesses of the future
Featured image: Arunvrparavur, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
