We already have self-driving cars, apps diagnosing patients, and algorithms at the heart of our global financial systems. So, it is no wonder that, for the first time, grads looking for their first job and employees thinking about career next steps, may be considering how the digital revolution will affect them. After all, when machines do everything, what work will be left for them?
No matter how techy the world becomes, people want the human touch and many of the jobs of the future are the jobs of today – just enhanced. No matter the discipline, market or technology, all jobs will be defined by the 3Cs: coaching, caring, and connecting.
Here are just some of the 21 jobs we expect to emerge in the next ten to 15 years – which one can you see yourself doing?
Augmented Reality Journey Builder
Much as composers, bricklayers and playwrights were in demand a century ago, AR journey builders are their 21st century successors. In this role, you will help design, write, create, calibrate, gamify, build and – most importantly – personalise the next generation of mind-blowing stories for clients’ trips in augmented reality.
Data Detective
Do you get a kick out of running down leads, ruling out suspects and solving whodunits? Then this role is right for you. A data detective will investigate the mysteries of a company’s big data, generated by a whole host of technologies including Internet of Things end points, sensors, biometric monitors and devices.
Personal Memory Curator
Your job will be to remake and architect past experiences to reduce the stress or anxiety that simple memory loss creates in the elderly. You will consult with patients and stakeholders to create virtual reality experiences, built on realistic images, sounds and other sensations, to bring a particular time, place or event to life.
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Walker / Talker
If you enjoy interacting with and, most especially, listening to your fellow human beings, then this may be the job for you. With many jobs of the future undertaken by technologies, people are living longer, with the elderly sometimes left alone. As a Walker / Talker, you will be a companion to them in their homes and out and about.
Fitness Commitment Counsellor
Robots and digital fitness trackers can help curb the obesity epidemic, but only so far. As a remote fitness commitment counsellor or dietary nurses, you will provide one-on-one daily, weekly and bi-weekly remote coaching sessions to help improve the wellness of people with wearable smart bands that monitor their physical activity.
AI-assisted Health Technician
In-depth patient care and diagnosis is no longer solely the job of doctors with seven years of qualifications. Armed with AI and remotely accessible doctors, you will be on the road and in surgery, examining, diagnosing, administering and prescribing treatment to patients.
Cyber City Analyst
This role will see you ensure the safety, security and functionality of cities by managing a healthy flow of bio, citizen and asset data, and carrying out necessary repairs of broken, faulty or hacked streams. If these systems fail, the city suffers, and you will be on the front line to keep the city running.
Digital Tailor
If you are a talented, fashion-friendly tailor, seamstresses or designer, chances are you will work with future customers in the comfort of their own homes, using digital assessments to perfect the fit and finish of their clothing.
Virtual Store Sherpa
Think of yourself as a “sommelier of hardware”. You will have a video-link in your own home and, based on your product knowledge, will be matched to what customers are looking for in-store; whether that is to support carpentry, gardening, landscaping or home design projects.
Highway Controller
Drones now swarm the sky, but these devices do not have pre-set flight paths and, therefore, present a danger to traditional aircraft. You will work alongside colleagues in the city’s space control centre, monitoring automated road and air space management systems to ensure no errors occur that could endanger life or property.
Twenty-one Million New Jobs to be Created
These jobs, which are a few of those examined in our report ‘21 jobs of the future, a guide to getting and staying employed over the next 10 years’, are some – although, of course, not all – of the 21 million new jobs that we are confident will be created over the next ten to 15 years. Technology will upgrade every aspect of society, but that does not mean we are facing a cyber dystopia.
Rather, we will find ourselves in a recognisable world in which technology has improved things for humans, not robbed us of what we value most: our very humanity. Work and the skills required have always undergone change over the centuries and the jobs of the future will use technology as a means, not the end.
