Think that degree is useless? Well, art grads hold on to your very expensive piece of paper because the future looks bright. And for those without a mountain of HECS debt, a world of opportunity awaits. There may be unrest at the moment, a diplomatic uncertainty (ahem Trump), and a conflicting welcoming and disdain for globalisation.
But don’t let that tarnish your career ladder climbing dreams, the job you’ll find yourself most content at probably hasn’t been born into existence. Thanks technology. So without a crystal ball and just a little help from a futurist or two, we’re taking your career aspirations back to the future. These are the careers of the future, where will you end up?
Digital Detox Therapist
More connected than ever and steadily increasing, this profession will explode come 10 years time. We all need to unplug a little more but with the help of a professional prying the phone from our hand will be that much easier. Watch out for Instagram addicts and keyboard warrior trolls becoming the domain of modern psychology.
Crowdfunding Expert
Where the banks won’t take risk, you take it to the people. Kickstarter and the like are incredibly useful for raising funds for start-ups, creative projects and beyond. But for every success there’s a goal unmet, enter the crowdfunding expert. A brand consultant for the crowd funding world, most likely to operate at a percentage of your successful fee.
Productivity Consultant
Procrastination. You may be reading this piece right now instead of doing work, so you know you’ll be needing this. With ever expanding options for distraction and a clutter of fleeting interests this realm will be a business must. Think organisational behaviour management on a one to one basis.
Data Driven Personal Trainer
Fitness apps, lifestyle consultants and the humble personal trainer are a proliferated expert. And for every Kayla Itsines there’s a hoard of average counterparts waiting to take your dollars in exchange for a little motivational pep talk. In another development removing you from actual physical contact, the data driven personal trainer will use analytics to keep you on track. A personalised fitness journey based on facts, absolutely no excuses now.
Cultural Savant / Trend Analyst
They already exist, monitoring the scene kids moving into their hipster phase and the nu-lad renaissance of all things Adidas. As mainstream culture is undercut by a multitude of subcultures, this expert will have their hands full keeping up. A marketers dream.
Augmented Reality Architects
Pokémon Go was just the beginning. If you were impressed by the monsters roaming the real world than your appetite for integrated reality is far from satisfied. Engineering a cohesive relationship between the screen world and the real world is no simple architecture. Especially with the fickle nature of game-players, managing that immersive feeling and addictive gaming element is sure to be tricky.
Locationists
Geotagging gone mad. This profession will emphasis the importance of place in our online communities. Not so much as a boundary as years gone by but as an identifier. It’s already built into the hardware of social media networks, expect it to be worn as a badge in years to come.
Waste Data Managers
That virtual rubbish bin when emptied doesn’t just send your data to the virtual scrap heap. Or if you’re of the opinion that everything stays on the cloud, you’d be quite correct. The garbage men of the internet will work to ensure the integrity of that data, and clear up space on the cloud for even more information to fill it. If only there was a file shredder for the online world.
Competition Architects
Problem solving is most productive when there’s a prize at the end of that problem, the answer alone is not enough. This job won’t entail tag and share competitions or general marketing spam, instead it’s the creation of competitions to solve societies problem, one online forum at a time. Banks have already jumped aboard this trend offering hackers a sizeable fee to crack their system as a test, to identify any weaknesses. The competition architects will be in charge of creating an environment where the best possible solution is found.
Avatar Management
In a future world where our avatar is an extension of ourselves, managing these online relationships and perceptions becomes almost as key as your Linkedin headshot. An online first impression if you will. Glitches, poor creation and conflict resolution will all fall under this job title.
Privacy Managers
We share more than ever and yet we’re terrified our online habits will be revealed. If you have the tape over your web cam or you Chrome plugins blocking everything you’ll be adept to commissioning one of these managers in your lifetime. A data specialist who manages your online footprint to make sure you haven’t made a mess of any future opportunities. It’s more than just deleting your old Myspace, promise.
New Science Philosopher-Ethicists
With new technology comes new responsibility and a whole can of worms in the way of ethical dilemmas. Introspective thinkers and critical analysts will work to advise government policy, identify problems before they arise and ethically evaluate how society behaves and interacts as new technologies come into existence. See there is a use for your philosophy degree after all.
Organ Agents
Usually the domain of black market purveyors, with organ donor scarcity these organ agents will act as proxies to find viable donors. Selling your kidney just got easier, and a whole lot less risky.
Drone Dispatchers
The Dominos pizza drone was just the entree, expect a whole lot of robotic delivery in years to come. Although they’re a time saver in terms of labour and more efficient thanks to not being human, they still require monitoring. Drone dispatchers will likely be qualified in the art of engineering and customer service to ensure both are running in tip top shape.
Fluency Coaches
As industries shift, merge and amalgamate, a smooth transition is key. Enter fluency coaches, the transition experts, making sure candidates are able to juggle their multifaceted roles with ease.
VR Psychologists
Gamification is the reason why you couldn’t pickup the phone without playing a cheeky game of Candy Crush, or had no shame in inviting your entire friends list to play FarmVille. As Virtual Reality kicks into overdrive and we all start diving into this alternate reality, psychologists working to create the environment will be in high demand. Also under this umbrella will be ensuring the mental health of players, so they don’t fall into a black hole of a seperate reality.
Business Colony Manager
A man of many hats, by the age of 30 you may have worked in a handful of different roles, likely more than 10. This nomadic career behaviour means that the traditional job description just doesn’t cut it. Enter the business colony manager, a headhunter, matchmaker or HR professional with a little extra skill. Matching people with projects rather than ongoing roles and operating as an overseer for the freelance economy.
Personalised Medicine Specialist
Perhaps the coolest on the list, but thanks to medical advancement personalised medicine is on the way. Using single cell technology and genome mapping, your medicine will be tailored uniquely to your DNA. Currently this technology is used to identifier hereditary conditions and markers for disease, but the possibilities are truly endless. That’s science, bitch.
Image source: Futurist Speaker.