Careers of the Future

Every so often one of our users asks, “What are the careers of the future?” or, in other words, “What job can I prepare for now that may exist by the time I’m ready for it?”

We at EUREKA are not Futurists^* (a specialty of Social Scientists), Astrologers (a specialty of Home-Based Workers), or Psychics (not yet a EUREKA occupation), yet we can have fun looking at the predictions made by professional Futurists.

A few recent predictions by members of the World Future Society (WFS) included the following possibilities:

• Space-Junk Haulers
• Astro-Farmers
• Robotic Earthworm Drivers (sort out usable materials from garbage and compost the rest)
• Geothermal Energy Engineers
• Lunar Manufacturing Engineers
• Digital Identity Planner
• Sensuality Simulator
• Talent Aggregator
• Astro-Psychologist
• Online Community Organizer
• Unmanned Cargo Vehicle Operator
• Time Hacker
• Chief Experience Officer
• Brain Signal Decoder (also known as Mind Reader)
• Future-Guide

These careers are mostly variations on existing occupations, projected into outer space or utilizing more advanced technology. We take these “future careers” with a grain of salt, as a Futurist recently stated: “The forecasts collected in the World Future Society’s annual Outlook reports are not intended to predict the future, but rather to provoke thought on how we may begin to shape our own tomorrows today.”

If you pay attention to the news, many people create their own futures through the invention of new products and services as well as retrofitting and revamping existing products and services to meet new customer demands and utilizing newly available technologies.

Another article worth reviewing is on CareerBuilder.com, 10 Jobs of the Future. Nine out of the 10 occupations are ones EUREKA has already included in its database:

• Cyber Security Specialist - see EUREKA’s Computer Security Specialists
• Genetic Counselor - same title in EUREKA
• Organic Food Farmer - see EUREKA’s Farmers and Farm Managers specialty of Organic Farmers, Ranchers, and Farm Managers
• Medical Records Administrator - same title in EUREKA
• Mobile Application Developer - see EUREKA’s Telecommunications Analysts and Telecommunications Engineers
• Robotics Technician - see EUREKA’s Robotics Technicians and Robotics Application Engineers
• Simulation Engineer - EUREKA doesn’t have this one yet. This specialty would be related to Electrical & Electronics Engineers, also Software Engineers
• Social Media Manager - see EUREKA’s Social Media Managers/Strategists, a specialty of Public Relations Workers
• Stem Cell Researcher - see EUREKA’s Medical Scientists and Biotechnical Researchers
• Sustainability Officer - see Sustainability Officers, a specialty of EUREKA’s Business Executives and Managers

Sources:
World Future Society. Forecasts for the Next 25 Years at http://www.wfs.org/forecasts/index.html and Outlook 2012.
(6/2015 dead link: msn.careerbuilder.com/Article/MSN-2520-Job-Info-and-Trends-10-jobs-of-the-future)

*Futurists study social and physical changes to develop possible changes for the future.