Professions of the future: who to work after 2021

What professions of the future will be relevant in the near future? After all, the pandemic and the global financial crisis have changed the labor market, set new values ​​and conditions. recently, 2 million small and medium-sized businesses have ceased operations.

In the rest, some employees have been transferred to remote work, the elderly and those with health problems have been laid off. The areas most affected were air travel, tourism, catering, the event industry, hotels, cinemas, additional education, dentistry, and non-food retail. New professions of the “era of self-isolation" are already emerging, so it is important to make a choice based on the new needs of the market.

How new professions are defined

Demanded professions of the near future are modeled using the competency foresight method. Experts from different fields discuss trends, new technologies and tools together. Based on the results, a forecast is created when new professionals will be needed in each of the areas.

Corporations create departments for the retraining of employees, grow their own specialists. If companies are not able to train personnel on their own, then in the first 5 years after the next technology enters the market, they are ready to pay inflated salaries.

Forecasts do not always come true, and different experts can defend opposing opinions. This happens because of the very mechanism of the emergence of professions – the reason is technologies and tools not yet known to the public.

Top promising destinations

It is important to understand that by studying the atlas of professions in demand in the future, it is impossible to make a 100% accurate choice. There are no guarantees that this or that direction will “shoot” in the next 10 years, and all free specialists will be hired at once. The world is constantly changing, as well as the interests of future professionals. What seems intriguing today may be a complete disappointment in 3 years and lead to a change of occupation.

Based on the list, you should choose only the direction, without focusing on unusual, fantastic specialties.

Medicine

The outbreak of Covid-19 has revealed a shortage of specialists in the fight against new types of viral infections. In this case, repeated waves of diseases occur, viruses mutate. No one can accurately predict when the problem will be solved (there is an opinion that you will have to get used to covid forever, like with the flu).

With the help of genetic studies, health, predisposition to certain diseases are analyzed and treated at an early stage. According to the patient’s genetic code, an individual rather than a standard treatment program is selected, which increases the chances and reduces the length of the sick leave.

With the help of biotechnology, new drugs are being developed, tissues and organs are being created for transplantation. Robotic surgeons perform operations more accurately than humans, and new models of cyberprostheses increase human capabilities.

Here are some professions that are in demand lately now and will be needed in the future:

• virologists;
• epidemiologists;
• developers of implants and cyberprostheses;
• genetic consultants;
• medical robot operators;
• tissue engineers;
• IT genetics.

Information Technology

In 2020, companies that help people communicate online (for example, ZOOM) reached record capitalization. Government meetings, boards of directors, brainstorms, planning meetings and staff trainings have moved to virtual rooms. Information traffic has grown so much that services can no longer cope with the load, followed by failures, a decrease in the quality of processing and data transmission. We need new developments in the field of compression and transportation of information.

In 5 years, the number of interconnected gadgets on the body will reach 5-6 pieces. For example, an electronic bracelet for health monitoring, augmented reality glasses, a smartphone with NFC and a tablet. The safety of personal data will become a particularly acute problem, because. hacking the cloud is easier than hacking a phone or laptop. To recognize the owner’s identity, in addition to a fingerprint and Face ID, an express DNA test will be developed.

Promising professions :

• Big Data developer;
• information systems architect;
• internet investigator;
• IT auditor;
• online profile security consultant.

Internet media

Users need tools to filter information flows. The role of online media is to separate the useful and interesting from the rubbish, to save the subscriber’s time and nerves. Later, this role will go to programs that will search, sort and compile information into a personal package based on the user’s settings. Up to 50% of the news will be reported by robots, and only talented professionals will be able to remain in “live” journalism.

New technologies involve previously untouched channels of perception: smell, taste, touch.

Demanded professions in the near future :

• virtual space architect;
• design of game and virtual worlds;
• producer of semantic fields;
• design of feelings and emotions.

Security and risk management

Due to new technologies, security will shift to smart protection systems in the virtual and physical world. There will be a service for calculating risks when going on a safari in Africa or to a city with a dangerous criminogenic, environmental situation.

The widespread use of smart technologies will bring new security challenges. For example, the spontaneous operation of security devices in violation of the rules, and in the future – a "riot of machines." We will need methods of protection and ways of salvation, when you can only rely on yourself.

You need to pay attention to the following professions of the future :

• business continuity specialist;
• security gadget designer;
• online security coordinator;
• personal risk manager.

Construction and development

The largest number of able-bodied citizens of the country is employed in this area. The necessary changes are taking place slowly and have so far been limited by the use of new materials. With their help, they reduce the energy consumption of buildings, reduce potential harm to the environment, and apply new architectural methods.

Due to the massive transfer of employees to remote work, it will be necessary to rethink office buildings, redevelopment for new needs.

Here are some new professions worth paying attention to:

• environmental analyst;
• 3D printing developer (make-ups);
• accessibility designer;
• architect of independent houses (without external communications);
• smart home designer.

Art

Art will become accessible to more people. Thanks to gadgets and programs, anyone can feel like a professional photographer or cameraman. Businessmen, students, athletes, politicians are already paying attention to meditation and other ways to enter a creative state. This means that society is ready for a new level of perception of art, where the participant himself is part of the process. An example would be interactive books, immersive theater, flash mobs.

Penetrating into other spheres, art creates new directions. Art universities appear, scientists who are also artists teach.

Promising professions :

• meditation coach,
• art appraiser,
• mentor in the field of aesthetic development,
• Science artist.

Development and application of new materials

The creation of new composite materials is a revolution in the space industry. They are strong, light, plastic, thanks to which they win competition from ferrous metallurgy. In the future, composites with built-in control systems will be developed. They will be used to build an “active environment” – a space that changes its properties depending on the built-in algorithms or external signals (for example, the mood of the owner).

With the help of 3D printing, parts for cars, flower pots, toys and even weapons are printed in less than an hour. The buyer can now become a manufacturer and open their own mini-businesses. Ideas, drawings and quality raw materials will be valuable, not machines and factories.

People of the following specialties will be able to earn on technological progress:

• developer of smart materials;
• "safety" in the field of nanomaterials;
• composite materials engineer;
• developer of nanotechnological materials.

Transport

The management of transport systems and logistics is transferred to computers. Traffic lights, new models of trains, aircraft are controlled in automatic or semi-automatic mode. The first unmanned vehicles appear on the streets, which will reduce the number of accidents by 90%, reduce gasoline consumption and the number of traffic jams. A person now monitors the correct operation of equipment, takes control only when the computer fails.

Smart roads with light sensors and solar panels are emerging. Later, such road surfaces will transmit information about traffic jams, weather, and preferred routes directly to the on-board computer of the car.

Professions in demand in the future :

• developers of high-speed railways;
• transport safety specialists;
• developers of smart control systems;
• operators in the field of cross-logistics.

Energy networks and energy consumption

The creation of "smart energy networks" made it possible to accurately determine the energy consumption of a building (residential, office, warehouse) and reduce electricity costs. Smart grids respond to power surges and self-repair after breakdowns. Users themselves decide with which electricity supplier to conclude a contract. They save at the expense of reliability, reduction of transmission losses.

Distributed energy – the principle of site independence. An accident at one of the stations does not lead to a blackout. Decentralization of energy production has not yet begun in recent times, but companies are already thinking about it. There is not enough money to modernize the current backbone networks. When the process starts, appropriate professionals will be needed. Namely:

• energy auditors;
• network adjusters for distributed energy;
• smart grid engineers;
• energy system designers;
• energy marketers.

Space

Elon Musk’s launch of rockets has turned space exploration into a business. When developing aircraft, Americans use paperless production. A computer model is built with all interconnected components, then a digital simulation of the flight is carried out in various conditions. Up to 90% of parts and assemblies are produced by robots without the participation of people.

Richard Branson opened Virgin Galactic to develop space tourism. Musk has the same plan.

Here’s what you can become in 5-10 years:

• space tourism manager;
• space biologist;
• space geologist;
• spacecraft life cycle designer.

Finance

The main trend of the new economy is the replacement of human agents with automated scripts. For this reason, in 5-10 years, there will be no need for accountants and tellers. They will go into the status of extinct professions.

We need to learn creative thinking. Then there will be an opportunity to gain a foothold in the niches of crowdfunding, the development of new financial instruments, insurance, and cryptocurrencies. During the financial crisis due to the pandemic, the bitcoin exchange rate updated its historical maximum, and shareholders increased their contributions to the coin. Experts predict that bitcoin will replace gold as the main way to save and increase capital.

Specialties of the future:

• organizer of crowdfunding programs;
• crypto evangelist;
• crypto investor;
• pension planner.

Management

Due to the automation of production and logistics, the task of the managers of the future will be the decentralized management of teams of specialists. Most employees will work remotely, and the connections between them will become horizontal, not pyramidal, as before. New mechanisms of control and self-regulation of virtual departments will be needed. In IT companies, work without bosses is used, when each of the 300 employees has an equal vote.

Non-hierarchical organizations will first penetrate into independent private companies, and then into international corporations.

Here’s who you’ll need:

• corporate anthropologists;
• venture fund portfolio managers;
• personal brand managers;
• specialists in cross-cultural communications;
• online lawyers and lawyers;
• online sales professionals.

Robotics

The number of robots in the apartments of citizens is growing by 100% every 9 months (Cisco research). Robots take care of the elderly: they give out pills, transmit measurement results to a doctor, and call an ambulance. Help with cooking, cleaning, ordering groceries. In production, up to 90% of the personnel are replaced (in the next 5-10 years, such plants will be built in recent years). Intelligent machines can learn on their own, master new algorithms of work, reorganize in 1 day to produce new products or perform complex medical operations. Cyber ​​prostheses are used to improve the quality of life, as well as to improve strength characteristics.

Here are some specialties that will appear in the coming years:

• developer of robotics for children;
• designer of medical robots;
• developer of home, industrial robotics;
• developer of neural control interfaces;
• operators of the multifunctional robocomplex.

Biotechnology

Biotechnology is closely related to ecology, medicine, energy, and the production of raw materials. The use of living systems to solve the problems of the population is the main goal of the industry. With the help of computer simulation of natural processes, new biodegradable materials and alternative energy sources are being discovered. Gene reprogramming and organic electronics were discovered by this method.

Biotechnologies also solve issues at the boundary of industries. For example, biologists and power engineers are jointly developing biofuels.

Future specialties:

• ecologist-urbanist;
• biotechnologist;
• biopharmacologist;
• park ecology;
• architecture of living systems.

Social work

It includes solving social problems in the public Internet space, involving residents in the management of the territory, monitoring the implementation of reforms, the work of road services, and studying the problems of society. Examples of such organizations are “Lisa Alert” (search for missing people in the city and forest), “Brother for Sister” (employees escort women and girls home in the evening, at night).

Work on changing attitudes towards people with disabilities has led to the fact that people with disabilities are integrated into society using the Internet. Blind people communicate online through Braille monitors, wheelchair users build a career as a virtual dancer using a virtual reality helmet.

Social professions of the near future in recent times :

1. Site manager for communication with government agencies.
2. Crowdsourcing manager for social issues.
3. Online specialist for the adaptation of people with disabilities.
4. Philanthropy Platform Manager.
5. Eco counselor.

Niche of children’s goods and related services

Over the past 10 years, there have been major changes in the field. Due to branding, 80% of the cost of goods is the life story of 2-5 characters. Cartoon characters instill in children the basic values, norms of behavior, teaches them to cope with life situations.

Benefits come from cross-media (video, comics, books, audio fairy tales) educational products that grow up with children. An example of a well-built product line is Lego. Children every year move on to more complex details and schemes, play computer games, watch cartoons with familiar characters.

Here’s who you can become:

• architect of cross-platform products;
• specialist in the psychological safety of the child;
• Children’s R&D Manager.

Light industry

There are 4 main trends. Replacement of expensive natural fabrics with cheap artificial and smart ones (accumulation of solar energy, self-cleaning). Clothing customization (selection of fabrics, models, finishes, tailoring to order). Printing accessories and jewelry on 3d printers (the main value is unique drawings). It will be enough to download the file from the designer’s website and print it at home or in a robotic studio. Materials must be strong, environmentally friendly, beneficial to the body and the environment.

Here’s what today’s students can become:

• programmers of electronic patterns and drawings for a 3D printer;
• clothing recycling and reuse specialists;
• designers of IT-interfaces of the textile industry;
• technostylists.

How to prepare for a new specialty

It is important to study the work of the future, read articles, communicate with specialists from areas of interest. In parallel, keep an eye on the demand, because today it is difficult to find a vacancy for a space biologist. Nanotechnologists are not of interest to employers in principle, and we have been hearing about the importance of this profession for more than 10 years. Until now, a trend has not been formed for the direction, the same fate awaits other works of the future. The widespread introduction of unusual specialties will happen in 10 years or later. And by this time, a small number of people with non-standard skills may be required.

You need to understand what a person likes to do, what talents he has. This will give stability in a constantly changing market, where a diploma from an excellent university does not guarantee employment and lifelong work in one specialty. Inspiration will become the fuel for mastering new skills, and then finding a job will never be a problem.