By Haddon Libby
Your future job may not exist yet.
The World Economic Forum reported that automation will eliminate more than 7 million jobs over the next three years while creating 2 million new jobs. That means 5 million will be displaced with limited prospects of future employment.
Futurist Thomas Frey has an even more dire prediction as he believes that 50% of the world’s 4 billion jobs will go away by 2030. While new jobs will be created, population growth is expected to exceed job growth leading to larger and larger societal problems.
Change is constant. As an example, 100 years ago the United States was an agricultural society where one in three jobs was on farms. Today we are a service-based society where only one in fifty jobs is in agriculture.
Job search website monster.com has attempted to envision some of those future jobs.
One hot future job is that of a Drone Manager as drones will become as commonplace as birds over the next twenty years. At present, Internet behemoth Amazon is currently testing drones for package delivery while contemplating the use of blimps over cities as distribution hubs. With the promulgation of fleets of drones, companies will need drone management specialists that track the drones, work on repairs and order new ones.
With drones speckling the skies, companies will band together to coordinate the usage of the skies. Drone Air Traffic Controllers are the likely way that those armies of flying vehicles will be managed.
In addition to the growth in drone usage, self-driving car and trucks will need a new class of Mechanics. Like drone managers, there will be self-driving car and truck fleet managers.
Medicine is another area where we can expect to see dramatic change.
With advancements in 3-D printers, a future Pharmacist will be able to reconstruct the molecules of the drugs that you take and personalize the medicines to your specific needs. These specialized prescriptions will be dispensed via 3-D printers at your local pharmacy or mailed to you.
Along with personalized drugs, as the population ages, there will be a greater need for Medical Monitors who insure that patients are following the directions of their medical professionals. This job builds on the increase in nurse practitioners and physician assistants in recent years.
With the aging of our population, an increasing percentage of people will want their last days to be of the highest quality possible versus the most days possible. This will lead to a new profession – the End-of-Life Coach. The end-of-life coach will help people to have the highest quality final days as is possible.
As technology works best when interconnected, Personal Technology Integrators will be needed to make everything work seamlessly for you. Companies will emerge that do nothing but keep your technology operating at maximum efficiency relative to your needs. Think of these people as a Geek Squad that you hire as part of a long-term service contract.
An increasingly interconnected world will cause people to feel increasingly overwhelmed. People will seek out Wholeness Mentors to map out strategies through which a person can gain a sense of greater fulfillment in their lives. Think of this job like a psychiatrist who never says, “how did that make you feel.”
The sad truth is that we will have more people than jobs. As such, governments around the world will give people a basic monthly income and healthcare. Without this basic income approach to the dilemma of more people than jobs, there will be greater political instability and global chaos. As such, there will be a greater acknowledgement that many people are unemployable and need their basic needs provided for by the state.
Haddon Libby is Managing Partner of Winslow Drake Investment Management and can be reached at 760.449.6349 or HLibby@WinslowDrake.com.
