By Haddon Libby
Are you or someone you know looking for a profession that will last you a lifetime?
To start, it’s probably a good idea to know where not to look. As digital money becomes more pervasive, the need for cashiers will continue to dwindle. This will also reduce the need for lower skilled workers in the finance sector.
Construction work as we know will soon change. Computers and 3D printers will soon make building materials that construct themselves. To understand this concept, think of an IKEA product and its relative ease of construction. New residential and commercial construction is expected to be just as simple. This will reduce the time, cost and labor associated with buildings.
While there will always be a need for armed forces, the need for fighter pilots is being replaced by drones. Why fly a person into a war zone when they can operate from a remote location?
With the advance of energy sources like solar, hydrogen and wind power, jobs in the oil industry will slowly decline. The same fate may face many at power utility plants as buildings create and store their own power.
Jobs that have always been and will always be include politicians and prostitutes (as Reagan once said, two professions that are strikingly similar), tax collectors, criminals, religious leaders, soldiers, artists, barbers and morticians.
Other reliable career paths include basic services such as doctors, nurses, physical therapists, plumbers, electricians and dental hygienists. Scientific researchers, computer engineers and veterinarians will also remain in demand.
As for jobs of the future, healthcare will continue to flourish with new careers including gene screeners. Gene screeners are people who analyze your DNA for a host of useful and invasive purposes. While it will be useful to know your susceptibility to a host of physical maladies, employers may use this new information for less desirable purposes.
As 3D printers change the face of construction, 3D printers will soon be able to create replacement organs in the lab from the DNA of a patient. This will create whole new fields of study, research and employment.
Assuming that the oceans continue to rise as a result of global warming, a new profession may emerge – Drowned City Specialists. These will be people who will be responsible for rebuilding cities that are now below sea level.
A new type of mechanics job will emerge – that of the robotic engineer. Just as we have mechanics for our cars and appliances, we will have mechanics for a variety of robots in the home and workplace.
As current technology is making your home into a theatrical experience, theatres will have to change. Many believe this will lead to the creation of holographical, three dimensional films.
Virgin Galactic has given us an early glimpse into space tourism. Just think of a Carnival Cruise to the moon (I shudder).
Whereas gasoline and diesel is now a self service business, the emergence of hydrogen as a low cost and clean fuel alternative will mean the need for hydrogen station managers and fuel attendants. If the U.S. government put a little bit of money into infrastructure, this conversion could start almost immediately.
Above all, the most important job of the future is that of the innovator and entrepreneur. Technological advancements will mean unlimited opportunities for those who can do things better or cheaper.
Given the speed of technological advances, the one constant we can count on is change (along with taxes and death). As my grandmother once said, “If you aren’t growing, you are dying.” If you cannot adapt and change, you will bear the same fate as blacksmiths, elevator operators and switchboard operators. If you can adapt, the future looks very bright.
