The employment market is changing fast, and
many of the roles we’ll want in the future haven’t been invented yet. So here’s
a heads-up on tomorrow’s hottest jobs – and how to make sure you get them.
Welcome
to your career future
You don’t need us to tell you that the job
market is a scary place right now. But it’s an exciting one, too. It’s not that
there are no longer jobs for life; more that there’s no guarantee you can stick
with one industry. But just as some get hit (like architecture, which took a
direct strike when construction collapsed during the recession), others emerge.
Just think: a decade ago, Facebook didn’t exist, let alone social media
managers or ‘ghost Tweeters’.
“If there’s one thing the past decade has
taught us, it’s that in another ten years, a significant portion of people will
be doing jobs and using technology that doesn’t exist now,” says Dr. Charlie
Ball of the Higher Education Careers Services Unit. “A key skill is the ability
to be extremely adaptable, as that’s what you’ll need to be throughout your
whole career.”
So while we’re bearing the brunt of what’s
gone wrong, we also have an advantage: having grown up with the internet, this
stuff comes naturally. The key is to think strategically. “If women want great
careers, they need to be at the heart of what’s growing in the UK: science,
technology and engineering,” echoes Professor Lynda Gratton, author of The
Shift: The Future of Work Is Already Here. Add these to the jobs we’ll always
need (like plumbers) and your 21st –century career plan starts
looking a whole lot healthier.
Today’s careers – tomorrow
Today Lawyer
Tomorrow Legal counsel for a music
streaming service
Criminal barristers might get all the glory
in TV dramas, but it’s not the only legal job out there. As books, film and
music move off your shelves and onto the internet, someone has to make sure
it’s all above board, so lawyers are in the money – and the luckiest ones will
do some very cool jobs.
“Intellectual property is a field that’s
growing,” says Professor Gratton. Many big law firms, such as multinational
Reed Smith, have departments specializing in music and technology (and offer
the potential to earn six-figure sums). Work at a music-streaming service like
Spotify and you’ll spend your day negotiating with record labels and publishers
for the rights to stream their music.
Today teacher
Tomorrow e-learning developer
With full-time positions down 40% in a
year, newly qualified teachers are having the hardest time finding jobs. So
what is on the rise? Online courses, or e-learning – meaning young, tech-savvy
teachers are in prime position to snap up the jobs, whether it’s for
universities or private companies. “Classroom teaching is not always
cost-effective any more – and e-learning is a lot more convenient,” says Julie
Clare, an adviser with the national Careers Service. You job might entail
making videos or podcasts for mobile phones or the web, or maintaining an
online classroom – aka a virtual learning environment. Expect to make the same
kind of money as you would teaching at a primary school.
Today Relationship counselor
Tomorrow Divorce change agent
Rather than trying to fix the relationship,
as a marriage counselor would, divorce change agents focus on helping the newly
single get past the pain and learn not to hate their ex. While some use
traditional psychotherapy, Marina Pearson of divorceshift.com combines cutting-edge
therapies such as ‘matrix re-imprinting’ (which aims to reconfigure negative
memories) with neuro-linguistic programming (which aims to transform how you
think, speak and feel) and meditation to help women work through their anger
and release physical stress. You don’t require training to be a counselor, but
you'll need it if you want accreditation from a respected organization like the
British Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy (bacp.co.uk). if you’re
interested in learning about matrix re-imprinting, see eftcourseul.com, while
nlpacademy.co.uk runs courses in NLP.
Today
Relationship counselor, Tomorrow Divorce change agent
Today Graphic designer
Tomorrow Infographic creator
“We’re living in an extremely
information-rich age, so we need people who can help us make sense of it all,”
says Dr. Ball. Cue an explosion in infographics – a way of making data more
digestible, through diagrams and charts – and they’re popping up everywhere,
from your friends’ Pinterest boards to newspapers.
John Pring of infographic specialists
designbysoap.co.uk says demand has surged in the past six months, rising from
one or two enquiries a week to three or four a day. “It used to be big
businesses that wanted them; now it’s everyone from the NHS to people wanting
us to turn their CVs into something visual that will help them stand out.” A
background in graphic design is key, but you also need a good head for numbers
and an understanding of internet marketing, to tie it all together.
