Introduction
In today’s rapidly changing job market, identifying and capitalizing on emerging career opportunities is crucial.
The smart professionals, those who read between the lines and understand market signals, will be the ones who succeed. Remember: It’s not about waiting for HR to hand you a golden ticket; it’s about strategically positioning yourself where the growth is.
Make no mistake: the days of relying on conventional career paths are over. Industries evolve, technologies advance, and new roles emerge. Those who adapt and align their skills with these changes will dominate. Those that don’t, face underemployment, even unemployment.
Data Analysis for Emerging Careers
We took a hard look at the data from multiple credible sources to identify which careers will be on the rise over the next decade. We started with insights from Indeed, Yahoo Finance, Insider Monkey, the World Economic Forum, CIO, Multiplier, and Coursera as well as additional source material. Then we cross-referenced their assertions with established statistics from World at Work, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and Google.
Key Insights
Based on this data, we see the following main trends that are shaping the current job landscape and will shape the jobs of the future:
Automation
Automation is a game-changer, especially with AI taking over tasks that used to need human intelligence. What’s crucial to understand is that high-level work and leadership jobs are not immune to this transition. As AI gets smarter, more tasks are being automated.
Globalized Markets
Globalization’s second wave means more people are competing for the same roles. Work-from-home policies from the pandemic have only intensified this. You’re now competing in a global job market, which is changing job dynamics across the board. This trend will continue and likely escalate.
De-globalized Production
Post-pandemic, near-shoring and friend-shoring are the new norms. Companies and governments are moving production closer to home or to allied countries, reducing their dependence on far-off supply chains. This shift is not only reshaping foreign policy and economic development, but also changing jobs.
Remote Work Normalization
Remote work is here to stay. This allows companies to hire talent from anywhere, which means you now have access to a plethora of jobs. But it also means more competition – everyone else has the same access.
Acceleration of Change
Technology is advancing at breakneck speed, and this is transforming job requirements. The tools, software packages, and skills you need are evolving constantly. Long tenure and many years of experience are becoming less important. Adaptability is now key. We see this trend shaping emerging careers dramatically.
Before We Predict the Future
We need to understand which careers are currently in high demand and which are growing rapidly. For more information and the full list, see fastest growing careers.
| Fast Growing Career | Growth Rate (2022 to 2032) | Average Pay (2023, Median) |
| Wind turbine service technicians | 45% | $61,770 |
| Nurse practitioners | 45% | $126,260 |
| Data scientists | 35% | $108,020 |
| Statisticians | 32% | $104,110 |
| Information security analysts | 32% | $120,360 |
| Medical and health services managers | 28% | $110,680 |
| Epidemiologists | 27% | $81,390 |
| Physician assistants | 27% | $130,020 |
| Physical therapist assistants | 26% | $64,080 |
| Software developers | 26% | $132,270 |
Paying attention to these trends can guide you to where the opportunities are expanding, helping you make strategic career moves.
Recognizing High-Demand Sectors
Based on this analysis, we can identify several sectors experiencing significant demand. Keep in mind, it’s not just the specific jobs, but all jobs in a sector; other relevant or support roles within these sectors will also see growth. The sectors are:
- AI and Automation Related Software Jobs
- Renewable Energy Creation & Management Jobs
- Weapons Industry Jobs
- Healthcare Jobs (With important caveats)
AI and Automation Related Software Jobs
With the rise of AI and automation, software jobs in these areas are booming. This includes roles in developing, managing, and implementing AI technologies and automated systems. These jobs are already experiencing a massive 29.6% job growth, and it is just the beginning.
Renewable Energy Creation & Management Jobs
As the world shifts towards sustainability, jobs in renewable energy creation and management are on the rise. This sector includes positions related to solar, wind, and other green energy sources. It will naturally expand into transition, administration and government related roles as well.
Weapons Industry Jobs
It’s worth noting that we’ve seen several relevant indicators about weapons industry growth. This might not be immediately evident from the table above, but it’s an important trend to consider.
Bottom line is: the weapons industry is also experiencing considerable demand (for obvious reasons). This includes roles in research, development, production, and maintenance of military technologies.
Healthcare Jobs (With Important Caveats)
Healthcare remains a high-demand sector, primarily driven by an aging population. However, this demand comes with caveats such as the need for specific qualifications and the physical and emotional demands of these roles.
More importantly, however, we must consider the financial side of the healthcare industry. Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid are facing collapse (latest prediction is 2036). Yes, the dates for their demise may be pushed back slightly, but the most important material fact remains: healthcare is going bankrupt.
Remember: while the physical demand for healthcare work is increasing, those who can actually pay the bill will decrease. This is bound to create severe contractions and ruthless competition in the healthcare industry, which will likely more than counterbalance the growing demand.
In other words, while we still predict growth over the next decade, we also anticipate a catastrophic collapse in the years to follow.
Predicting the Emerging Careers of The Future
Starting from the analysis above, we combed through all the speculations about future jobs…
Here’s the distilled list of future job roles based off of our research. Reading this table will not only show you where things are at, but also equip you with the tools for grounded thinking…
You’ll learn to separate the wheat from the chaff, real opportunities from hype.
To read the table, use the following guide:
- Occupation: This column lists the title of the position or its closest approximation.
- Estimated Earnings: It provides a range based on the different earnings figures we found.
- Propaganda Index: A value between 0 and 10. 0 indicates a job widely recognized in the market, and 10 suggests it’s artificially advocated – most likely due to political or propaganda reasons.
- Role: A brief explanation of what the job entails and its significance in the current or future landscape.
| Occupation | Estimated Earnings | Propaganda Index | Role |
| Work from Home Facilitator | $50,000 – $80,000 | 8 | Helps set up remote work arrangements, but there’s a lot of fuzziness around what exactly this entails. Unlikely to be a real job. |
| Fitness Commitment Counselor | $40,000 – $70,000 | 4 | Offers personalized fitness advice, riding the wave of health trends, but demand might be overhyped. |
| Smart Home Design Manager | $60,000 – $100,000 | 5 | Designs smart home systems, benefiting from the expanding market for home automation. Demand is likely influenced by hype. |
| XR Immersion Counselor | $55,000 – $90,000 | 8 | Assists individuals in navigating virtual reality experiences, with a high propaganda index due to speculative hype. |
| Workplace Environment Architect | $70,000 – $110,000 | 6 | Designs workplace environments for productivity and well-being. Interpretations of what makes an ideal workspace can vary, affecting demand. |
| Algorithm Bias Auditor | $80,000 – $120,000 | 9 | Analyzes algorithms for biases. This is a role that does not exist, and emerges out of a misunderstanding of what an algorithm is. Driven by political agendas rather than genuine need. |
| Data Detective | $90,000 – $130,000 | 2 | Analyzes data for insights, with a low propaganda index attributed to the concrete demand for data-driven decision-making in various industries. (Title may be made up, the essence of it is accurate) |
| Tidewater Architect | $75,000 – $110,000 | 3 | Designs infrastructure to mitigate coastal flooding, with a low propaganda index reflecting the practical necessity of infrastructure adaptation to climate change. |
| Human-Machine Teaming Manager | $85,000 – $120,000 | 4 | Facilitates collaboration between humans and AI systems, with a moderate propaganda index due to varying interpretations of AI’s impact on employment. Some version of this will likely be real. |
| Chief Automation Officer (CAO) | $120,000 – $180,000 | 3 | Oversees automation initiatives for businesses, responding to the genuine need for efficiency and cost-cutting measures. Corporations will pay to maximize savings. |
| Metaverse Research Scientist | $110,000 – $160,000 | 8 | Conducts research in virtual reality technologies, with a high propaganda index due to the speculative nature of metaverse. |
| AI Ethicist | $100,000 – $150,000 | 2 | Guides ethical development of AI technologies, with a low propaganda index as ethical considerations are increasingly recognized as essential. Will likely be required due to regulatory capture. |
| Cybersecurity Threat Attribution Analyst | $110,000 – $160,000 | 3 | Identifies cyber threats and their origins, with a low propaganda index driven by the concrete need to address cybersecurity risks. |
| Digital Reputation Manager | $90,000 – $130,000 | 5 | Protects individuals or companies from online reputation damage. Could become a discrete profession, or remain as part of traditional PR. |
| Climate Impact Analyst | $80,000 – $120,000 | 7 | Analyzes environmental data for climate impact assessments. Has a high propaganda index due to varying interpretations of climate change and the political nature of the discourse. |
| Virtual Health Coach | $70,000 – $100,000 | 6 | Provides remote health coaching services. We are not sure how this differs from fitness influencers. |
| Drone Operator | $60,000 – $90,000 | 3 | Operates drones for various purposes, with a low propaganda index, as drone usage is growing. |
| Quantum Computing Engineer | $120,000 – $180,000 | 8 | Designs and develops quantum computing systems, with a high propaganda index due to speculative hype surrounding quantum computing technology. (It won’t become prevalent anytime soon) |
| AI Expert | $110,000 – $160,000 | 4 | Provides expertise in artificial intelligence development and applications. The title is ambiguous, which increases its propaganda index but the demand is there. |
| Sustainability Expert | $90,000 – $130,000 | 8 | Advises on sustainability practices. Due to the ambiguous nature of the role and political agendas in our discourse, position is likely made up. Very little genuine market demand. (Note: the need may be there, but ask “who will pay for it?” – no demand) |
| Cybersecurity Expert | $100,000 – $150,000 | 1 | Provides expertise in cybersecurity strategies and technologies, with a low propaganda index driven by the concrete need to address cybersecurity risks. |
| Data Analyst | $95,000 – $140,000 | 2 | Analyzes data for insights and patterns, with a low propaganda index attributed to the concrete demand for data-driven decision-making in all industries. |
| Robotics Engineer | $120,000 – $180,000 | 3 | Designs and develops robotic systems, with demand influenced by technological advancements. |
| Flood Architect | $80,000 – $120,000 | 4 | Designs infrastructure to mitigate flood risks, with a moderate propaganda index influenced by the increasing awareness of climate change and its effects. |
| Agricultural Equipment Operator | $70,000 – $110,000 | 3 | Operates machinery in agricultural settings, with a low propaganda index reflecting practical necessity. |
| Digital Transformation Expert | $100,000 – $150,000 | 5 | Guides organizations through digital transformation initiatives, with a moderate propaganda index – ask “what does this job actually do in the post social media world?”, it’s ambiguous. |
| Blockchain Developer | $110,000 – $160,000 | 5 | Develops blockchain-based applications, with a moderate propaganda index driven by speculative hype surrounding blockchain technology. |
| E-commerce Expert | $90,000 – $130,000 | 3 | Provides expertise in e-commerce strategies and technologies, with a low propaganda index as – e-commerce is a current thing. |
Four Lessons From Our Crystal Ball
Here’s what we can learn from this analysis:
- Illusion of Job Creation: Entities like the World Economic Forum can foresee the impending disruption of existing jobs – just like the rest of us. In response, they’re envisioning a future where human labor seamlessly integrates into the automated landscape. This is misleading, and a pipe dream. More importantly, their “greener pastures through innovation and integration” isn’t just about creating jobs; it’s also about maintaining control and maximizing profits by propagating certain narratives.
- Uncertain Job Viability: The picture of future jobs most sources paint online are not realistic, or backed by material market demand. Be cautious of speculations around job creation. While reports tout promising projections, they resemble more of a speculative sales pitch rather than a quarterly report.
- Skill-Centric Analysis: Thinking about professions or careers of the future is the wrong approach. This is because job titles and careers do not clearly reflect opportunities in the market, which change from year to year, sometimes even quarter to quarter. In other words, saying “Data Detective careers will grow” is an incorrect statement. The correct statement is “the skill of Data Science has growing demand”.
- The Myth of Future-Proof Skills: While discussions often revolve around emerging skills like data science and cybersecurity, the notion of “future-proof” skills may be misleading. Or more accurately, not all skills currently touted as future proof may actually be future proof (hint: they’re not). The rapid evolution of technology will quickly render even the most sought-after skills obsolete. Therefore, the emphasis must be on gaining adaptable, transferable skills such as critical thinking, communication, and problem-solving. See the full list of the five core skills and seven high-value disciplines for more info.
Conclusion
In the world of emerging career forecasts, there’s a lot of talk about technology blending seamlessly with human work, painting this bright picture of progress.
But let’s not overlook the harsh truth lurking beneath, a truth that will have a disproportionate impact on the job market: many jobs are going to disappear.
Sure… Innovation promises efficiency and convenience, along with endless potential. But it also has a human cost. It’s crucial to scrutinize these narratives and align your career toward skill development.
Remember, not all skills are created equal. Check out these timeless skills that will always be in demand.
Don’t be swayed by the hype.
Don’t fall for propaganda.
Focus on what the market really needs.
Orient your career toward real, material, current, and accelerating demand.