Brace yourself for future jobs

Prashant Bhalla

Data scientist, digital artist, app developer, virtual assistant, blogger... What do they have in common? All these job profiles didn’t exist 20 years ago.

Till some years back, not many people were aware of professions like data mining, user-experience design or front-end engineering and now they’re some of the most desirable careers in the world. Thus, students should be prepared for traditional and modern professions.  

According to a 2016 report by the World Economic Forum, 65 per cent of children entering primary school will find a job in entirely new streams. Even old jobs will require different skills at workplaces. These will be altered by technology, changing demographics and globalisation. So how should the students prepare for jobs and workplaces of future? 

Though this can’t be exactly ascertained, but here are a few tentative skills that are essential for students to deal with the future challenges.

Complex problem solving

In the industrial age of the early 20th century, most organisations demanded workforce that could follow deadlines and instructions. Our public education system emphasised more on rote learning and fundamental skills development. 

But in the information age of the 21st century, organisations need workers who can think creatively, recognise and solve complex problems. In fact, as per the World Economic Forum report, in 2020, more than one-third of all jobs across all sectors are expected to require multifaceted problem-solving as one of their important skills.

Critical thinking

From Wikipedia to mass media, we’re loaded with information today than at any other time in history. The trend will continue to dominate in the future, requiring employees to be well-organised, critical thinkers and customers of information. The candidates need to distinguish between credible and noncredible sources; scan information for bias, reason and precision; and combine the facts to generate new answers as well as products.

Collaborative efforts

As tomorrow’s workers team up with colleagues across the globe, they’ll need technological and communication skills and the ability to understand other cultures and different viewpoint. 

Opportunities that online platforms can provide to the students are:

• Work and learn online with students from various backgrounds and areas.
• Practice their foreign-language and cultural skills with native speakers online.
• From the chat room to the virtual classroom, learn to use online teamwork tools. 

Although the demand for traditional services like those of a doctor, engineer, teacher will still remain important, a better way of preparing our children for the future is to educate them about new professions, numerous skills and the ability to innovate, communicate and be comfortable with technology. 

— The writer is Chancellor, Manav Rachna International Institute of Research and Studies.

• Commercial civilian drone operators

In the near future, we might have drones providing us various services, including delivery, forensics and shooting of films. Once drones take over the world, there will be a huge demand for commercial drone workers. This will necessitate a pilot’s license and supplementary training and knowledge. In the next few years, it will not be unusual to see major delivery airlines using near-pilotless airplanes. Amazon has already projected the idea of using drones for local deliveries.

• Digital currency advisor 

Digital currencies like Bitcoin will become popular as people are losing trust in the government-controlled currency. For a formal financial portfolio in the future, you will require training as a digital currency advisor, who is well-versed in the crypto currencies. Skills include a degree in computer safety and monetary management.

• Data scientist

Data scientist is the IT job of the moment. The demand for data science has taken the world by storm. Companies, large and small, are demanding workers who can understand and combine data, and then shape these findings in a way that prove to be an asset to the organisations. By 2020, the number of data science and analytics job listings is proposed to grow from approximately 3,64,000 listings to 27,20,000 at both well-known companies and startups.

• Machine learning

Machine learning has seen a rapid growth in the most recent years with new methods, technology, languages, new frameworks emerging frequently. As a career, it combines technology, maths, and business analysis into one job. Machine learning, much like any data-driven job, doesn’t exist in a vacuum. Almost all industries and businesses have their unique goals and wants. That being the case, the more you can learn about your desired industry, the better it will be for you.

• Digital artists
  

Digital or multimedia artists use technology to make their artwork come alive. In addition to the conventional art techniques, such as drawing and sculpture, digital artists use computer software to produce 3-D animation, interactive website graphics, or digitally enhanced photographs. They may also develop storyboards for animation scenes and edit animation effects. Digital artists normally work in motion pictures, software publishing, and advertising firms. Digital artists must know all about design programmes, such as Adobe InDesign and Photoshop or Dreamweaver. Subject to the field, marketing and web-design ability may also be helpful. 

• Waste data managers

To insure data integrity in today’s fast-developing, information-storage industry, useless data too creeps into the system. De-duplication specialists, who can free our data centres of unnecessary copies and clutter, will enjoy an increased demand. 

• Data hostage specialists 

If you train yourself to be a data hostage specialist, you will also work as a data-hostage negotiators, data-retrieval specialists, and damage-control analysts.