How to future-proof your career

I often wonder what career path I would have chosen if I was younger and about to graduate from school or university now.

These are not random musings. I am often asked this question, either by parents that are worried for their children, or young people that are about to embark on their journey in life.

What would you recommend? Obvious answers like becoming a genius coder are not suitable for most people. My approach is to imagine what life could be like in a decade or two by extrapolating forward the current trends we are seeing.

AI

It seems to me that we are underestimating the speed of development of AI. Five years ago it was useless trying to interact with our devices using voice, and today I can dictate, with my unusual accent, to my phone with little or no errors. From the moment AlphaGo beat Lee Sedol, one of the best players in the world, in March 2016 it became apparent that the growth of AI will be faster than most people anticipate.

Blockchain

The other trend that has captured the headlines is the rapid development of blockchain based technologies. These enable contractual agreements that can be easily settled in an automated manner. It is now possible to buy crop and flight insurance online using smart contracts. The available applications of blockchains and smart contracts are growing rapidly, and activities like conveyancing are likely to be done automatically on a blockchain in the next few years.

Bullshit jobs

In 1930 the economist John Maynard Keynes predicted that the benefits of automation will lead to a 15-hour workweek. In Bullshit Jobs, a book published in 2018, David Graeber claims that instead automation has led to the creation of “bullshit jobs”. This is work that is completely pointless, unnecessary, or harmful to employees in its mindlessness. He estimates that up to 30% of jobs in the private sector are bullshit jobs.

The massive improvement in AI and automation will increase the proportion of tasks that can be accomplished without human intervention. The challenging economic and geopolitical phase the world seems to be sliding into means that companies will no longer be able to support non-productive jobs, and will actively endeavour to replace people with automated solutions.

The scope of these automated solutions will increase exponentially and many occupations are under threat. Even previously people intensive sectors, for example law, are going to be deeply impacted.

Finding your groove

Let us get back to the original question: if you were about to embark on your career, which direction should you choose? Another way of asking this question is: which occupations are less likely to be threatened by automation? I see three skill areas and one sector that are more likely to be future-proof:

Super Empathy — Most people, (at least until the current generation that has been brought up by smartphones?) need a warm human touch from time to time. Digital devices cannot (yet?) provide that. In my view empathy is the currency of the future. Caring professions like psychologists, social workers, and good managers (yes — good managers are a caring profession), are still going to be in demand, and maybe even more so in a technological world. Another type of empathy is somatic empathy. The touch professions. These include physiotherapy and any other discipline that is predicated on human touch.

Super Analytics — Being able to analyse either information or a problem and glean insights, or develop solutions, will always be in demand. The professions that reflect this skill are system programming, advanced data science, or any other highly technical skill around engineering. Computers will write their own code, but in the foreseeable future there will be a human somewhere in there. The same can be said for creativity in technology. The ability to come up with something new will always have a place in society.

Super Creativity — Even though it may not seem so, the world is becoming more creative. People, especially with the advent of blockchain technology, are expected to gain control and benefit from their creative expression.

Sophisticated creative tools are at everyone’s fingertips. What took an array of computers working for weeks to produce can now be done quickly using free software. AI will make the creative process much easier as it will only be necessary to issue a high level instruction to the system for it to create sophisticated art, prose, and computer 3D models and films. For someone to stand out, they will need to be super-creative, and create brand new concepts. Those that are talented enough to do that will find some form of employment. Being a design genius will also always stay relevant.

Climate Change Related Activities — The realities of climate change will impact the globe irrespective of the extent of the change. All commercial and educational activities around mitigating and preventing climate change will have a place in society and I foresee many new roles around this theme that will emerge in the future. Focusing today on understanding the impact of climate change, the various mechanisms to manage emissions, and new processes to ward off its effects is a good direction.

Summary

To decide which career to embark on ask the following three questions:

1. Am I very analytical and do I like technology and/or programming?
2. Do I get energy from dealing with other people and do people open up to me?, or alternatively, do all my friends line outside my door for a massage?
3. Am I always inventing new things and coming up with new truly original ideas everyone loves or new designs that capture everyone’s attention?

If you answered NO to these 3 questions then look for jobs in the environmental sector.

Of course, the future may turn out to be completely different and given the current geopolitical tension we may discover that digging deep tunnels and growing vegetables is the most sought after skill in the world…