Choose a Job for the Future

Select a Career in Health, Science, Technology or the Environment

When young people think about their career options and what they want to do in the future, many times they forget how technology, the economy, the environment and even the human race will change.

Could anyone have predicted the housing crisis or the skyrocketing cost of oil? Who knew that as Americans grew older that they would also live and work longer? Surely someone besides Al Gore knew about global warming?

George Orwell wrote about the world of 1984back in 1949. That’s thirty-five years into his future. And although the future he predicted was much bleaker than what actually transpired, the average American today still doesn’t stop to consider how the workplace will transform in the next twenty-five to fifty years.

For an insight into what the future may hold and how employees can shape their careers around futurepossibilities, here are some ideas based on what experts have to say.

Healthcare

Without a doubt healthcare will continue to be a major career choice. Whether as a doctor, nurse or home health care aide, this field, quite frankly, will never die. As long as human beings exist, there will be a need for the health field to care for us.

Anyone interested in the field of health, caring for the elderly, the mentally or physically disabled, and short-term care for discharged patients is a safe bet in the immediate future. In fact, News of the Future predicts that by the year 2035, 20 percent of the American population will be over the age of 65.

Science/Technology

This is a very broad field because it includes everything from computers to artificial intelligence to space travel.

While Forbes suggests that the need for computer software engineers will increase to meet the rising demand for better computer networks to link people around the world, News of the Future hints that flights into space may become more accessible to the Average Joe and the use of artificial intelligence will so closely mimic real human speech and behavior that people will have a difficult time determining the difference.

MSNBC indicates that the future is all about the brain and lifelong learning, including the fields of synthetic biology and nanotechnology. For anyone who is interested in science and technology, the future clearly looks bright.

Environment

This one is so obvious it almost hurts, given the fact that if people in general don’t take environmental concerns seriously there won’t be a future to prepare for. That being said, what are some of the biggest areas to focus on?

Along with identifying and implementing alternative fuels and energy solutions, sustainability will continue to grow and play a major role in career decisions. News in the Future suggests increasing oil prices (predicted to be $150/barrel by 2020), automobile scrap pile up, and global warming are among some of the environmental issues that will continue to plague the U. S.

Interest in environmental and sustainability studies has grown significantly during the last ten years and will continue into the foreseeable future. This not only includes growth in organizations that primarily focus on environmental concerns, but also on other businesses that require professionals to help them manage their impact on the world around them.

One final general area that is expected to experience continued growth will be in the area of international studies, whether the focus is in general business, law, accounting, or any other area. As more and more people travel worldwide and companies offshore or expand their business in other countries, it will be important to understand things such as immigration and tax issues.

Whatever area of interest an employee has, there is likely to be a way to adapt this interest to a field of the future. It’s just a matter of thinking ahead.