We are only four months into the school year, and there are still a few months left before it ends. However, for students in their final year of high school, the anticipation of a near future requires them to make decisions about their professional careers.
Future careers share a close relationship with technology and automation, as they take various disciplines to more complex, productive, and innovative territories.
This isn’t just about engineering; humanities, health sciences, communication, and even the arts are firmly entering the digital age and a paradigm shift.
For those about to choose their first career or considering a career change, it’s crucial to understand that demand depends on the relevance, specialization branches, and the speed of updates in their professional field.
To further discuss the topic, let’s consider these fundamental terms for the future:
Relevance: This refers to the need for professionals in a certain discipline. For example, accounting will remain relevant as long as private economies exist, but with today’s accounting software, what used to be done by five accountants can now be done by one, reducing demand. On the other hand, professions in software development are increasingly in demand as programming needs rise across all industry sectors and various aspects of daily life.
Specialization: Just as medicine has many branches of specialization, so do other fields such as programming, telecommunications, robotics, marketing, and audiovisual media. The more areas of specialization a career has, the more varied and flexible job opportunities will be.
Updates: This refers to how often the rules of the game change in a profession. For example, digital marketing experts must keep up with new technologies for more personalized ads. A career that is constantly updating means more time in training but also indicates high relevance and better opportunities.
A study by the McKinsey Global Institute indicates that automation in work is a key factor for future professions, including the adoption of artificial intelligence, digital logic, and increased interaction between machines and humans. This is already altering the technological and interpersonal skills needed to be competitive in the job market. The research suggests that by 2030, the time professionals in all fields will spend using advanced technologies will increase by 50%, and demand for programming skills will grow by 90%.
The study also notes an increased demand for specific soft skills such as self-management, leadership, and digital communication, as traditional office interactions move to virtual environments, requiring new social signals and new media utilization.
Finally, the study concludes that there is a need to encompass key cognitive skills like creativity, critical thinking, and the ability to process complex information for better business decision-making, which will increase by 20%.
Considering the above, some careers to analyze for 2025 are:
- Software Development: A few years ago, software was a technical matter related to computers and automated machines. Over time, it has become part of all work tools, our phones, cameras, social interactions, entertainment, and even our interaction with household appliances.
- Mechanical Engineering or Industrial Design: The complementary counterpart to software is hardware, the physical object that serves as an interface or tool. When software development and mechanical engineering merge, interesting specializations like robotics, mechatronics, domotics, agroengineering, nanotechnology, biomechanics, 3D printing, and the Internet of Things emerge, automating and simplifying repetitive, delicate, heavy, or everyday tasks.
- Data Analysis and Artificial Intelligence: Just as machines are programmed by software, they adapt to data and use it to make autonomous decisions when sufficient information is available. Machine learning and big data analysis are closely related to mathematics, statistics, and programming, focusing on creating increasingly intelligent programs that approach human cognitive processes. The rise of artificial intelligence and voice assistants like Alexa shows that careers in this field are gaining more ground.
- Video Game Development and Virtual Reality: This category encompasses all efforts of the digital age to create virtual and parallel worlds focused on entertainment or learning through hyper-realistic simulations. Besides involving programming and interface engineering, it relates to multimedia design, real-time data analysis, psychology, and even sociology, making the specialization fields in this area broad.
- Content Creator: Content creators are specialists who help companies, brands, organizations, and influencers create engaging pieces for their target audience that fulfill objectives such as entertaining, educating, convincing, selling, advising, etc.
- Digital Marketing: Since the rise of the internet, digital marketing has been one of the most in-demand careers with dynamic areas of specialization that are always changing and evolving.
- Digital Art: Those who think art has nothing to do with new technologies and future careers might consider that, for example, less than a year ago, a completely digital artwork sold for nearly seventy million dollars. Many audiovisual artists are entering the virtual realm, and hundreds of online galleries are dedicated to cyber art.
It’s crucial to consider not only future careers but also the interests, skills, and preferences of our kids. Studying or working in something they are not passionate about could lead to significant problems in the future, both professionally and personally.