4 Best Careers for the Future Beyond 2030

Since the original industrial revolution in the late 18th century, technology has been revolutionizing the way humans approach their work. Technology has made many aspects of our work dramatically easier. But as our technologies become increasingly more sophisticated, analysts are warning that we humans may be in the process of automating ourselves out of paying work. Consultants at McKinsey have made a startling prediction. On a global basis, they foresee that up to 30 percent of all humanity’s productive work hours may be automated by the year 2030. They also believe that a sizable number of the world’s workforce – somewhere between 400 million and 800 million people – will need to change careers by 2030, because automation will have made their current jobs unviable by then. With this in mind, there are career choices that should probably be avoided if possible, because they will most likely be obsolete by 2030 or thereabouts. There are other occupations that are smarter choices, because it would be challenging to automate the most critical tasks that the professionals in these occupations must do. Let’s discuss 4 of these possible career paths, which are likely to be some of the best jobs for 2030 and the future beyond. 1. Nursing In general, healthcare is one of the sectors that experts anticipate will be most resistant to automation. However, there are many tasks within the healthcare niche that could theoretically be automated. For example, robots have already demonstrated a superior ability to diagnose some cancers more accurately than human doctors are able to. However, a robot would be hard-pressed to do a registered nurse’s job of empathetically caring for sick, wounded and recovering patients. As the global population grows older and grayer, this is a job that will be likely to remain in strong demand in the foreseeable future, despite the increasing availability of automation technologies. Learn more about becoming a nurse here. 2. Human Resources Manager Human resources managers are required to perform many tasks that contemporary robots simply are not capable of doing yet. They help to mediate conflicts between employees and management. They make value judgments about whether prospective hires are being truthful in their answers to interview questions. Their jobs require human traits such as empathy. Furthermore, HR managers are the professionals employers will be counting on to guide their organizations through transitional periods that are likely to arise. As more companies adopt automation technologies and other sophisticated technologies, some of their workers may be displaced from the jobs they were doing. These workers will need to either be re-trained and redeployed to other roles within the company or laid off. HR managers are likely to be the ones overseeing the entire process. Learn more about becoming a human resources manager here. 3. Cybersecurity Specialist Cybersecurity professionals are virtually the only thing standing between criminal hackers and their lucrative targets. There’s massive global demand for the services these professionals perform. There are a number of all-too-human skills and personality traits that employers seek out in a cybersecurity professional. These include curiosity, creativity, outstanding communication skills and high ethical standards. Robots are not yet capable of exhibiting all of these characteristics. Learn more about careers in cybersecurity here. 4. Early Childhood Teacher Automation technologies are already successfully being deployed to some degree in higher education. However, they are far less likely to be effective with small children, who require guidance and supervision from other humans. Learn more about becoming a teacher here. These are 4 of the careers we anticipate will be most resistant to automation. As such, they are strong candidates for careers to consider if you’re a young person who will be entering the workforce soon, or a career changer who is in search of a new path forward. Do keep in mind that technology is likely to also bring new opportunities for careers that don’t yet exist – so it may be worthwhile for you to keep an eye on the developing workplace trends as new career opportunities become available.