Digitisation, automation and the advent of the Internet have caused massive disruption to business, turning once-vibrant sectors into sunset industries. The future of work has never been more uncertain.
However, there are some types of work that you know will never become obsolete and there are some which will grow to become more important, even in the face of automation. These generally fall into one of two categories: work that complements machine or robot work and work that depend heavily on human skills that computers cannot replace.
Robots can replace humans when it comes to physical labour but not when it comes to creativity, imagination or anything that involves the human touch and emotions. And those are the kinds of jobs that will do well in the future. Let’s look at a few different job types that will not only survive the era of automation but will actually thrive.
SOFTWARE PROGRAMMER
Is there any doubt about this one? As technology becomes more and more ingrained into business and as the Internet of Things embed connectivity to almost all the equipment and devices in our lives, there will be an increasing demand for programmers. That’s because all these things need software programming which can’t be done by computers. To programme devices to serve human needs, you need a human programmer to do the coding.
CYBERSECURITY EXPERT
This is another obvious one. As the Internet becomes ubiquitous, there will be more and more attempts by cyber criminals to hack their way into our lives. Companies, in particular, need to protect themselves against hackers. Cybersecurity experts will be in strong demand because of this. Everybody will need them to keep their data safe.
DATA SCIENTIST
This one may not be as obvious as the first two tech-related jobs described above but as the world relies more and more on “Big Data” to make business decisions, data scientists will be in demand. We currently have the capability to collect and collate huge amounts of data on people and how they behave online, whether it’s their browsing habits or what things they buy. All that data is useless though unless there is someone to analyse it and make sense of it so that informed business decisions can be made.
HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS
As technology continues to extend the human lifespan, there will be more people, including an increasing number of senior citizens, who will need healthcare. There is a lot that computers and machinery can do for healthcare but you will still need human doctors and nurses to adequately care for patients. It’s not just about diagnosing illnesses and performing procedures on the patient, which presumably machines and robots could do in the near future – and probably quite capably too. But it’s also about communication, empathy and patience. And these are things machines are poor at. A machine talking to you and comforting you or assuring you aren’t something most patients will take well to.
FITNESS AND WELLNESS COACHES
As the world becomes more urbanised and as business becomes ever more competitive, there will be a premium place on wellness – both physical and mental. Stress can kill. It can induce heart attacks and people know that. To stay healthy, they will seek out different forms of fitness training and wellness activities like meditation and yoga. But beyond physical wellness, there will also be a natural increase in emotional wellness. That’s where life coaches come in. Instructors in those areas of fitness and wellness will grow in demand. Yes, an app can probably guide you on what exercises to do or you can listen to an audiobook or podcast on positive affirmations but it’s not quite the same thing as having a real life coach guiding you.
MARKETING, BRANDING, COMMUNICATIONS
Machines can number crunch at lightning speed. But machines can’t be artistic or creative. Computers can’t imagine. They can’t formulate ideas. As such, creative professionals in the marketing, branding and communications fields don’t have to worry about their job being automated. It just won’t work. It’s worth mentioning that marketing, branding and communications are evolving very fast and much of it is moving online onto the digital sphere. As such, a strong understanding of digital and social media will be a big advantage and indeed a necessity for creative professionals of the future.
LOGISTICS MANAGEMENT
Almost everything can be ordered online these days. People buy entertainment content online (e-books, music, videos) and they order all kinds of products online too. They buy electrical items, gadgets, household goods, beauty products, fashion items and even groceries. And this trend is only going to grow. The key to all these things happening is a sound fulfilment and delivery system. To make sure that deliveries are done correctly and in a timely fashion, you will need human managers supervising the efforts. A drone could theoretically deliver products to your doorstep but you still need someone to manage the very complex logistics supply chain process.
COOK
Technology can change the way we do many things. We might not necessarily go out to buy things anymore and we can watch movies in the comforts of our home. But one thing that people will still want to go out for is food. That’s because eating is not just a necessity, it’s a social activity as well. People enjoy the chatter and companionship of their friends and loved ones as they gather together over a meal. With the exception of fast food, which probably could be fully automated in the near future, food generally needs to be cooked by humans. Every restaurant will need a chef to ensure that the food is up to standard. Menus need to be revamped and updated. Chefs will do this. You might be able to replace waiters with robots but not cooks. Again, machines are not great at creativity and imagination and you need both to be a good cook.
This list above is not exhaustive. For sure there are other jobs that will not be replaceable by robots. But the types of jobs that I’ve mentioned above all have a common thread, which is that the human touch is needed for those jobs to be effectively done. The human touch is not needed in assembly-line type of factory work but it sure is needed in any kind of work that requires critical thinking and imagination.
Oon Yeoh is a consultant with experiences in print, online and mobile media. Reach him at oonyeoh@gmail.com.