With machine
learning, artificial intelligence, quantum computing and other high-tech
advances, most of us have wondered if our jobs will be taken over by
technology. The bad news is, this is already happening for some professions
doing rote work, such as telemarketers.
The good news is, studies
show that some jobs are less at risk than others, because they are complex
rather than predictable, or require the kind of creativity or emotional
intelligence that machines don’t yet possess. So here are jobs that will not
disappear anytime soon.
Choreographers
A choreographer is an artist who designs and directs
dance routines and performances that will entertain, inspire and sometimes
challenge audiences. A quintessentially creative profession—combining music and
movement—choreography is beyond the capability of machines right now and for
the foreseeable future.
Teachers
Teachers not only need to know a lot, they
must shape the development of their students, with keen insights into
their character, their abilities and what motivates them. Empathy and a
nurturing nature are important characteristics. While teachers increasingly
must know how to use new technology to do their jobs, they are unlikely to be
replaced by it.
First-line supervisors of police and
detectives
These law enforcement professionals—including police sergeants
and captains—are tasked with coordinating criminal investigations, providing
their expertise and guidance to investigators. Their work requires leadership
and problem-solving skills, a thorough knowledge of police procedures, grace
under pressure and other qualities.
Clergy
In different religious traditions, a clergy person is
an ordained member who conducts religious worship, carries out official rites
and provides spiritual assistance, moral guidance and support to congregation
members. Dealing with personal, emotional, spiritual, societal and other issues
makes the clergy’s job hard to replicate by machines.
Marketing, communications and design
professionals
According to The Independent: “Machines aren't
great at critical thinking, or coming up with new and exciting ideas. . . .
People who design for a living, or who work with ideas, words, and images will
probably survive the increase in automation, because
machines don't function like humans. Not yet, at least.”
Psychiatrists
One of the things that are hard for machines to replicate is emotional
intelligence. A fair bit of this is required by psychiatrists as they
diagnose, treat and try to prevent a variety of mental, emotional and
behavioural disorders in their patients.
Human resources managers
While computers may search resumes for the right keywords,
narrowing down the field for job candidates, human resources managers also
have insights into what makes people tick personally and professionally that
they rely on as they recruit, interview and hire new staff. Mediating disputes,
handling disciplinary actions, planning strategically to make the best uses of
the workforce’s talents also require serious people skills.
Athletic trainers
As much as fitness devices like Fitbit are all the rage, it
still takes the personal touch of a fitness trainer to keep people motivated
and on track for their exercise goals. And with an aging population,
and all the associated maladies, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts
that from 2016 to 2026 the profession should grow by 23%, much faster than
average.
Data scientists
While machines are great at amassing data, sometimes it takes a
human to understand the story it is telling in its algorithms and code.
According to the book Doing Data Science: “A
data scientist is someone who knows how to extract meaning from and interpret
data, which requires both tools and methods from statistics and machine
learning, as well as being human.”
Marriage and family therapists
These therapists also need emotional intelligence and human
insight to do their jobs, as they “treat a wide range of serious clinical
problems including:
depression, marital problems, anxiety, individual psychological problems, and
child-parent problems.” With a 23% predicted employment growth from 2016 to
2026, their job prospects outstrip many other professions.
Gig workers
In today’s growing gig economy, temporary, flexible jobs
are becoming more common, with numbers of freelance workers and contract
employees growing compared to full-time staff. Often their work is related to
technology, such as Uber and Lyft drivers, and food bicycle delivery people.
The work requires flexibility and independence—something machines isn’t known
for.
Dentists
People aren’t crazy about other people poking around their
mouths; they’re even less eager to have machines take over the role. With nice
salaries to boot, (human) dentists will continue to find a growing demand
for their services, diagnosing and treating problems of the teeth, gums and
other mouth
parts.
Music directors and composers
Creativity is the hallmark of the composers who write and
arrange original music and the directors, or conductors, who lead musical
groups during performances and recording sessions. With the number of people
attending musical and theatrical performances expected to stay steady in the
years ahead, the profession will still be needed, although with increased
competition for jobs.
Registered nurses
An aging baby
boomer population will ensure that demand stays high for registered nurses, who
work in hospitals, clinics, assisted-living facilities, homes, schools and
more. They also provide specialized care in “areas such as cardiac
care, midwifery, family practice, geriatrics, labor and
delivery and emergency nursing.”
Conservation scientists and
foresters
The continuing need to prevent and deal with forest fires, as
well as consumer demand for wood pellets, will ensure that conservation
scientists and foresters are around to plan, maintain and preserve public and
private woodlands. In the future, the best job prospects will be for
the professionals who well know geographic information system (GIS) technology,
remote sensing and other software tools.
Cyber security experts
With the growing number of cyber attacks threatening our
increasingly connected workplaces, cyber security is a profession that will continue
to command good wages and grow—conservative estimates predict that job growth
in the sector will be 37% a year through 2022. Good for those in the field;
alarming for the rest of us. And a case of how technology is creating new jobs.
Multimedia artists and animators
With the high demand for animation and visual effects in videogames,
television, movies and online, employment prospects for this profession
will remain steady. While multimedia artists and animators must use the latest
technology in their work, the creativity they bring to projects keeps the
machines as tools, instead of masters.
Chief executives
Whether an organization is large or small, its chief
executive has their hand at the helm, devising strategies and policies to
ensure that it stays on track and meets set targets. Long hours, high stress,
and plump salaries and bonuses are part of the job for both public and private
sector chief executives. As long as there are organizations, there’ll be a
demand for leadership.
Dietitians and nutritionists
An aging and
increasingly obese population, and the rise of diseases such as diabetes and
heart disease, will help keep demand for dietitians and nutritionists high,
with employment projected to grow by 14% over the next decade. These
professionals are experts in using food and nutrition to promote healthy
lifestyles and manage disease.
Mechanical engineers
While machines are on the rise, you still need people to create
and care for them. Mechanical engineers help design, make prototypes,
test, refine and produce just about any kind of machine you can think of. These
include ones for the automotive industry, aerospace and transport industries,
power generation, refineries, insurance industries, building services, railway
systems design and other sectors.
Coaches and scouts
Coaches and scouts find and refine athletic talent. Coaches
give amateur and professional athletes the training and skills they need to
become contenders in their sports. And scouts track down new players, assessing
their skills and how likely they are to be successful. With high interest in
college and professional sports, the demand for this profession will grow at a
rate faster than most other jobs.
Physicians
“Some say technology will replace 80% of doctors in the future”. “Instead,
technology will finally allow doctors to focus on what makes them good
physicians: treating patients and innovating, while automation does the
repetitive part of the work.” A growing and aging
population will help ensure the demand for physicians grows.
Recreation workers
Recreation workers keep people active and healthy with
fitness and recreational activities in sports centres, camps, nursing homes,
community centres, parks and elsewhere. With an increasing societal focus on
lifelong health and well being, these professionals will continue to be in
demand to work with people of all ages in a variety of settings.
Executive chefs
While automation will take over some food production jobs (and
already has), people will always want a good meal out. Combining manual skills
with great creativity, an executive chef knows how to mix flavours
and create innovative menus in ways that will future-proof their profession.
Fast-food chefs, however, are susceptible to automation and AI burger-flipping
assistants.
No comments:
Post a Comment