The other day we were talking about the new breed of workers. Now Fast Company has a slide show on 9 Hot Jobs for Web 2.0. A pretty interesting combination of technical and "soft" skills with a particular emphasis on usability and design.
Even more interesting is their list of 6 jobs that won't exist in 2016, including:
- Auto Mechanic (cars will be running on software so no need for the "grease monkey")
- U.S. High Tech Workers (who will presumably now be repairing your car)
- Advertising Creatives (apparently we amateurs do a better job of marketing than the professionals)
- Bloggers (at least the kind who would get paid)
Predicting where we'll be in 10 years is a pretty dicey proposition, but one thing that is very certain is that there WILL be change. Which brings me back to the issue of needing to prepare for the future by looking at skill trends, not job trends. Just because creative types may not be necessary in advertising doesn't mean that creative skills won't be valued and needed--most likely just in a different context.
I do agree with Dan Pink that we're continuing to see a need for design, empathy and symphony and their associated skill sets. I also see where we are doing very little to prepare people for this future, particularly our kids, which is pretty scary to me. We need a plan, people. . .
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