Top 5 New Professions: Preparing for the Challenges and Opportunities of the Tech Era

At a time when technology is developing at an unprecedented pace, a snowball effect is being created on society and economics. The professional landscape, particularly in the tech sphere, is the first area to feel the full effect of the change. Despitemassive tech layoffs of 2023, talent shortages in IT are undeniable, with brands competing for the best human talent.

Overall, the 21st century seems a good time to pursue science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) careers, but it is uncertain whether the tech roles of today will remain recognizable or whether society can adapt to the fast-paced technological changes. While no one can foresee the future, some career trends are already transparent. Below are the top five relatively new professions that are already in high demand, and from the looks of it, these jobs will keep redefining the tech landscape for years to come.

Artificial intelligence is not a brand new development, but this occupation has been regarded as a minor part of larger software development for a long time — until a few years ago when AI advances have significantly transformed the professional landscape. Even today, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics does not have AI and machine learning job stats as a separate occupation. However, the demand for AI engineers is undeniable, whereas possible professional applications go beyond the tech sector.

The talent shortage is equally dire, with recruiters worldwide competing for candidates’ attention with all means possible — from inventing attention-grabbing subject lines in their job offers to using LinkedIn email finder software to contact potential candidates directly. However, attracting the best talent is not the only challenge.

Like all new professions, AI engineering is a field that relies on experiences rather than actual certifications – the US universities are only starting to catch up on the trend, with relatively few establishments offering academic training in this area. And while the lack of academic credentials is not always a challenge, as the rise of new-collar jobs has clearly shown, the absence of comprehensive ethical guidelines often is.

So, despite enormous career opportunities ranging from pure tech to finance, healthcare, entertainment, and many other industries, the new generation of AI engineers will need to build a whole new ethical concept of what’s acceptable in machine ‘teaching’ and what’s not. And this may prove more challenging than it sounds. The responsibility, in any case, is huge.

Currently, data scientists cover some of the responsibilities of AI engineers’ responsibilities, but there is reason to believe these two occupations will travel separate roads in the future. According to recent BLS estimates, the job growth rate for data scientists in 2023-2033 should reach 36%, creating over twenty thousand new job opportunities and far exceeding the average of a 3% job increase per year. However, even these estimates are far from precise because, like most new-collar jobs, job titles within each company are prone to fluctuation, i.e., in some organizations, the responsibilities of data scientists may be assigned to computer & information research scientists (BLS projected growth rate 26% for the next decade).

Whatever the case with job titles, the importance of data science in the future cannot be underestimated. Even now, most day-to-day business decisions are based on data, and this trend will only keep strengthening. Similarly to AI engineering, future applications of data science go way beyond the tech sector and are expected to penetrate a vast range of industries, from retail to logistics. Similarly, the ethical challenges of responsible data management are already obvious — and so are the potential dangers of data storage. This raises another important consideration.

Another indispensable occupation in the emerging world of data is data analysis, with a projected growth rate of 33% for the next decade. Despite all efforts, the number of cyberattacks keeps increasing every year, which is already a major challenge. At the moment, the human factor (unintentional data breaches from inside of the organization) is one of the most common reasons behind data leaks, but external dangers are growing as well. For example, Deloitte reports a 400% increase in malware attacks on Internet of Things (IoT) devices in 2024, while cloud security breaches have seen a 75% increase in 2023.

The situation is unlikely to improve, especially considering that 5G technologies open up new opportunities for ill-doers. At the moment, it is unclear whether quantum computing will help alleviate the situation – more likely, it will create new risks to current cryptographic standards. So, while the employment opportunities for cybersecurity experts will not diminish any time soon, the major professional challenge in this field is keeping up with new threats and technologies.

Clearly, IT cannot be the only sector dominating the job market. Even today, the US experiences dire talent shortages in healthcare, especially in qualified nursing personnel. BLS predicts a 46% job increase in the next decades, with over 135,000 new job opportunities for nurse practitioners. The demand for healthcare and medical managers is also expected to increase – and while the growth percentage is lower, standing at 29%, the number of new job opportunities is even greater, with over 160,000 new vacancies expected in the next decade.

The challenges facing the medical sector are numerous. The first one is the ever-declining birth rate and a tendency toward a slowly aging population that needs nursing attention. However, some purely social factors also come into play – for example, compensation levels and working conditions for nurses were overly exerting for years, which caused mass quitting. Addressing these challenges is crucial because, without quality working conditions for healthcare staff, societal well-being may be at risk.

The sustainable energy industry is another area developing at an unprecedented pace, offering thousands of employment opportunities for skilled experts. Notably, this trend concerns the traditional white-collar engineering staff and technicians alike – with the current demand for technicians even higher. According to BLS estimates, wind turbine service technicians and photovoltaic installers were the top two in-demand jobs in 2023, with 60% and 48% job growth projections for the next decade, respectively.

Of course, as the sustainable energy sector keeps growing (and it certainly will be considering all carbon-free plans aiming for 2050 and further), the demand for technician jobs might diminish a little. Still, it is clear that skilled technicians with an understanding of sustainable energy systems will not be lacking work in the next few decades. Consequently, the demand for engineers should also keep growing because a shift towards a greener future still requires a lot of infrastructural planning and maintenance.