Speaking Up About Careers of the Future

David G. Sevier, Ed.D.
Policy Adviser
State of Tennessee Board of Education
Nashville, Tennessee

What type of career fields will see the most expansion in the next 20 years? Why?

Creating ultra-efficient workplaces will be necessary to allow people to have meaningful lives outside the workplace. Jobs that focus on knowledge management and efficiency will be crucial to support this goal. Those who can take the lessons learned from streamlining traditional business markets and apply these concepts to government, education and other areas will be in high demand.

What types of technology will be the biggest influencers on the future U.S. job market?

The increasing demand for business decisions to be data-driven requires that emerging technologies follow along. Technologies that gather, filter and analyze information will be absolutely necessary to the health of any business. Those who can leverage these types of technologies will be critical players in the job market.

In the future, will teaching entrepreneurial skills become more important in high school and college? Why?

Entrepreneurial skills are vital because they can be put into practice no matter what job path a person chooses. We know that today's students will, most likely, have many jobs over the span of their careers. It is imperative that students learn the types of skills that allow them to take advantage of emerging technologies and trends.

How will collaborative trends -- citizen journalism, wiki environments -- effect how business is conducted?

Business solutions that utilize social media and other high-contact technologies will continue to tear into the fabric of traditional business organizational structures. Phrases such as "work from home" or "telecommute" will become obsolete and work will morph into something that occurs without regard to time or place.

No one knows where technology could take careers of the future, but we want your far-out ideas! If anything was possible, what could a career of the future look like?

I see an eventual return to an appreciation for the work of artisans. Someone soon will incorporate nanotechnologies into one-of-a-kind art pieces at a cost that makes them affordable for the average person. These may be beautifully crafted bowls that keep fruit fresher, garden statues that self-illuminate at night or necklaces that change color to coordinate with clothing.

Robert C. D. Barclay
Government and Education Industry Marketing
Xerox Corporation
Rochester, NY

What type of career fields will see the most expansion in the next 20 years? Why?

Math, science and engineering will see increases as product development and manufacturing are becoming increasingly more technology and science based. Technology innovation is on a rapid continuum and companies will continue to seek people who understand what is there today and those who can be constant learners of what comes tomorrow.

What types of technology will be the biggest influencers on the future U.S. job market?

Information management, global communication and virtual computing will all have great impact. While some are in their infancies today, new uses and more widespread use will soon be a fact of life. We tend to be data rich, but information poor. Those who can manage the data -- both structured and unstructured -- and make informed decisions based upon it will succeed.

In the future, will teaching entrepreneurial skills become more important in high school and college? Why?

Entrepreneurialism is the American dream. Internet technology and telecommunications have allowed any individual to reach customers worldwide. With further advances in virtual reality technology and software as service (SaaS) models, even the smallest company can appear to be big. If kids in the future are creative, the world will be their oyster.

How will collaborative trends -- citizen journalism, wiki environments -- affect how business is conducted?

Collaboration is king. No one can compete as an individual and tomorrow's youth are already living it. They will demand that their business environment take advantage of the tools that they grew up with.

No one knows where technology could take careers of the future, but we want your far-out ideas! If anything was possible, what could a career of the future look like?

It would be a virtual surgeon. Using a small robotic device that can be easily shipped to the patient, a virtual surgeon could sit across the world at a computing device, give a diagnosis and conduct a complex medical procedure. This would be particularly helpful in providing cost effective care to the elderly and those in remote areas.

Ann Beheler
Dean of Business, Computing and Career Services
Orange Coast College
Costa Mesa, California

What type of career fields will see the most expansion in the next 20 years? Why?

Any careers associated with the green initiative will be in the forefront. Everything from the traditional environmental careers to areas like convergence technology will expand. The convergence technician supports the combined network that supports voice, data, video and image in a wired or wireless setting with emphasis on security.

What types of technology will be the biggest influencers on the future U.S. job market?

New careers will follow developing technologies. Present Web technologies will become even more pervasive, with wireless access becoming more ubiquitous and citizens in developed companies never being away from voice, video and written access. Convergence technologies will continue to advance; any technologies that minimize energy usage will be important.

In the future, will teaching entrepreneurial skills become more important in high school and college? Why?

The workplace of the future will rely on a greater and greater number of independent contractors. The success of these contractors will depend on the individual's mastery of interpersonal, written and verbal communication, critical thinking and problem-framing and problem-solving skills.

How will collaborative trends -- citizen journalism, wiki environments -- affect how business is conducted?

With the Internet supporting self-publishing of materials, every citizen can be a published author. Political campaigns are already conducted via the Internet; businesses of all sorts have to be aware of their Internet presence and need to address citizen comments as part of brand management.

No one knows where technology could take careers of the future, but we want your far-out ideas! If anything was possible, what could a career of the future look like?

Many futurists predict that students of today will have seven or more totally different careers in their lives. Therefore, lifelong learning will be required, not optional. Technologies that support anytime, anyplace education, decision-making and connectedness will continue to mature.

Elise Volpe
Management Information Systems (MIS) Coordinator
West Orange Public Schools
West Orange, New Jersey

What type of career fields will see the most expansion in the next 20 years? Why?

Engineers that specialize in developing alternate types of fuel.

What types of technology will be the biggest influencers on the future U.S. job market?

Designing machines that use alternate fuel.

In the future, will teaching entrepreneurial skills become more important in high school and college? Why?

Yes, I believe that entrepreneurial skills are what can make a person truly successful. Some of our most successful people right now (i.e. Bill Gates) exemplifies this. If we are to compete with other countries, we will have to improve these skills through education.

How will collaborative trends -- citizen journalism, wiki environments -- affect how business is conducted?

These types of environments could lead to more collaborative projects with people from different backgrounds and areas of expertise. Therefore, I think more business will be conducted via the computer. No longer will distance be a barrier for collaboration.

No one knows where technology could take careers of the future, but we want your far-out ideas! If anything was possible, what could a career of the future look like?

I think that careers of the future will require more hands-on training and internships. A college education may consist of mostly working experiences with classes that correspond.

Jalynn Gilworth
Student, 15
Putnam County R-1 High School
Unionville, Missouri

What type of career fields will see the most expansion in the next 20 years? Why?

I think the field of computer programmers will expand in the next 20 years because people are coming up with new computer technology every day and computer programmers will become more important in installing these programs.

What types of technology will be the biggest influencers on the future U.S. job market?

Advanced cell phones, such as iPhones or Blackberrys will influence business. People will be able to set up meetings, e-mail and stay in contact with their colleges all around the world.

In the future, will teaching entrepreneurial skills become more important in high school and college? Why?

Yes. It will become more important because technology in business will keep advancing so people will need as much training for their future as they can get.

How will collaborative trends -- citizen journalism, wiki environments -- affect how business is conducted?

Business may be conducted strictly over the Internet. In the future you may be able to find business partners from all over the world using an Internet site like Facebook.

No one knows where technology could take careers of the future, but we want your far-out ideas! If anything was possible, what could a career of the future look like?

A career in the future could possibly be to program robots or to even be to create robots.

*This story is from Converge magazine's Summer 2008 issue.