Jobs of the future

Many of the jobs we hold nowadays were merely a figment of the imagination just 10 or 20 years ago! Did your role even exist back then? If it did, it was no doubt worlds apart from the work you do today. What was once a fantasy is now our reality, and goodness, it makes you wonder – where will we all be in 20 years’ time?

We’ll never be able to predict exactly how the market will play out, but we do have an inkling of what’s to come…

Space tour guides

Virgin Galactic is taking reservations for sub-orbital flights, Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin is trying to regain public trust after yet another failed launch, and Elon Musk’s SpaceX is making headlines for working alongside NASA in a bid to extend the lifespan of the Hubble Space Telescope. It’s safe to say we’re making an awful lot of progress in terms of space exploration – or space tourism, rather.

Now, we’re not quite on the verge of colonising Mars, but if passengers are going to be forking out between £250,000-£500,000 to get on board, they’re going to want top notch service! We’re thinking air hostesses, qualified tour guides, and so on. These aren’t going to be your regular tour guides, like Exeter’s Red Coats, they’ll be scientists at the top of their game, who can explain what’s visible and invisible to the naked eye.

Digital footprint erasers

Once something has been posted online, there’s no way to take it back – it’s out there for all to see! More often than not, a particularly controversial tweet or revealing photo will come back to bite someone when they least expect it, especially when potential new employers are scouting out someone’s background.

Embarrassing moments are no longer something fleeting, remembered by just a few! Younger generations are increasingly aware of this, and as more and more younger candidates enter the market, there’s a pretty good chance that we’ll see professionals offering services to erase those pesky digital footprints. Remind you of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotlight Mind, anyone?

Remote delivery drivers

Delivery drones are currently being trialled, to see if they could serve rural areas more efficiently. But maintaining an entire fleet of drones takes some serious skill, not to mention the difficulty of piloting them remotely. In theory, with the right technologies in place, drone deliveries could be managed from anywhere, opening up endless possibilities in this line of work.

Will we see lorry drivers moving into this space, as technology evolves? In addition, will we see further jobs created in the same sphere – drone traffic officers, for example? In the US, NASA and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) have partnered to tackle this issue on a national scale, to avoid clashing flight paths.

Chief automation officers

There’s a new addition to the C-suite on the horizon ­– the Chief Automation Officer (CAO). Slowly but surely, everything is becoming automated – or at least, it feels like it! And, given the current skills shortage, many organisations are looking to automation to plug skills gaps, handle lower-value tasks and free up valuable time for their employees.

With that, comes the need for skilled talent to oversee the implementation and running of those systems. Being able to quickly and efficiently resolve issues with automation is crucial, and we’re not just talking about what’s happening at ground-level, but on a strategic one too. Enter, the CAO.

We don’t have a crystal ball, we’ll admit, but we do have a brilliant selection of new vacancies in IT & Technology, all based here in the heart of Devon. Could one of them be perfect for you? Take a look.