A month ago our 14 year old son brought documents from school. They were for our perusal, on his subject choices for Grade 9 and we had to give consent for him to take an aptitude test. Prior to this, the school had arranged for them to attend the My Future 4.0 – Next Level Digital Skills & Careers Summit. This opened up a very delicate and serious conversation about his subject choices and possible/potential career options.
Me: “any idea what career path you wish to pursue?”
Nathan: “A career in I.T, but I think I would also consider becoming a physiotherapist”
Me: “You can never go wrong with I.T, besides, your IT marks are super impressive”. As for him becoming a physio, my first thought was one of his best friends. I recall a conversation with his mom and she revealed it was his passion. “I hope you aren’t being influenced. There are many people out there who couldn’t bear losing friendships, people who decided to study what their best friends were studying, totally disregarding their strengths and passion. There are millions of people, especially young people, who are sitting at home, unemployed. Not because they are not qualified, but because they studied for something that is not much in demand. As your mother, I would be worried to see you at home without a job. All very well to study something you enjoy and something you are passionate about, but what if that doesn’t give you an income? You should consider ‘careers of the future’, look at uncle Owen. Did you know he was offered an internship before he even graduated? He studied IT Networking and he won’t struggle to find a job if he decided to quit today. Okay, it helps that he enjoys what he does. Very few people get paid to do what they love”.
My Humble Opinion: I am the kind that reads newspapers from front to back and the Careers and Jobs section is always thick. Yes, most of the descriptions and job specs state experience as one of requirements but consider a number of people who got their foot through the door simply because they asked to ‘shadow’ an employee or they offered to volunteer. You hear comments such as: “wake up early and work all day for a stipend?”. Question is, would you rather sit at home than work towards gaining some form of ‘experience’, something to add onto your Curriculum Vitae. How do we explain the number of people who are unemployed, yet they are highly qualified? Could it be that there is an influx of say, accounting, nursing, law graduates? It makes sense to look at the ‘careers of the future’ and to find one closest to your passions. This will almost guarantee a job and an income. It’s a pity that Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges are looked down upon. Youngsters, in particular, look down on the plumbers, the electricians, the carpenters and motor mechanics. Not realizing that they actually earn more that many in suits and air-conditioned offices. The unemployment rate would diminish to a certain degree if graduates availed themselves even if they knew they were over-qualified for a position. We all have to start somewhere, just get your foot through the door and work your way up.
Careers For The Future
1. Solar Energy Technician
2. Wind Energy Technician
3. Nurse Practitioner
4. Software Developer
5. Physical Therapist
6. Registered Nurse (RN)
7. Health Services Manager
8. Data Analyst
9. Digital Content Specialist
10. Information Security Analyst
11. Computer Systems Analyst
12. Biomedical Engineer
13. Mechanical Engineering Specialist
14. Electronics Engineering Specialist
15. Digital Rehab Counselor
16. Blockchain Developer
17. Civil or Commercial Drone Pilot or Dispatcher
18. Smart-Building Technician
19. 3D-Printing Technician
20. Augmented Reality Developer
21. Personal Privacy Advisor
22. Personal Brand Advisor
23. Robotics Service Technician
24. Remote Health Care Engineer
25. Urban Agriculture Specialist
26. Nanotech Engineer
27. Biomech Technician
28. Genetic Engineer
29. Tech Ethicist
30. Virtual Reality Designer
31. Problem-Solving Competition Director
32. Synthetic Biology Engineer
33. Project-Based Human Resources Director
34. Weather Control Engineer
Jobs That Don’t Exist Quite Yet (But Probably Will) By one popular estimate, 65% of our children entering primary school today will ultimately work in completely new job types that don’t yet exist.
35. Organizational Disrupter
36. Personal Education Guide
37. Custom Body Part Manufacturer
38. Brain Implant Specialist
39. Personal Microbiome Manager
40. Pharmaceutical Artisan
41. Urban Security Coordinator
42. End-of-Life Manager or Memorializer
43. Hyper-Intelligent Transportation Engineer
44. Cyborg Designer
45. Robotic or Holographic Avatar Designer
46. Space Tourism Guide
47. Space Nurse or Physician
48. Landfill Worm Operator
49. Extinct Species Revivalist
50. Android Relationship Counselor
51. Mind-Transfer Specialist
Source: https://www.trade-schools.net/articles/best-careers-for-the-future.asp
Opinion Booth 
Very interesting article regarding 4IR. My view is that Human intervention will still remain key to work hand in hand with digital revolution. Personally going through this same journey with my son in Grade 9, my view of the critical considerations for subject choices are as follows.
1. Parents should encourage their kids to follow their passion
2. Results of aptitude tests and the brain profiling assessments are critical. We are all born with a certain genetic brain dominance (left or right)….right brain dominance will suit the more technical careers such as medicine, accountants, etc. Left brain dominance kids will lean to the more creative careers such as artists, architecture etc.
3. Understand the University Entry requirements for the career choice of your child. Certain subjects are compulsory e.g maths with life science or physical sciences for medical degrees.
4. Subjects covered in 1st year of university vs. subject choices for high school. High school subject choices must be those that will assist our kids with an easier transition in year 1 at university E.g. to study medicine – both physics and life sciences are not university entry requirements. It is either / or with maths. However, the challenge is that 1st preference will be give to those students doing both physics and life sciences. In addition, looking at Physiotherapy requirements at Wits Medical School, both Physics and Chemistry are key subjects covered in 1st year of university but yet physics is not compulsory for entry requirements if the candidate is doing maths and life sciences. Physical science together with life science is key for medical degrees. Example 2: Maths is compulsory for an accounting degree but not accounting. However, I would encourage Learners to consider taking accounting with Maths for an easier transition in their 1st year of university having studied accounting myself.
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@Claudette:
Very enlightening and educational- thank you for helping us break down things clearly and concisely…
I loved the proposed job lbs to come as well as the list careers for the future as well as the list of jobs that will exist but don’t yet … food for thought- ABSOLUTELY- I am taking this list and saving it somewhere safe —to be referring to constantly- this is an article and reply I will keep on my phone for constant referal…
Thank you so much!
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