FEEL as though the world will have moved on by the time you finish studying? You can plan ahead by considering the skills likely to be in demand 10 years from now. Ever thought of a career as a biofactory designer, for example? from the Oxford Martin Programme on the Impacts of Future Technology at the University of Oxford has pegged that as one of the hottest postgraduate jobs of 2023.
鈥淎s synthetic biology comes of age, engineers, biologists and computer scientists will come together to design new organisms tailor-made for specific goals 鈥� to function as antibiotic factories, to break down waste and produce fuels, plastics and other useful materials,鈥� says 脫 h脡igeartaigh.
Ever more data is being produced by giant international collaborations, so people who know how to store and analyse big data sets will be very popular. In particular, there are likely to be plenty of opportunities for those who can use a combination of mathematics and genetics to make sense of DNA research. And the increasing popularity of personalised genome scans means that consultants will need to be on hand to talk to people and help them to understand the implications of what is found in their genomes.
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If this much face time with clients is not your thing, rejoice in the coming telehealth revolution. Researchers will be needed to create 鈥減ills that will remotely send information about your heart rate, blood glucose, cholesterol and more to the hospital without you ever needing to leave your house鈥�, predicts 脫 h脡igeartaigh.
Remote sex is also likely to take off, according to psychologist and futurist , which will mean opportunities for programmers. 鈥淕ames designers,鈥� she says, 鈥渨ho enable us to enjoy healthy, happy sex with machines, real partners, virtual partners and geographically separated couples鈥� will be very well rewarded.鈥�
The global challenges we will face in a decade will also shape the demand for scientific skills. One will be coping with a limited water supply, says , professor of geography at the University of California, Los Angeles, and author of The World in 2050. 鈥淲ater is needed for everything from irrigating crops, to preserving biodiversity, to fracking,鈥� he says. 鈥淪cience postgrads with expertise in hydrologic science and water-seeking satellite technologies like , to be launched in 2020, will be in hot demand.鈥�
The impacts of climate change could open up careers in emergency engineering in the next 10 years, says 脫 h脡igeartaigh. 鈥淓ngineers will need to use 2023鈥檚 advanced materials science to defend threatened regions 鈥� for example quickly constructing lightweight dykes to protect low-lying cities from floods,鈥� he says.
聯Engineers will need to use advanced materials science to defend regions threatened by climate change聰
Smith anticipates an abundance of opportunities for drone experts: 鈥淧ostgrads with expertise in remote sensing, geography, aeronautics, and aviation law will find fascinating job opportunities here.鈥�
Many future machines, including drones and other autonomous vehicles, will present ethical problems, so vehicle ethicists will have a crucial role to play, says 脫 h脡igeartaigh. Self-driving cars have a great track record of safety, but it is inevitable that at some point they will head for a collision 鈥� what ethical rules should the cars obey? Take the 鈥渢rolley problem鈥�, for example. In this thought experiment, a person has the chance to redirect a trolley that is heading for five people and direct it towards one person. 鈥淎utonomous vehicles make the philosopher鈥檚 infamous 鈥榯rolley problem鈥� a real-world concern, and will provide many situations for ethicists to puzzle over,鈥� he says.