Do you know what kind of job you want to have in the future? Do you already know exactly what you want, or are you unsure and needing help in making a decision? How can you choose? One way is to find out what employment experts think.

Consulting the experts sounds easy, but it isn’t always straightforward. Even a brief search on the Internet will reveal that almost every employment analyst has a different set of the next “hot jobs,” each based on research and analysis of employment trends. How can you know who is right?

Things change rapidly in the employment world, and today’s hot job might be gone tomorrow. Jobs for travel agents, for instance, are disappearing because people can now book their own trips on the Internet. Employment in careers like teaching and librarianship can also be hard to get because there are too many people for too few jobs. Experts believe that many of these jobs will open up when the Baby Boomers (people born between 1945 and about 1962) retire, but it’s very hard to predict exactly when that will happen.

Although the higher-paid professional jobs are scarce, some of the supporting jobs have good possibilities. Pharmacists and dental hygienists don’t have the high status (or pay) of doctors and dentists, but their work can still be rewarding. Legal or educational assistants and social media managers could also be good career choices. Skilled tradespeople such as electricians and plumbers are always necessary, although even those jobs could become overfilled if too many people choose them.

It might seem impossible to choose a career with so many unknown factors, but you can still learn from current trends. Have you ever considered working with the elderly? With so many people reaching retirement age soon, there will be many jobs helping care for people as they age. If you’re interested in environmental issues, you could become a specialist in sustainable technology such as wind-powered electricity. An ability to grow plants on the roofs of buildings could be useful for becoming a vertical farmer. If people have to start growing their own fruits and vegetables because of a shortage of farmland, your work could be very important.

Do you like working with people or numbers? Human resources managers and financial experts are always needed, and teachers in vocational schools are helpful when many people go back to school to retrain for another job. How about working as a statistician, analyzing information? Most companies and government departments collect information about the people who use their services, but not everyone knows how to understand the data. If you like numbers, you could help people know how to use them.

It isn’t always possible to work in the career of your choice, but it helps if you know what you want before you start looking. Keep the jobs of the future in mind while making your choice, but remember to be flexible. You don’t know what the future holds, but you can do your best to be prepared.

Bibliography:

Hayashi, Yuki. “Canada’s 10 Hottest Jobs: Skilled Trades, Pharmacist, Finance, Dental Hygienist and More.” http://www.canadianliving.com/life/work
/canadas_10_hottest_jobs_skilled_trades_pharmacist_finance_dental_hygienist_and_more.php

O’Brien, Katherine. “Careers With a Future.” http://www.poss.ca/en/jobhunt/education/careerswithafuture

Webley, Kayla. “Nine Jobs of the (Near) Future.” http://moneyland.time.com/2011/11/21/nine-jobs-of-the-near-future/#vertical-farmers