7 Highly-Paid Careers of the Future

From cybersecurity to deep learning

To remain relevant in a competitive job market, it pays to pay attention to industries demonstrating accelerated growth.

It’s no secret that automation is killing some of the steadiest careers of the past. With every year that passes, the pace of technological development seems to double and then triple.

There are some relatively new fields, however, that only seem to be burgeoning amongst a technological revolution. From robotics to cybersecurity, careers of the future are tech-based and highly-paid for those with expertise.

Here are seven new careers that are only going to grow more lucrative in future.

User Experience Design

UX design is all about creating a seamless experience for users on a website. It’s a process of designing products that are easy to use and visually appealing. UX designers maximise profits for a business through an understanding of the wants, motivations, and expectations of its customers.

They use a combination of marketing psychology and interface design skills to create a smooth user experience. They oversee the entire process of integrating a product, which includes usability and function of the website interface as well as design and branding.

After years of settling for clunky and hard-to-navigate websites, businesses are finally beginning to see the benefits of creating an online experience that is as user-friendly as possible. UX design is a growing field, and will only become more in-demand as more and more businesses continue adapting their sites to keep up with the competition.

UX designers can easily make $100,000+ salaries, which will increase in coming years as demand grows.

“No product is an island. A product is more than the product. It is a cohesive, integrated set of experiences. Think through all of the stages of a product or service — from initial intentions through final reflections, from first usage to help, service, and maintenance. Make them all work together seamlessly.”

-Don Norman, creator of the term ‘user experience.’

Epidemiology

If the COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated anything, it’s that investment into epidemiological research is essential moving into the future. Epidemiology is the scientific study of diseases; their distribution, frequency, patterns, causes, and risk factors.

Epidemiologists conduct research into diseases, but they are also involved in community education and providing recommendations for public health policies.

After the globally devastating economic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, epidemiologists are only going to become more in-demand as governments do what they can to prevent costly future catastrophes.

3-D Printing

Even manufacturing can now be done on your computer. Especially with so many closed international borders this year, manufacturing is no longer all being pushed off-shore. Companies are beginning to consider manufacturing closer to home.

As technology becomes more sophisticated, demand for 3D printing is expanding. According to a report conducted by Markets and Markets, the additive manufacturing materials market is worth 1.5 billion as of 2019. By 2024, its value is expected to increase to 4.5 billion.

“In an age of custom-fabricated, do-it-yourself product design and creation, the collective potential of a million garage tinkerers and enthusiasts is about to be unleashed, driving a resurgence of American manufacturing. A generation of ‘makers’ using the web’s innovation model will help drive the next big wave in the global economy, as the new technologies of digital design and rapid prototyping gives everyone the power to invent — creating ‘the long tail of things.’”

-Chris Anderson in his book ‘Makers: The Next Industrial Revolution.’

App Design

Contrary to ten years ago, pretty much everyone has a catalogue of apps at their fingertips they use every day. As of 2021, the average social media user now spends around 3 hours per day on social media apps. Such a huge amount of time most people are freely giving away is a big market to tap into.

Skilled app designers are in-demand for pretty much every business that wants to capitalise on that market. Mobile app designers can make 100,000+ salaries; those with more experience can make up to 170,000 per annum. The Bureau of Labour Statistics expects jobs in software development to rise by 21% by 2028.

Robotics

A lot of people complain that robots are stealing jobs. Many manual labour and service jobs are replacing human workers, in what could be described as the age of automation. This will only increase in future as businesses look to downsize and reduce costs — but it’s good news for those working in mechatronics.

Careers that involve designing, building, and servicing robots are expecting a boom in job opportunities. Robotic technicians and engineers are highly specialised in an uncommonly studied field, meaning their services are in-demand.

Robotic engineering careers are showing strong growth. They’re highly-paid as per the engineering industry standard, easily six figures.

If there’s such thing as a career that can survive the robot invasion, this is it.

Cybersecurity

Cybersecurity is a vital field, and perhaps the fastest-growing industry of today. Professionals qualified to work in cybersecurity are in both limited supply and high demand. Hackers and cybercriminals are working out increasingly sophisticated methods of breaching protected data; IT experts working in cybersecurity are needed to keep up with them.

Policing, especially at federal levels, is complicated by the growing occurrence of cybercrime. Relatively new offences such as cyber-attacks on government information, terrorist plots, drug syndicates, and sex trafficking rings frequently operate online. The costs of cybercrime are huge; both to businesses suffering a data breach, and to taxpayers funding an exorbitant criminal justice system.

Those with expertise in both IT and criminology are highly suited to cybersecurity, and will likely never have to worry about work being available.

AI and Deep Learning

Effects of the robotic invasion aren’t limited to blue-collar fields. Office jobs are also being replaced by artificial intelligence. The replication of human intelligence within machinery is a new industry demonstrating rapid growth. Siri, driverless cars, translation services, chatbots, and facial recognition are only the beginning.

Deep learning is a sub-category of machine learning which teaches machines how to solve complex problems. Deep learning occurs by exposing artificial intelligence to huge amounts of data, allowing it to uncover patterns, make predictions, and come up with solutions.

The industry is expecting a huge amount of global growth, projected to increase worldwide by 284.6 billion in coming years.

Tech Dominates the Fields of the Future

Most industries marked for significant growth in the future share a similar theme of technological advancement.

For those who want job security, a stable career, and decent earnings, the ability to both embrace and shape technology is a way to ensure this.

Those who can adapt the fastest to rapid technological advancements will have an edge in the job markets of the future.