BEST CAREERS FOR THE
FUTURE: 51 JOBS FOR 2020
AND WAY BEYOND!*
1. SOLAR ENERGY TECHNICIAN
What are the best careers for the future? How will everything
change? Is it possible to prepare for the jobs of tomorrow—
today? Many of us would love to have definitive answers for these
questions. But, of course, nobody can say for sure what the future
holds. The best we can do is make educated guesses based on
past and current trends. Still, even educated guesses can help us
imagine some pretty astonishing possibilities.
Here’s one thing we know: Change will keep happening.
America and the rest of the world will experience social, cultural,
economic, environmental, and technological changes. Some
of these changes can be foreseen (such as the likely impact of
climate change). But many of them can’t be predicted. New
challenges may arise without any warning. And “happy accidents”
may lead to positive new discoveries that solve long-standing
problems.
So predicting the best jobs for the future requires
understanding that all kinds of variables will interact in complex
and surprising ways. Many of tomorrow’s jobs will likely result
from today’s scientific and technological advances. But most jobs
of the future probably don’t exist yet, and a lot of them haven’t
even been imagined. In fact, according to one estimate, almost
two-thirds of today’s kindergarten students will eventually have
occupations that don’t currently exist.1
Of course, many of today’s occupations will continue to be part
of the future, but they’ll undergo changes just like everything
else. And many occupations will transform into something
entirely new—or disappear altogether. It’s a lot to think about,
let alone visualize. After all, many of us have a natural resistance
to change and uncertainty. We might feel a little too safe or
comfortable with the status quo.
That’s why it can pay to explore and imagine career possibilities
like the 51 listed below. They can reveal new paths forward or
suggest ways that you may want to adapt in order to prepare
for the future’s most interesting or plausible scenarios. Many
occupational categories are already changing and overlapping
Like wind energy, solar power will continue to be a major part
of humanity’s transition toward a clean-energy future. The cost
of solar energy keeps dropping year after year, so it’s becoming
much more affordable for businesses and homeowners. In cities
all around the world, solar energy technicians are enjoying
stable employment in a growing industry that makes a positive
difference. In the U.S., about 30,000 solar technician jobs may
become available over the decade from 2016 to 2026. Median
yearly pay for this occupation was $42,680 in 2018.3
2. WIND ENERGY TECHNICIAN
With climate change threatening to severely damage the world
as we know it, it will become more important to move to clean
energy sources. Reducing carbon and methane emissions means
transitioning away from fossil fuel sources like oil, coal, and
natural gas. That means wind energy will likely be a big part of
the future. It’s already an industry that’s grown a lot. And it will
likely grow a lot more, meaning that skilled technicians will be
needed to help with the installation, maintenance, and repair
of giant wind turbines. About 14,000 job openings could be
generated for wind energy technicians over the decade that ends
in 2026. The median salary in this field was $54,370 in 2018.3
3. NURSE PRACTITIONER
Because of an aging and longer-living population, the health care
system may have trouble keeping up with the growing influx
of patients. Many regions could experience severe shortages of
doctors. They’ll need more non-physician health professionals
with the ability to diagnose and treat patients with various acute
and chronic conditions. Registered nurses who get the right kind
of advanced education at the graduate level can become nurse
practitioners and help fill that void. In 2018, median yearly pay for
nurse practitioners was $107,030. And between 2016 and 2026,
they could benefit from about 144,000 job openings.3
Continued next page >
SOUTH FAYETTE
❘
WINTER 2019
49
Jobs That Already Exist
with one another, which is a process that may accelerate. But
don’t let that overwhelm you. This article will show you several
good career options to start considering.
Check out the best careers that you can get today as well as the
ones that are more futuristic:
Wondering what will drive the demand for a lot of jobs? Some
of the best careers of the future are likely to be good options
because of:
• Biomedical advancements and ever-smarter machines
• Cultural, demographic, and economic changes
• Global challenges and crises
• The human drive to play and explore