The dawn of the robots is here.
As we’ve evidenced from the launch of ChatGPT and its competitors, artificial intelligence will outpace human knowledge, leading to massive job displacement as millions of jobs become automated and many traditional careers become obsolete.
But while AI and robots will steal our jobs, they’ll also give us new ones.
Did you know that futurist Cathy Davidson predicted that 65% of elementary school students will end up in jobs that don’t exist yet?
So what will the best, highest paying jobs be in this era of technology? Furthermore, what can we encourage our kids to study in order to take advantage of new and exciting opportunities?
Here are 5 Things that All Kids Should Study to Get a High Paying Job in the Future:
Table of Contents
1. Coding
Even if students don’t end up in an engineering field, a strong foundation in computer science will help develop them valuable skills that will apply to nearly every job in the new age of technology.
In tomorrow’s job market, students who wait until high school or college to learn coding will find themselves lagging behind many of their peers, while lacking in critical skills that provide value for employers.
Coding can be taught to students as early as age 4 through fun, visual block programming languages, while students 7 and up can take text-based coding courses that teach them how to code with fun projects.
In addition to high salaries, software engineering jobs have experienced solid growth as displayed in this 2023 graph below.
Source: Developers for Hire
2. Math and Science
Mathematics and science will be increasingly important in nearly every profession in the age of big data.
Mathematics teaches logic, critical thinking, and problem solving – and it drives nearly all business models.
Successful business leaders know that the higher you rise in a company, the more your job will involve math as it relates to finance, data analysis, and accounting.
Applied science and training in the scientific method teaches kids important techniques for investigating phenomena, acquiring new knowledge, and/or correcting and integrating previous knowledge.
Training in the scientific method provides students with an important foundation for problem solving that is utilized in several other skill sets that we address in this article, such as computer science, data analytics, and financial modeling.
The United States has fallen behind our peers in math and science and is now graduating a fraction of the number of graduates in STEM related fields as countries like India and China.
In order to thrive in the new era of technology math and science education must accelerate, as an advanced foundation in both will be critical for tomorrow’s best-paying jobs.
3. Data analytics
At the heart of the fast-approaching technological new age is data.
In an interview with CNBC, both Eric Schmidt, executive chairman of Google’s parent company Alphabet and Jonathan Rosenberg, adviser to CEO Larry Page, say that data analytics will become increasingly important in workplaces of tomorrow.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the number of roles for professionals with a skill set in data analytics is expected to grow by 30 percent over the next 7 years, well above average.
Data analysts make sense of large amounts of information using statistical tools and techniques. They’re able to pinpoint trends and correlations using programs such as Excel, SQL and Tableau. They typically study statistics, data science or mathematics.
As Schmidt put it, “Data is the sword of the 21st century; those who wield it well, the Samurai”.
4. Liberal arts and humanities
The best paying jobs of the future will all demand critical thinking, creativity, and strong skills in written expression, reading comprehension, and oral communication, — skills that are often the by-product of liberal arts and humanities courses.
While technological disruption will affect 60 percent of all occupations, according to a July 2016 report by McKinsey, professions that require high levels of creativity, people management, and critical thinking are the least at risk.
Liberal arts and humanities build cognitive abilities and analytical thinking which will be more difficult to replace with artificial intelligence (AI).
5. Finance and Economics
While artificial intelligence (AI) will continue to make quantum advances in financial modeling and analysis, students with the skills to interpret and make decisions based on financials will provide particular value to organizations.
In addition to strong career prospects in investments, banking, and accounting, the skills developed in finance and accounting are used at the highest levels of business organizations.
As we mentioned earlier in this article, financial literacy is a mission-critical skill for C-level executives, and only those who develop these will be able to break into these highly lucrative positions.
What will the best paying jobs of the future look like?
While it is difficult to predict all of the jobs of the future, it is certainly enjoyable to imagine some of them (Thank you Thomas Frey for sparking some ideas).
As a general rule, the laws of value creation and market economics will continue to drive pay rates.
Still here is an incomplete list of some interesting and lucrative careers that will likely be at the top of the pay scale in tomorrow’s world. Some of these positions, such as entrepreneur, have existed throughout time, and will continue to be the highest risk reward professions on the planet.
- Brain-Machine Interface Engineer: Brain-Machine interfaces will be used to enhance sensory, motor, and cognitive brain functions, as well as to provide treatment for neurodegenerative disease. These professionals will specialize in reading brain content, sending information to the brain, and adding artificial machine parts to the brain.
- Smart Dust Programmers – Technology is shrinking so quickly that eventually it will eventually reach the particle size of dust. In its most basic form, smart dust consists of a sensor combined with a wireless transmitter and some kind of power source. Some scientist envision smart dust tech will be powered from wireless RF signals.
- Domestic Robot Programmer: These professionals will create robots and AI for domestic use.
- Re-wilders: These environmental engineers will be responsible for reversing human caused damage to our environment while helping to restore the deforested areas, waterways, marshes, beaches, and coral reefs.
- Executive Productivity Officer: Relying on big data analytics, these executives will help organizations increase efficiency and productivity.
- Data Physicians: These MDs will treat patients by focusing on biographic profile and personal data findings than than their latest symptoms.
- Gene Programmer: In artificial intelligence, genetic programming (GP) is a technique in which computer programs are encoded as a set of genes that are then modified and adapted for use.
- Drone Traffic Optimizers: As drones become more prevalent for both human transport and the transport of goods and services, we will need ways to optimize traffic patterns and delivery times.
- Entrepreneur: Entrepreneurship, especially in technology related fields, will continue to drive the global economy and create new jobs.
- Software architect: These software experts make high-level design choices and while determining technical standards, including decisions about coding standards, languages, and platforms.
- AI Engineer: AI Engineers develop AI systems, including creating AI models, optimizing AI performance, and collaborating with data scientists and software developers.
Conclusion
While it is impossible to accurately envision technological disruption and breakthrough innovation, it is possible to prepare our children for change and to help them gain skills that will provide value in tomorrow’s marketplace.
It is also possible to begin steering them away from at-risk professions that will likely become obsolete with advances in robotics and other disruptive technology.
Strong foundations in coding, math, science, data analytics, liberal arts and humanities, and finance will provide a solid foundation in tomorrow’s workplace.
Above all we must teach our children to become fearless learners that are not frightened by change – but rather find change exciting and invigorating.
We hope you enjoyed the article 5 Things that All Kids Should Study to Get a High Paying Job in the Future.
Do you have good ideas about how to best prepare our children for success in tomorrow’s world?
Did we miss anything? Please let us know by leaving comments below!
