Received wisdom would have you believe that if you ask children about what sort of jobs they’ll have when they grow up, they’ll come back with whimsical and fantastical answers. But a recent survey from the Children’s Commissioner puts paid to that idea.
In its recent Big Ask survey, “a good job” was the top future priority among 69% of nine to 17 year olds. 37% of this age group said that not getting a good job was a worry, with girls and older children being more likely to be anxious about this (40% of girls said this was one of their top future worries, compared to 35% of boys).
While it’s concerning that children as young as nine are anxious about their adult career prospects, future job liquidity shouldn’t be a problem according to experts at the Institute for the Future. They say that about 85% of the jobs that today’s university students will have in 2030 haven’t even been invented yet.
Period of rapid adjustment
The truth is that new jobs emerge all the time thanks to the advancement of technology. The past couple of years has been a period of rapid adjustment as generative AI technologies come to the fore. For example, the job title of ‘prompt engineering’ is becoming a vital part of the AI ecosystem––but it didn’t exist a couple of years ago.
Generative AI is expected to add $4.4 trillion in economic value thanks to its ability to increase productivity in nontechnical roles via the automation of day-to-day tasks such as drafting emails or presentation decks. The field also received $5 billion in equity investment in 2022.
Unsurprisingly, this impact is also influencing tech jobs—according to data compiled by McKinsey, tech job postings grew by 15% between 2021 to 2022. Comparatively, global job postings fell by 13% in the same period—and it’s predicted that by 2025, 97 million new jobs will have been created thanks to AI.
But this is just one area of future job creation. Security is another top tech area for job creation, and digital-trust technologies received $47 billion in investment in 2022.
Quantum computing is also gaining momentum, as is Web3 and digital ownership via blockchain and secure smart contracts and virtual/augmented reality technology.
Jobs for right now
This is a positive time for the UK labour market. According to the UK Parliament, from April to June 2023, the number of people aged 16-plus in employment was 32.93 million, and while employment levels decreased by 66,000 in the last quarter, they’ve actually increased by 137,000 over the past year.
Meanwhile, the tech sector’s contribution to the economy grew by 26.5% between 2010 and 2019, and it is adding over £150bn to the economy annually.
So, if you’re looking for a new challenge or a way to futureproof your career, the FinTech Futures Job Board features thousands of jobs at companies that are actively hiring, like the three below.
Software Engineer, Client Server, London
If you’re a data savvy Software Engineer with Python expertise, Client Server is hiring for a global fintech solutions provider.
You will prototype and develop new features, analytics and enhancements for the company’s core SaaS trading platform with a focus on improving back end infrastructures, optimising platform performance and ensuring scalability.
If that appeals, you can get more information here.
Salesforce Developer, Return on Investment Ltd, Nantwich
ROI works with clients such as Jaguar Land Rover, BMW, Mini, Audi, Volkswagen and Kia. It is hiring a Salesforce Developer for end-to-end CRM delivery taking requirements through planning, development, acceptance testing and customer release, using a range of Salesforce functions building automations, flows, custom views, reporting and dashboards.
You’ll use APEX and SOQL with custom built applications via APIs, supporting ROI’s Salesforce instances and working with the existing Salesforce team to share knowledge and grow team capabilities.