Children of the 80s were born on the cusp of the information technology era, they can marvel at innovations and leaps in technology that anyone born post-1990 takes for granted but still keep pace with Gen Y and an increasingly IT-focused world. They have abandoned their expectation of future jobs with beeping machines and crinkly silver form-fitting jumpsuits, but there are still occupations that stretch their very flexible minds. Back in 2007, CNN Money.com had a look at some jobs with a futuristic feel but that are already in demand.
Disease Mapper is one of those jobs of the future that is easy to believe, in fact, you wonder why it didn’t come along sooner. At its most basic, disease mapping involves charting outbreaks of illness and epidemics across the world and cross-referencing them with seasonal data – weather patterns, crop growth – to try and predict how far a particular disease reach, how long an outbreak will last and when we can potentially expect a resurgence. In 2007, a disease mapper could expect to earn between $40,000 and $150,000 (£24,406 and £91,524) per year. Bearing in mind the current recession those figures are probably still pretty accurate.
Robotics
If your stereotypical little boy of the 80s didn’t grow up dreaming of a future job as a robot programmer his only other option was dinosaur expert. Now, dinosaurs are so Jurassic Park and robot programming is where it’s at. Attention to detail is of paramount importance, as is, rather obviously, an interest in programming and robotics. A degree in computer science comes in handy, as does experience in the practical applications of IT. If you’re an IT contractor trying to find your way in today’s job market, you may want to consider robot programming.
When terms such as ‘high-energy laser accelerator’ and ‘robotic arm’ enter a career is when children of the 80’s start to raise their eyebrows. They look for flashing green lights and expect to see flashes of crinkly silver at every turn. And the truth is that radio-surgery is still a little sci-fi. It requires special equipment – said laser accelerator and robotic arm – and special training before highly qualified and experienced radiation oncologists are allowed anywhere near patients. The Cyberknife, which is the future sounding name for the machine that carries out this future sounding job, channels micro-thin rays of radiation at tumours and certain kinds of cancer. Under the right conditions, radio-surgery can vaporize tumours within 5 one-hour treatments, which beats chemotherapy into a cocked hat.
Virtual Lawyer
And then we enter the realm of the unreal, really. Virtual lawyers are taking virtual gaming sensation, Second Life, by storm. Apparently, intellectual property rights is a hotly contested issue in virtual gaming with real/virtual patents at stake. It gets confusing, but basically, people who create products or design clothes or houses or whatever in Second Life want to ensure that they own the rights to their particular franchise because they can make real money from it. Some lawyers have chosen to practice in the virtual world only, which is dangerous because it’s not a particularly good money spinner, yet.
Others, like Steven Lieberman, span both the real and the virtual legal landscape. Lieberman meets potential clients online and then takes their professional relationship further offline. He’s even set up a ‘law island’ where real lawyers can congregate in virtual space and do business. He counts the American Bar Association and the FBI as clients, so no matter how bizarre it sounds, this is one of the future jobs that looks set to stay.
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