High-Paying Careers in Demand for The Next 10 Years
Picking a field is hard.
I know, I’ve been there.
You can’t just choose whatever that floats your boat. Consider how employable you will be. Many jobs disappeared in the past 10 years, and you can expect the same to happen in the next 10 years.
So, how do you pick a career that’s not going to vanish in a couple of years?
It’s easier than you think.
In this article, you are going to learn what makes a job easy to replace, and how to make yourself as valuable as possible in the current and future job market.
If you already have a job, and you are worried your job won’t be in-demand in the future, this article is for you.
If you are trying to figure out what kind of education to get to make sure your studies will be relevant in 10 years, then this article is for you.
How to Predict the Future of the Job Market?
Naturally, nobody really knows what is going to actually happen. When you read big claims, always question them. The aim of this article is to give you a framework of how to think about the future of employment, and how to understand where the world is going.
There are many factors, but some will inevitably be more important than others.
Offer Trends
What makes a career/job in-demand? How many employers are looking for someone to perform that job.
So, to figure out which careers will be in-demand in the next 10 years, you have to analyze the job market now, how it’s evolved over time, and also pay attention to all the new technologies that are being introduced.
Don’t forget to analyze society at large, too. How demographics change, and how people react to new technologies are also a very good indicator of how the job market is evolving.
For example, technology is all the rage now, and companies are hiring anyone who shows an ounce of competence in coding. It’s gotten so bad that businesses don’t care if you have a degree in Computer Science or not. Just prove you can code decently, and you’re in.
Since technology is becoming more and more prominent in our daily lives, you can expect anyone who can code and deal with the software side of technology to be in-demand for a long time.
The Human Factor
Some jobs are basically impossible to do for a machine. You can’t really automate the work of a lawyer, or that of a judge. At least not for the foreseeable future.
The same goes for doctors and nurses. Machines don’t feel emotions, and empathy is a big part of what makes a health practitioner good. You need the trust of your patients, and machines aren’t very good at earning trust.
Conversely, a job like cashier is way too easy to replace. In fact, there are already self-checkout systems being implemented in supermarkets.
Demographic & societal evolution
This is a bit more complex to figure out, but it goes like this.
Think about how the world is evolving. People are living longer, which means that there are plenty of old people around, and they are becoming more every year. Some countries even have a negative demographic growth, meaning that more people die in a year than how many are born.
With an aging population, you can expect jobs that focus on taking care of the elderly to always be on demand. Doctors, and especially physicians, are also always on-demand. The world’s population keeps going up, and there will always be sick people.
How Easy it is to Automate
This is what makes a lot of jobs risky. If what you do is mind-numbingly repetitive, you might be in for a surprise within 10 years, probably less.
Look for automation and technology trends. This article from Forbes is a great starting point to learn more about automation and what types of jobs will be automated by 2030.
Reskilling for a Different Career
If you’re not a young student anymore, don’t give up! Some jobs on this list don’t require years upon years of college (and college debt…ugh) for you to apply to them.
In fact, since the demand for some of these jobs is going to increase way more than the offer could ever match it, you could expect employers to lower their requirements just to meet their needs.
It depends though. If you plan to work in the public sector, you’ll most likely be expected to hold the right type of degree to be considered. In the private sector, however, everything is fair game. Some jobs on this list are already in huge demand now, and companies are saying that they don’t care about degrees anymore.
So, if you’re looking to change careers because you don’t feel satisfied with your current one, know that there is a wealth of courses and information on the Internet. You’ll be able to pick up something like coding mostly by yourself following free tutorials online. Most paid courses are affordable too, and provide a more structured approach to learning.
There are no excuses; you can start studying towards a better career path today.
11 High Paying Careers in Demand for the Next 10 years
There are tens of careers that are likely to be in demand for the next 10 years, so I had to make a choice. I went for the most lucrative ones, and those most likely to experience exponential grow in the near future.
Picking any of these 11 careers guarantees you will earn lots of money while having an impact on those around you.
I’ve also tried to keep it as diverse as possible. I know engineers will always be in demand, but
- Not everyone wants to be an engineer
- Engineering has many disciplines
- Not all of these disciplines are going to grow or even be as relevant in 10 years
There is a career for you out there. Whether you are a lone wolf or a people’s person, good with numbers or more interested in manual work, or prefer spending your time in front of a computer screen.
1. Data Analyst
Data is on everyone’s mouth. But few people truly understand what is data, and what are its applications. Data analysts do.
Data analysis has been an ever-growing field for years at this point, and companies are constantly refining their data collection and processing systems. Knowing how customers are using your product, and using the data to further improve your offering is a quick example of what you can do through data analysis.
You can notice trends and patterns in your business, and act quickly to steer the ship back to where it should be headed.
The field is divided into many categories. There is a data analyst for everything. Some of them focus, for example, on financial data, while others prefer to work directly with other businesses. Data is becoming increasingly more important in the world, so expect even more categories to pop-up in the near future!
2. Cybersecurity
With all the data that is being produced and processed around the world, ill-intentioned people will try to profit off it.
More generally, anything technologic that uses the internet to transmit and receive data is a potential target to hackers. Brute-forcing your way through a software can let you access to everything that is stored in it without your victim realizing it. That’s what happens when Facebook has those huge data leaks we keep hearing about.
Cybersecurity is a vast field, and there are many niches you can work with. For example, you could become an Information Security Analyst, where you keep your company’s network infrastructure as safe as possible.
Or you could become an ethical hacker. Your job in that case would be to try and hack into the company’s system and try to find out potential holes in its security.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the employment of Information Security Analyst is projected to grow 31% by the end of 2029. And that’s just one type of job in cybersecurity. Others in the field are expected to grow at a similar rate.
3. Tradespeople
Stuff breaks. Pipes start leaking, your heating system goes wild, and your doors start creaking. There will always be a need for people able to fix people’s homes.
And it’s hard to imagine a world where automation would replace a plumber. If anything, automation will make a plumber or electrician’s job even more efficient. Technology will be of great help to tradespeople, giving them even more potential for high-earnings.
Furthermore, a lot of people in the US tend to go to college and ignore trade schools as a viable career option. There is a shortage of skilled tradespeople at the moment, and it will get even worse in the future, since most people don’t want to get into trades. They think they’re less prestigious. Their loss. You’ll be the one laughing all the way to the bank.
Editor’s note: don’t let other people tell you that trades aren’t “cool”. Trade schools don’t put you into crazy student debt and you’ll learn valuable skills to help others fix their problems.
4. Nurses/Caregivers
With a constantly-aging population, this shouldn’t come as a surprise. We are progressively getting older as a country, and we will need more people to look after our elder when they stop being self-sufficient.
Nurses are also among the most respected professionals in the country. It’s a very fulfilling job to do. You are helping people who are in desperate need of your services. You deal with all the aspects of administering medicines, and work as a bridge between the doctor and the patient.
5. Software Engineers/Developers
As technology takes a bigger role in our life, there is a need for people able to instruct technology to do what we need it to.
Software engineers are already sought after nowadays. There is a shortage of people who can design and code software, and the field is seeing tremendous growth each year.
If you think about it, programmers are at the core of most other jobs on this list. Without code you wouldn’t have tools for data analysis or software to hack. Code is what runs the world right now, and its going to stay that way for a long time.
Computers and devices need instructions. As more and more devices are introduced to help us in everyday life, someone has to write those instructions.
Even my grandma has heard the words “Artificial Intelligence”. Guess who deals with that. Yep, developers.
Editor’s note: this is the only job on this list that doesn’t necessarily require a college degree to get hired. You’ll still need to prove you have the right skills for it, but it’s way easier in coding than in most other professions.
6. Physiotherapist/Chiropractors
Much like homes, humans also break. Are you noticing a pattern? The world population is getting older, and older bodies are weaker. Weaker bodies break more easily. Someone has then to rehabilitate those bodies after you fix what’s broken.
That’s where physiotherapist enter the field. And as for other jobs in this list, you can’t really replace it with machines. Not for a long while anyway. You need extensive knowledge of the human body, and you need to empathize with patients to understand what’s worrying them, and create a personalized plan for their recovery.
Chiropractors do a similar job; except they fix bad habits instead of rehabilitating your body after injury. Naturally, the two professions are different, but since they both work with the human body, and both require a similar skillset, I lumped them together.
7. Dentists
Let’s face it. We live in a world where our teeth health is constantly under assault. All these delicious treats and hyper-processed foods do our teeth no good. Dentists make sure our mouths don’t look like they come from a horror movie.
Humans connect thanks to their smiles, after all. A beautiful smile is your best introduction. There’s something charming about it.
Will dentists still be relevant in 10 years? Absolutely. Machines aren’t going to replace them anytime soon. Have you been to a dentist’s studio? They look like alien ships. Technology drastically increases their efficiency, but their job is too complex for machines. At least, for the foreseeable future.
8. Industrial Engineers
We talked about “Artificial Intelligence” earlier. That’s great, but someone has to project the whole system to efficiently implement automation. That’s where industrial engineers come in play.
Engineers in general will always be needed, but industrial engineers are those who will design the future of industry as a whole. Unless we wipe ourselves out with nuclear toys, industrial engineers will always be in demand.
Plus, if we do end up wiping most of humanity, someone will have to pick up the scraps and rebuild our civilization, right?
Don’t just take my words for it though, the U.S. Bureau of Labor projects a 10% grow in occupation for the next 10 years.
9. Energy Engineers
With all the talk about climate change and renewable energies, you shouldn’t be surprised to see this profession on this list.
Energy engineers will be in demand for as long as the first principle of thermodynamics will apply. I assure you it will never go away. Unless we somehow manage to break the universe’s laws and create a free and unlimited energy supply. That’s so unlikely that I’d feel pretty safe if I were an energy engineer.
The field is relatively new too, so there’s much to discover. That’s alluring if you’re someone who gets bored easily by doing the same things over and over. You can expect the field to always be changing and innovating.
Plus, you will lead the energy revolution, isn’t that exciting? You are saving our planet and helping everyone out.
10. Psychologists
This is a job I wish I didn’t have to put here. Not because I think it’s worthless, quite the contrary in fact. It’s just that there’s something creepy about having a bigger need for psychologists.
Unfortunately, that’s how the world works. We are constantly under psychological stress, and more stress equals more chances to develop psychological issues. Coupled with how society works, and how easy it is to feel overwhelmed with all the negative news we are constantly bombarded with, you can see why anyone would feel down.
Psychologists are wonderful. They help you get over traumas, insecurities, and more generally anything that makes you feel like you lost control over yourself and the world around you.
We have barely scratched the surface of our knowledge about the inner workings of the brain, so we’re in for a lot of thrilling surprises over the course of the next 10 years.
11. Lawyers/Judges
Conflict is inherently human. Lawyers resolve conflicts. Or at least they try to. The legal system becomes progressively more complicated every year. People need help figuring out what the laws says, and how they can make others respect their rights.
Automating a lawyer’s job is impossible at the moment. You need to understand what your client needs, and to interact with judges and other lawyers.
It’s also a job that requires extensive knowledge.
Judges are on the same boat. Years upon years of studying, and they also need the ability to listen and interpret laws on a case-by-case basis. While it’s true that a machine would be more objective, that’s not how humans operate. Full objectivity is also hard to describe in a lot of cases.
Conclusions
All jobs in this list are projected to grow a lot within the next 10 years. You probably noticed the patterns in most of these: they are impossible to automate and they require a very specific skillset.
What’s great is that not all of these jobs require you to get a degree in their field. Take coding for example: companies looking for developers are more interested in people proving they can code interesting application over youngsters with a Computer Science degree who don’t have any practical experience.
What are you waiting for? Pick your high paying career that will be in demand for the next 10 years, and start your education path towards it!
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