The 20 Best Jobs of the Future

What does the future hold? Well, if you have the right education, it could mean an exciting new, futuristic career. These 20 jobs are worlds from ordinary and may surprise you. Check out some of the top careers of the future, learn more about new and exciting jobs on the horizon, and learn how you can train to be a pioneer in a futuristic field.

Jobs may be scarce today, but if current trends hold, pretty soon there will be plenty of fun, lucrative gigs. If you have the vision to start prepping now, you could be flying starships, reading minds for DARPA, or manning a fusion or free energy reactor. The jobs are coming. Feel free to thank us over lunch at the hotel you built- on Mars.

• Galactic Architect

Job: Build cosmic outposts.

Hiring: 2025

Trend: President Obama says that astronauts will reach an asteroid by 2025. Soon we’ll be mining precious metals and making rest-stops to Mars, projects that require buildings and vehicles that can withstand everything from subzero temperatures to extreme radiation. Learning to keep people alive in materials-starved space could help Earth-dwellers, too. “Extreme environments provide lessons for everywhere,” says Larry Bell, a space architect at the University of Houston. “How do you do more with less? What is recyclable?”

Education: A master’s in space architecture, currently available only at the University of Houston

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• Zero Energy Home Architect

Some houses now being built make as much energy as they consume. They rely on equipment such as solar cells to generate power, while using efficient design to keep consumption down. Michelle Kaufmann, an architect in Oakland, Calif., is bringing the zero-energy idea and other forms of sustainable design to prefab houses such as her mkLotus, a small, one-bedroom home. (Kaufmann worked for architecture legend Frank Gehry before founding her own firm in 2002.) Kermit Baker, an economist for the American Institute of Architects (AIA), says, “Sustainability and architecture are now intertwined.” In a recent AIA survey, architects reported that 47 percent of their clients in 2008 used green building elements. Despite the housing slump, Kaufmann says her 15-person staff is swamped: “We have more projects than ever before.”

How to Do It: Earn a master’s from one of the 61 U.S. architecture programs that offer classes with a green bent. (Yale has a joint degree in architecture and environmental management.)

Earning Potential: Nationally, staff architects earn about $45,000 to $100,000. Architects who own their firms can make much more.

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• Battery Engineer

Will Gardner was a freshly minted college graduate with a degree in mechanical engineering when he was hired by Duracell. “I had no idea what a battery company could want with a mechanical engineer,” Gardner says, but he was drawn to the field, which combines elements of electrical engineering, chemistry, materials science and, yes, mechanical engineering. “You need to know something about each of them in order to succeed,” he says. Today, Gardner leads a team that designs, builds and tests batteries for hybrid electric cars at A123 Systems, a fast-growing firm based in Watertown, Mass. A123’s clients include Chrysler, GM and automotive upstarts Think and Better Place, and the company’s staff has jumped from 150 to 2000 in the past three years. Ann Marie Sastry, who directs the University of Michigan’s master’s program in energy systems engineering, says, “The DNA of the automobile is changing, which means the composition of the workforce has to change.” Sastry also runs her own battery company, called Sakti3. “We’re hiring,” she says. “It’s a great time to be a battery guy.”

How to Do It: A bachelor’s in math, materials science or engineering is essential. Sastry’s program is very highly regarded: “Students are getting jobs even before they finish their studies,” she says.

Earning Potential: To start, $50,000 to $60,000; at the senior level, $95,000.

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• Fusion Worker

Job: Manage fusion reactors.

Hiring: 2025

Trend: When ITER starts up in France in 2019, it will be the first thermonuclear reactor with a chance of fusing nuclei together to yield net power. If it works (and that’s a big “if”), about five fusion plants could generate enough gigawatts to power New York City at its peak usage. Fusion jobs will boom, much like nuclear-power ones did in the early ’70s. Jobs—“diagnostic physicist,” “magnet auxiliary officer”—will, er, radiate.

Education: Check out the U.S. Burning Plasma ITER Summer School.

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• Undersea Welder

Wet welders work in offshore oil fields as deep as 400 feet, building and repairing undersea infrastructure. (Sorry, kids, you can’t buy this exclusive PM action figure, devised by Jeremy Madl at Mad Toy Design. It’s ours.)

Arc welding underwater with electrodes carrying 185 amps might seem unwise, but deep-diving wet welders do it every day. They build and repair pipelines and oil platforms—in January 2009 there were 313 new bids worth $484 million in the western Gulf of Mexico alone. Dusty Harrison, placement director for a Florida school called the Commercial Diving Academy, says, “There’s no telling how much work there is,” thanks to a decade of hurricanes and a boom in oil exploration. During the Gulf ’s hurricane season, some welders work in West Africa and Asia.

How to Do It: Oil companies hire dive outfits with welders certified by the Association of Commercial Diving Educators. Schools such as the Commercial Diving Academy and New Jersey’s Divers Academy International have four- to five-month certification courses. Swimming ability and a high school diploma are prerequisites; scuba diving isn’t.

Earning Potential: Right out of school, you’ll pull in $17 to $20 an hour. “After two and a half or three years, that typically doubles,” Harrison says.

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• Space Pilot

Job: Fly shuttles to space.

Hiring: 2020

Trend: Virgin Galactic plans to launch the first commercial suborbital spaceflights by 2012 for about $200,000 a seat. With competition from other companies, that price could soon drop low enough for daily shuttle service to outer space, the moon and asteroids for tourism, mining and science. Commercial pilots will regain the mystique they had in the ’60s as thousands of them strap in for the stars.

Education: Aviation school or the Air Force. Also check out NASA’s underwater space-simulator laboratory.

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• Combined Heat & Power CHP Mechanic

Jim Bondi is an old-school electrician who embraces new-school energy production. After eight years working on projects that included solar installations, he joined Pennsylvania-based E-Finity, designing combined heat and power (CHP) plants. A CHP unit saves energy by burning fuel to produce electricity and using the excess heat for climate control and producing hot water. “With the nation’s rising energy demand and the increase in environmental stewardship, CHP is an economic and environmental no-brainer,” Bondi says. The Department of Energy hopes the industry will grow enough to add a million workers by 2030.

How to Do It: CHP suppliers provide training. Electricians and mechanics with experience on jet and helicopter engines, which are similar to CHP turbines, find their skills are a natural fit.

Earning Potential: Salaries are $30,000 out of the gate; they top out at $75,000.

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• Organ Designer

Job: Make organs from scratch.

Hiring: 2020

Trend: Every 90 minutes, someone in the U.S. dies waiting for a transplant. With the senior population doubling by 2050, expect more internal plumbing problems. Medical company Tengion’s simple “neo-organs,” such as bladders, arrive as soon as next year. But we’ll still need to figure out how to fashion trickier organs like lungs, kidneys and hearts, all made using the patient’s own cells to reduce rejection. “If you’re adding a new fender,” says Tim Bertram, a senior vice president at Tengion, “it has to be the right make and model.”

Education: A bioengineering program, such as Wake Forest’s, which is working to grow more than 22 different organs and tissues in the lab

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• Animal-Migration Engineer

Job: Create new habitats for critters.

Hiring: 2030

Trend: Many habitats are now being destroyed faster than a species can evolve. But moving creatures to new homes could save them. After figuring out which species to put where (quite the task), an “assisted migration” effort requires more care than just piling two of everything into an ark. For example, conservationists who currently relocate butterflies identify suitable sites with aerial photos and trim local plants to the insects’ exacting standards.

Education: Intern with a group like Operation Migration, which leads cranes to new watering holes.

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• World Watcher

Job: See it all with satellites.

Hiring: 2030

Trend: Multispectral satellites can already spot buried ancient cities and track how temperature, population and ground cover help spread disease. As imaging improves, more reverse-astronomers will look down at our own planet with something like a super-powered, time-lapse Google Earth.

Education: Archaeology or geophysics, then grad work in Earth imaging, such as at the University of Wisconsin

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• Fetus Healer

Job: Cure health problems before birth.

Hiring: 2020

Trend: Operating on a fetus was once unimaginable. Now docs fix twins’ abnormal placentas, surgery to correct spina bifida is in clinical trials, and scientists are testing stem-cell and gene therapies in pregnant mice. “We’re trying to cure disease before the baby is born, before it damages the fetus,” says Lori Howell, the executive director of the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia’s fetal-medicine program. Pediatric DNA banks may someday help cure cancer, autism and diabetes in the womb.

Education: Head to an emerging fetal-treatment center such as the Children’s Hospitals of Philadelphia or Boston.

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• Thought Hacker

Job: Read thoughts.

Hiring: 2030

Trend: Last year, U.S. lawyers made the first request to introduce a “lie-detecting” functional-MRI scan as evidence. Though later withdrawn because of shaky scientific support, mind-reading tech will only get stronger. Neuroscientists led by Jack Gallant of the University of California at Berkeley can already roughly reconstruct what people are seeing just from scanning their brains, and memories, thoughts and dreams could be next. Brain-computer interfaces are also well on their way—at least one paralyzed man has used a brain implant to move a computer cursor and a robotic arm. Fields including psychotherapy and recreational mind-melding will depend on workers who can see into the mind’s eye.

Education: Neuroscience or computer science—they should converge before we go bionic.

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• Independent Video Game Designer
  

It took Kyle Gabler just four days to come up with the concept for his first video game, and, frankly, it didn’t seem like a blockbuster waiting to happen: The protagonists are gobs of goo. But in the growing world of independent game design, execution is key—and Gabler created a look that has drawn comparisons to filmmaker Tim Burton, supporting a story filled with intrigue and humor. The prototype became an indie hit, and in October 2008 Gabler launched the Nintendo Wii game World of Goo (above). In an era of sequels (a dozen Medal of Honor games, eight iterations of Grand Theft Auto), the industry needs fresh ideas—and supplying them has traditionally been a designer’s main job. But as Simon Carless, publisher of the industry website Gamasutra and a former lead designer, says, “Now designers also need practical skills. You need to be able to make the game.”

How to Do It: More than 200 schools offer game-design degrees, including the Art Institute of Portland, which graduates students with a B.S. in Visual and Game Programming. But consumer tech is so good now that you may be able to go it alone. “You can make stuff in your bedroom that’s as good as what people are making professionally,” Carless says. Art, music and coding skills are all critical.

Earning Potential: Staff designers start at an average of $62,000, according to a survey by gamecareerguide.com. On your own, it’s feast or famine. Gabler was incomeless while designing World of Goo. In January, it became the 10th-best-selling PC game on the market.

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• Energy Engineer

When the Coronado naval base in San Diego wanted to shrink its energy consumption, it turned to the consulting firm Tetra Tech, whose energy-efficiency staff has grown sixtyfold in the past decade. “The naval base is like a small city, with office buildings, a supermarket, bowling alleys,” says Linda Hunter, a Tetra Tech energy engineer who was brought in to boost efficiency on the base and its two aircraft carriers. Energy engineers may recommend new air-conditioning equipment or solar-powered streetlights, or they may design entire renewable-energy systems, such as harnessing methane from a landfill to generate electricity.

How to Do It: Earn a degree in chemical, mechanical, electrical or civil engineering—or a newer specialty called energy resources engineering. A Certified Energy Manager (CEM) certification is useful; it demands expertise in subjects like indoor air quality codes and standards, thermal energy storage systems and energy economics.

Earning Potential: Salaries start in the $50,000 range; with a master’s, you’ll get bumped up to around $70,000. Managers can pull in more than $100,000.

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• Digital Detective

Red teamers focused on digital security are hired to hack into computer systems to uncover vulnerabilities. The Department of Homeland Security plans to quadruple its cyber-security staff this year. Mark Mateski, a red teamer and the managing editor of Red Team Journal, says, “You’ll find a lot of red teamers working in war gaming and cyber security in the government-contracting world.” Even bigger growth may be coming in the private sector: “If your business’s survival depends on cyber security, you’re going to start looking for unconventional answers,” he says.

How to Do It: Programming skills are a must; a degree in computer science is helpful in landing a job. The Center for Cyber Defenders Program at New Mexico’s Sandia National Laboratories offers specific red-team training.

Earning Potential: $60,000 to start on the government and government-contract side; six-figure salaries are common in the private sector.

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• 3D Sports Tech

Many fans already say they get a better view of sports events watching TV than sitting near the action, but 3D cements the argument. At least, that’s the view of Steve Schklair, CEO of Burbank-based 3ality Digital Systems, a company specializing in 3D technology and production. “If you’ve got a camera down low next to the green and the golfer is putting uphill, you can actually see the roll of the green while he’s putting,” he says. Ray Hannisian, the company’s lead stereographer, uses software running complex sets of algorithms to fine-tune and synchronize the depth readings of as many as 10 cameras during events. The technology raised its profile during this year’s national college football championships, which 3ality shot and broadcast live to 63 movie theaters in January. Such broadcasts will soon be coming to a living room near you: American consumers have already bought 1.4 million 3D-compatible televisions, and every major electronics manufacturer is now producing such sets. Of course, the best-known 3D arena remains moviemaking. More than a dozen 3D movies are scheduled for release in 2009.

How to Do It: You can master 3D still photography on your own using a program like HumanEyes Capture 3D Software. Also, take classes in digital videography (art schools and university film programs offer them), then look for a job as a 2D cameraman. “With digital technology, you can learn a lot about 3D while you’re actually shooting,” Hannisian says.

Earning Potential: Salaries start at $50,000 and can go as high as $150,000 for television work. For the elite earners in 3D movie production, Schklair says, “There is no limit.”

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• Wind Explorer

When civil and environmental engineer Mathias Craig arrived in Nicaragua in 2004, he found a stretch of Caribbean coastline where transportation consisted of horses and boats and there wasn’t a single light bulb. “It was like the Wild West 200 years ago,” he says. As founders of the nonprofit Blue Energy Group, Craig and his brother organized volunteers to build wind turbines to catch the Caribbean trade winds and supply several com-munities with electricity. Hugh Piggott, a Scotland-based wind-energy pioneer, has worked on similar projects in Zimbabwe, Peru and Sri Lanka. “One of the places wind energy is expanding most rapidly is the developing world,” he says. “The number of people in the world who don’t have utility power is actually increasing.” That’s because the population in many regions is growing faster than grid lines and new power plants can be constructed. Craig and his staff of 32 have already installed nine turbines in Nicaragua. They’ve also scouted sites in West Africa, and they’re in talks to expand into Honduras and Guatemala.

How to Do It: Texas Tech University’s Wind Science and Engineering Research Center offers a summer internship for undergrads and has one of the country’s few Ph.D. programs in the field. However, it’s possible to jump in without an advanced degree. Piggott teaches turbine-building seminars worldwide; Blue Energy has an apprenticeship program in Nicaragua.

Earning Potential: Nonprofit firms based in developing countries pay from $1000 to $4000 per month. Annual salaries in the U.S. currently range from $35,000 to $55,000.

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• Fabricator of Carbon Fiber Spaceships and Planes

“We’re like the shipbuilders of the modern era,” Reuben Garcia says. As head composite fabricator at XCOR, an aerospace company in Mojave, Calif., Garcia is deeply engaged in the race to make ships capable of carrying tourists into space. Garcia and his team take the plans drawn by XCOR’s engineers and make them real, using lightweight carbon composites similar to the materials used everywhere from Formula One race cars to high-end fishing rods. Composite structures are built up layer by layer, and Garcia’s high-tech creations are shaped largely with such low-tech tools as squeegees filled with epoxy resin. XCOR, which plans to conduct test flights to space by 2011, is situated in a tiny town that has become a hotbed for spaceship and small-airplane construction. “You can walk into any of the 20 or so companies here and have a job in an hour,” says Jon Sharp, owner of Nemesis Air Racing, which builds racing planes.

How to Do It: Many companies will train newbies. However, community colleges can offer a head start with introductory courses in composite fabrication.

Earning Potential: Pay starts low but can climb to $20 per hour. Managers who go on to earn engineering degrees can make up to $100,000 a year.

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• Forecaster of Everything

Job: Analyze data to predict the future.

Hiring: 2015

Trend: The U.S. Bureau of Labor estimates that demand for statistics wonks will swell by 20 percent by 2018. As the barrage of data grows—tweets, insulin-meter uploads, facial-recognition billboards—we’ll need skilled people to choose what data to pull and how to make it useful. As businesses become more dependent on these analyses, the raw data itself will become a key commodity, creating its own industry. Expect openings for data brokers trading exclusive rights to data portfolios.

Education: Study computer science or stats, then enroll in a prediction-proficiency program such as DePaul University’s.

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• Human/Robot Interaction Specialist

Job: Help robots and people get along.

Hiring: 2030

Trend: Robot nurses won’t help Grandpa much if they don’t understand his sarcasm. We’ll need savvy workers making—and remaking—’bots to ensure that they operate seamlessly in our world. And we’ll require help coping in theirs. As droids lure people away from real human contact, expect a demand for specialized therapists to boost people’s social and robotic-al skills.

Education: Schools strong in artificial intelligence, such as MIT, Carnegie Mellon University and Stanford University

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Career Training For Green Energy Jobs

    Everyone's talking about green jobs, and with good reason. These lucrative jobs are built by a demand for cleaner energy and sustainable products. From solar power to stellar marketing, the eco-friendly industry is expecting a lot of growth in the coming years. Check out a few of the top jobs for anyone interested in a sustainable income.

Career focus: green marketer
Behind the scenes of the green product revolution are the marketers that convince us to buy. You could research and market organic and sustainable products as a green marketer. Market research analysts earned mean annual wages of $67,340 in 2008, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports. A bachelor's degree in marketing should prepare you for the job.

Career focus: biochemical engineer
The Growth Energy group recently announced a road map to sustainable biofuel production that could mean 1.3 million green collar jobs by 2022. Among those jobs would be jobs for engineers. Consider a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering or a specialized biochemical engineering degree if possible. Chemical engineers earned mean annual wages of $88,760 in 2008.

Career focus: solar photovoltaic installer
The futuristic solar panels popping up on roofs and lawns across the country are a product of solar photovoltaic installers. Most installers have experience in construction, though a knowledge of electrical systems comes in handy. Consider an associate degree in electronics or electrical systems. Wages vary depending on education and experience.

Career focus: climate change analyst
There's a lot of money to be made in saving the world. A recent job posting calling for a director of climate change policy cited a salary range of $85,000 to $110,000 and full benefits. A wide range of degrees could be acceptable for such a position: For policy leadership, consider advanced degrees in public policy, law, economics or environmental policy. For research positions, degrees in natural sciences or engineering may be acceptable.

Degree programs for enhanced systems
The government Web site Whitehouse.gov explains the importance of improving infrastructure: "Despite all of our efforts, our global digital infrastructure, based largely upon the Internet, is not secure or resilient enough today and future purposes." Funding for physical and technological improvements in infrastructure is expected to mean big job gains across the country.

From highways to the information superhighway, infrastructure careers should be high on the minds of job-hunters nationwide. Check out a few important infrastructure jobs.

Career focus: transportation planner
With the Obama administration pouring funding into infrastructure improvements, transportation planners will be needed to focus their civil engineering skills on transportation infrastructure. Civil engineers earned mean annual wages of $78,560 in 2008, the BLS reports. A bachelor's degree in civil engineering could be considered adequate training for all but the most technical positions.

Career focus: computer systems engineer
Just as transportation infrastructure will improve with engineering, so will computer systems. These specialized engineers use bachelor's degrees in computer engineering or computer science to design and implement new software and systems for computers. Computer software engineers earned mean annual wages of $87,900 in 2008, the BLS notes.

Health care careers expected to grow
An aging population and improving technology are two of the biggest reasons behind potential health care career growth, the BLS notes. Health care careers held a strong presence on the list of fastest growing occupations projected between 2006 and 2016. Careers for home health aides, medical assistants, substance abuse counselors, veterinarians, physical therapist assistants and pharmacy technicians all made the list.

Registered nurses are also expected to see big career gains. The BLS adds that "registered nurses are projected to generate 587,000 new jobs, among the largest number of new jobs for any occupation." Within the field of nursing, you can specialize in a range of care options, including prenatal and adult acute care.

Career focus: acute care nurse
Patients of acute care nurses have brief but severe illness and require skilled, focused care. While the career itself is not new, growth in the field is expected. All registered nurses earned mean annual salaries of $65,130 in 2008, according to the BLS; with specialization in acute care, that figure is likely to rise. A bachelor's degree in nursing with a certification in acute care is the most common route to the position.

Online education for futuristic careers
If you're training for a futuristic job, why limit yourself to a traditional education? Online education programs give you the chance to improve your valuable technology skills as you train for a career that will likely require a high level of computer ability. Even jobs outside the IT world have begun to require a high level of computer software knowledge, something you can begin to attain with an online degree.

While no career training program can guarantee one of these futuristic careers, it's safe to say that hiring managers of the future will likely prefer or require formal education among applicants. Train for an exciting future career today, and you'll enjoy the benefits in the years to come.

Zach Royer