Emerging Professions and the Future of Work: Navigating Transformation

Job forecasting can be looked at in two main ways. The first approach, which is often more organized but can be short-sighted, is carried out by institutions connected to industries or professional sectors. In France, this is known as Gestion prévisionnelle des métiers et compétences (GPEC). The idea here is to predict workforce needs, find new challenges early, and avoid professional stagnation. These institutions base their projections on the current situation and trends identified by sector participants, typically producing continuous projections.

In contrast, other actors, particularly within the consultancy sector, focus on the discontinuous—disruption, innovation, and unforeseen changes—that must also be anticipated.

This second argument volatilitates between doom and bloom. A case in point is the current digital revolution. A typical example can be found in the well-publicized "Hype Cycle" of Gartner. The model explains the route of technological innovations through different stages: the technological trigger, inflated expectations peak, disillusionment trough, and final plateau of productivity. Around ten years ago, “uberization” was the big trend that seemed like it would change everything. Now, artificial intelligence (AI) is at the center of discussions, and the metaverse is expected to make things move even faster in this direction.

The Trap of Hyperbole

Several such claims sound extremely exaggerated when it comes to future employment. For example, according to a study from 2018 by EY, somewhat "60% of jobs for 2030 do not yet exist." As futurist Cécile Jolly, from France Stratégie, points out, these will most likely be small-scale and not cause major upheaval in the market. Jobs like influencers on social media platforms like YouTube and Instagram are talked about a lot, but they’re unlikely to grow in numbers to reshape the overall professional landscape.

It is actual innovation that invents entirely new categories of jobs. The fact is that most jobs retain their “vertical” profession, as Rouhan describes; they change, but within a narrow limit. These jobs are becoming more automated with robots or algorithms used in the job, changing the way they perform but not cutting it.

Some older professions are also seeing big changes. For instance, in an interview with Adrien Book about how Web3 is influencing management roles, it was shown that certain jobs have already adjusted to new realities. Take the concierge profession, for example—it has adapted to new digital tools like digicodes and services such as last-mile delivery. Similarly, delivery drivers have seen their roles evolve due to factors like urban traffic, GPS navigation, drop-off points, and the growing use of bicycles for deliveries.

Looking at the future of jobs seriously means finding a balance between exaggerated predictions about massive disruptions and ignoring smaller, meaningful changes. It’s important not to focus too much on isolated changes while missing the bigger picture. Adrien Book also mentioned that even though AI is a popular topic, the world is still dealing with digital transformation issues that have been ongoing for decades. While things are moving forward, full digital transformation is happening both quickly and slowly at the same time.

Emerging Professions

Making Robots User-Friendly

As industries continue to automate, two areas—software and hardware—are advancing quickly. This raises questions about how people interact with these technologies. Because of this, new jobs are being created to help make interactions between humans and machines smoother. For example, user experience (UX) professionals work at the intersection of communication, design, and ergonomics to make systems more intuitive. In robotics, new professions are developing around educating robots and improving the way humans and robots interact.

AI is becoming really important in shaping these areas, but it still needs a lot of help with handling data. People are still needed to oversee how data is processed, which has created more jobs that involve organizing and improving data for AI systems.

Environmental Transitions

Transitioning towards more sustainable practices is proving to be a way of creating new kinds of employment opportunities. For example, in agriculture, the move has been gradually shifting from heavy machine and chemical-dominated practice to eco-friendly work. Consequently, today, jobs such as soil verification, drone flying, and environmental management have emerged. These jobs are becoming a big part of modern farming, with people needed for both technical work and giving advice.

There's definitely more work in nature management such as taking care of forests and rivers. These are all jobs like monitoring and restoring the environment. Now there is energy because everybody wants to reduce CO2 and switch to electric energy. This is followed by jobs that install, repair, and advise on things like solar panels and heat pumps.

The idea of a "smart city" also creates jobs. This is, generally, largely figuring out how to make cities more efficient and less polluting, as well as how to plan infrastructure and buildings. Those who will perform this position will analyze data more and make critical decisions to enhance greenness in cities.

Ethics, Confidentiality, and Cybersecurity

As life gets more digital, people are worrying more about keeping data safe and doing things the right way. Cybersecurity is already a big deal, but it’s growing even more because new problems keep coming up. At the same time, jobs are appearing in areas like making sure companies follow rules about data ethics and confidentiality.

There’s also this mix of environmental and tech concerns. People are wondering how to deal with ecosystems, animals, and natural resources in an ethical way. This is leading to jobs where folks have to figure out all the complicated legal and regulatory stuff involved.

Conclusion

The kinds of jobs people do are changing because of both big inventions and smaller adjustments. While things like automation and AI get most of the attention, smaller changes—like how old jobs evolve—are also really important. Thinking about new jobs in a balanced way helps avoid getting too caught up in all the hype, so we can pay attention to both the exciting new stuff and the quieter changes happening everywhere.