Jet into the future with your education
For over a century science fiction has been dreaming up new, fantastical worlds and ideas, but many aren’t even close to the truth.
Back to the Future: Part II told us we’d have hoverboards and time travel in 2015, when the best we’ve dreamed up for next year is a vague improvement of Netflix. Blade Runner foretold of dystopian cyberpunk nightmare cities populated by grisly men wearing ankle-length leather jackets, but unless goths regain popularity and skyscrapers magically grow a few miles, that ain’t happening.
But that doesn’t mean we aren’t heading for major shifts in the way we work. As the job market transforms, getting a future-proof degree is one of the only sure-fire paths to success.
So, what fields should you study to keep you in good stead for a few decades?
The children are our future
We are, beyond question, overpopulated. And, despite a globally declining birth rate, the need for effective childcare isn’t going away any time soon.
At university there are plenty of childcare courses you can consider, including midwifery, child psychology, child development, teaching and many more.
That cliché about the children being our future will always be true, so make them your future too.
Help the aged
According to government sources, 10 million people in the UK are over 65 years of age – and there will be five and a half million more pensioners within the next 20 years.
Social care and housing for the elderly will, therefore, be a booming business come 2020 – just in time for you to get a degree in social work. The more pioneering minds could look into developmental therapies to defeat the aging process, or technologies to aid comfortable living.
The digital world
As high streets begin to look as though they’re coming like a ghost town, the world of internet shopping is flourishing more than ever. Retail giants Amazon, for example, dominated 22.5 per cent of the entertainment industry, and their indomitable rise will only expand in the future.
Add to this the multi-billion dollar world of apps and videogames and you’ve got a whole lot of digital love on your hands.
Universities cashed into this market decades ago, and they’ve refined their computing degrees down to a tee for the future.
Some institutions will even take on the study of gaming in popular culture as part of their curriculum, should you want to become a qualified cultural commentator on the field.
But the more practical route would be to gain a degree in computer programming or game design. With this you’ll have skills that can be transferred to numerous industries, including app design, web development, IT and many more.
The world of the web isn’t going anywhere for a long time. So, while your long leather jacket isn’t coming back in fashion any time soon, you can be sure your employment options will be future-proof with this list.