New and Evolving Occupations

What are the hot new occupations? What unusual jobs may be part of your future?

New occupations emerge when employers need workers to do tasks that have never been done before. For example, in the early 1990s workers were needed to manage websites. New occupations are developed for a variety reasons such as changing technology, laws, demographics, and business practices. Improved computer graphics resulted in new multimedia and animation occupations. Laws that require closed captioning of television programs resulted in the emergence of stenocaptioners.

Demographic shifts such as the increase in the aging population are another source of new occupations. Organizations that serve the elderly want workers with expertise in geriatrics. This resulted in the growth of geriatric nurses and social workers. As more people send information to businesses over the Internet, companies are hiring privacy officers to set and enforce policies about keeping information about customers private.

An evolving occupation is an existing occupation with work tasks that are changing drastically. For example, animators used to utilize pen-and-paper but they have switched to using computer programs. Warehouse managers now use electronic tracking to find and ship items rather than walking through the isles and visually tracking an item.

Hot New Occupations that May Be in Your Future

Source: Occupational Outlook Quarterly, Fall 2002