New decade, new job – the roles that will emerge in the tech sector during the 2020s

While ‘new year, new me’ has long become an unrealistic cliché, the arrival of a new decade – the impossibly futuristic-sounding 2020s – does encourage future-gazing and excitement.

The ongoing technological revolution continues to change the world in unforeseeable ways, which can make difficult the accurate forecasting of jobs we cannot yet imagine. Nevertheless, to help organisations and individuals prepare for changes we are expecting to see in the coming years, we embarked on the enormous endeavour of applying our knowledge across several industries to predict the new jobs that are likely to emerge over the next decade.

The roles we identified in our studies, 21 jobs of the future and 21 more jobs of the future, range from those that are already practically a reality to some that sound closer to science-fiction, such as data detective and personal memory curator. What they have in common, however, is a combination of skills that will be required to get, and stay, employed throughout the next decade. Here is a selection of the roles we will see emerge in the tech sector during the 2020s.

Master of Edge Computing

Put simply, these are the people who will build the smart infrastructure capabilities for edge computing. These workers will help define companies’ IoT roadmaps, carefully evaluate the technical requirements and assess the feasibility for establishing edge-processing units, and fundamentally be responsible for creating, maintaining and protecting the edge-computing environment.

We know that with increased connectivity, all organisations will experience escalating data volumes, requiring unlimited storage and processing capacity. Edge computing unleashes the potential of connected hardware devices by decentralising them to become almost mini data centres themselves.

The overall purpose of a master of edge computing is to overhaul the full-scale infrastructure to ensure the new technology seamlessly interacts with legacy systems, minimises latency and delivers the required business benefits.

Required skills are likely to include a Ph.D. in computer science or similar, insights into systems modelling and knowledge of distributed architectures, as well as significant experience working on IoT hardware and software platforms.

Cyber City Analyst

Cyber city analysts will ensure the safety, security and functionality of municipalities by maintaining a steady flow of “healthy” data around our cities – including biodata, citizen data and asset data – by ensuring all technical and transmission equipment functions without being compromised.

These workers will carry out the necessary repairs when the city resilience team flags automated data flows as broken, faulty or hacked. Analysts will troubleshoot equipment issues, diagnose faults and replace components and circuitry, from the smallest sensors that could be placed on a city’s bio-tracking beehives, to the powerful data tools located at a city’s data hub.

As nearly all municipal functions – including emergency services, power provisioning and waste collection – will use sensor data to ensure fast and effective delivery of key services, their maintenance will be vital: if these systems fail, the city suffers and the people that live there.

Head of Machine Personality Design

How many times do you interact with a product or service and feel let down, uninspired or faintly annoyed by the experience? By imbuing an intelligent product/service/bot with a personality, companies will soon be able to establish a rapport with consumers in an increasingly transactional world.

This is where heads of machine personality design will become invaluable, leading teams whose focus is on giving a unique voice and character to digital products and services – from parking machines to robots who serve customers in restaurants and bars.

The role will require an intuitive understanding and passion for people, culture, ethnography, sociology and branding, as well as a deep knowledge of process design and machine learning, and a strong background in process engineering and voice analytics.

Data Trash Engineer

In today’s business world, we often struggle to manage the ever-expanding volume of data around us, while also ensuring the quality of that data. As a result, we often end up labelling piles of data as waste if they have not been used in the last 12 months.

However, if we mine, refine and distribute it, data trash can be profitable, and the return on investment can be significant – which will see data trash engineers (DTEs) emerge as key members of every data analytics team.

DTEs will have the opportunity to use quantitative skills and develop well-rounded business insights by working across various functions on impactful, business-focused projects by applying analytical rigour and statistical methods to data trash. Ultimately, this can help guide decision-making, product development and strategic initiatives by creating a data-trash nutrition labelling system that will rate the quality of waste datasets and manage the data growth-data trash ratio.

Cyber Calamity Forecaster

The cyber calamity forecaster’s primary task will be to monitor, detect and forecast cyber threats, and predict their impact. The forecaster will distinguish between highly improbable and wildly impossible cyber outliers, as well as accurately mapping cyber uncertainties and making predictions to prepare for their occurrence.

Most importantly, they will provide analytical, advisory and technical expertise and analysis related to global cyber activities by assessing the current and predicted cyber environments in order to issue cyber products, alert bulletins and forecasts.

The end goal is to identify the full range of possibilities leading to cyber calamity, not simply a limited set of illusory certainties, while also integrating information into decision-making processes at all levels in order to mitigate cyber calamities.

Virtual Identity Defender

New technologies are fast emerging that create the possibility to literally put words into somebody’s mouth. This capability, which has broadly been labelled as “deepfake technology”, is opening a number of scenarios that range from the amusing to the apocalyptic.

We predict the rise of the virtual identity defender. These are people with demonstrable experience of leading development teams in complex technical areas and proven track records working with recognisable brand name companies. They will be able to speak “tech” and “business” and be comfortable toggling and translating between the two.

Machine Risk Officer

Machine risk officers will manage the potential risks that may occur if intelligent machines fail. They will also work to establish human-machine trust and protect a company’s brand, reputation and finances by proactively addressing machine ethics issues.

A key skill will be to define roles and responsibilities between humans and machines and set the rules for how human counterparts should handle machine-caused wrongdoing. This will involve designing trustworthy experiences, training employees, developing risk-benefit matrices, overhauling ethics principles, and ensuring relevant personnel are in the driver’s seat to monitor machines.

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Ultimately, while concerns about a “jobless future” have never been greater, with work is changing due to technology, automation and AI, the reality is that jobs will not go away. Many roles will disappear, but others, such as those listed above, will emerge. Work and the skills required have always undergone change over the centuries and the jobs of the future will use technology as a means, not the end.