25 jobs that will never disappear

With machine learning, artificial intelligence, quantum computing and other high-tech advances, most of us have wondered if our jobs will be taken over by technology. The bad news is, this is already happening for some professions doing rote work, such as telemarketers.

The good news is, studies show that some jobs are less at risk than others, because they are complex rather than predictable, or require the kind of creativity or emotional intelligence that machines don’t yet possess. So here are 25 jobs that will not disappear anytime soon.




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Mental health and substance abuse social workers

According to mswguide.org, these healthcare professionals are “what you probably think of when you hear the word ‘therapist.’ They have ongoing clinical relationships with individuals, couples, families, and groups in community treatment programs, schools, or office settings.” These complex human relationships and insights into what drives behaviour make the profession nearly future-proof.




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Choreographers

A choreographer is an artist who designs and directs dance routines and performances that will entertain, inspire and sometimes challenge audiences. A quintessentially creative profession—combining music and movement—choreography is beyond the capability of machines right now and for the foreseeable future.




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Teachers

Teachers not only need to know a lot, they must shape the development of their students, with keen insights into their character, their abilities and what motivates them. Empathy and a nurturing nature are important characteristics. While teachers increasingly must know how to use new technology to do their jobs, they are unlikely to be replaced by it.




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First-line supervisors of police and detectives

These law enforcement professionals—including police sergeants and captains—are tasked with coordinating criminal investigations, providing their expertise and guidance to investigators. Their work requires leadership and problem-solving skills, a thorough knowledge of police procedures, grace under pressure and other qualities.




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Clergy

In different religious traditions, a clergy person is an ordained member who conducts religious worship, carries out official rites and provides spiritual assistance, moral guidance and support to congregation members. Dealing with personal, emotional, spiritual, societal and other issues makes the clergy’s job hard to replicate by machines.




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Marketing, communications and design professionals

According to The Independent: “Machines aren’t great at critical thinking, or coming up with new and exciting ideas. . . . People who design for a living, or who work with ideas, words, and images will probably survive the increase in automation, because machines don’t function like humans. Not yet, at least.”




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Psychiatrists

One of the things that’s hard for machines to replicate is emotional intelligence. A fair bit of this is required by psychiatrists as they diagnose, treat and try to prevent a variety of mental, emotional and behavioural disorders in their patients.




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Human resources managers

While computers may search resumés for the right keywords, narrowing down the field for job candidates, human resources managers also have insights into what makes people tick personally and professionally that they rely on as they recruit, interview and hire new staff. Mediating disputes, handling disciplinary actions, planning strategically to make the best uses of the workforce’s talents also require serious people skills.




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Athletic trainers

As much as fitness devices like Fitbit are all the rage, it still takes the personal touch of a fitness trainer to keep people motivated and on track for their exercise goals. And with an aging population, and all the associated maladies, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that from 2016 to 2026 the profession should grow by 23%, much faster than average.




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Data scientists

While machines are great at amassing data, sometimes it takes a human to understand the story it is telling in its algorithms and code. According to the book Doing Data Science: “A data scientist is someone who knows how to extract meaning from and interpret data, which requires both tools and methods from statistics and machine learning, as well as being human.”




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Marriage and family therapists

These therapists also need emotional intelligence and human insight to do their jobs, as they “treat a wide range of serious clinical problems including: depression, marital problems, anxiety, individual psychological problems, and child-parent problems.” With a 23% predicted employment growth from 2016 to 2026, their job prospects outstrip many other professions.




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Gig workers

In today’s growing gig economy, temporary, flexible jobs are becoming more common, with numbers of freelance workers and contract employees growing compared to full-time staff. Often their work is related to technology, such as Uber and Lyft drivers, and food bicycle delivery people. The work requires flexibility and independence—something machines aren’t known for.




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Dentists

People aren’t crazy about other people poking around their mouths; they’re even less eager to have machines take over the role. With nice salaries to boot, (human) dentists will continue to find a growing demand for their services, diagnosing and treating problems of the teeth, gums and other mouth parts.




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Music directors and composers

Creativity is the hallmark of the composers who write and arrange original music and the directors, or conductors, who lead musical groups during performances and recording sessions. With the number of people attending musical and theatrical performances expected to stay steady in the years ahead, the profession will still be needed, although with increased competition for jobs.




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Registered nurses

An aging baby boomer population will ensure that demand stays high for registered nurses, who work in hospitals, clinics, assisted-living facilities, homes, schools and more. They also provide specialized care in “areas such as cardiac care, midwifery, family practice, geriatrics, labor and delivery and emergency nursing.”




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Conservation scientists and foresters

The continuing need to prevent and deal with forest fires, as well as consumer demand for wood pellets, will ensure that conservation scientists and foresters are around to plan, maintain and preserve public and private woodlands. In the future, the best job prospects will be for the professionals who well know geographic information system (GIS) technology, remote sensing and other software tools.




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Cybersecurity experts

With the growing number of cyber attacks threatening our increasingly connected workplaces, cybersecurity is a profession that will continue to command good wages and grow—conservative estimates predict that job growth in the sector will be 37% a year through 2022. Good for those in the field; alarming for the rest of us. And a case of how technology is creating new jobs.




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Multimedia artists and animators

With the high demand for animation and visual effects in videogames, television, movies and online, employment prospects for this profession will remain steady. While multimedia artists and animators must use the latest technology in their work, the creativity they bring to projects keeps the machines as tools, instead of masters.




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Chief executives

Whether an organization is large or small, its chief executive has their hand at the helm, devising strategies and policies to ensure that it stays on track and meets set targets. Long hours, high stress, and plump salaries and bonuses are part of the job for both public and private sector chief executives. As long as there are organizations, there’ll be a demand for leadership.




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Dietitians and nutritionists

An aging and increasingly obese population, and the rise of diseases such as diabetes and heart disease, will help keep demand for dietitians and nutritionists high, with employment projected to grow by 14% over the next decade. These professionals are experts in using food and nutrition to promote healthy lifestyles and manage disease.




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Mechanical engineers

While machines are on the rise, you still need people to create and care for them. Mechanical engineers help design, make prototypes, test, refine and produce just about any kind of machine you can think of. These include ones for the automotive industry, aerospace and transport industries, power generation, refineries, insurance industries, building services, railway systems design and other sectors.




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Coaches and scouts

Coaches and scouts find and refine athletic talent. Coaches give amateur and professional athletes the training and skills they need to become contenders in their sports. And scouts track down new players, assessing their skills and how likely they are to be successful. With high interest in college and professional sports, the demand for this profession will grow at a rate faster than most other jobs.




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Physicians

“Some say technology will replace 80% of doctors in the future. I disagree,” writes Dr. Bertalan Meskó. “Instead, technology will finally allow doctors to focus on what makes them good physicians: treating patients and innovating, while automation does the repetitive part of the work.” A growing and aging population will help ensure the demand for physicians grows.




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Recreation workers

Recreation workers keep people active and healthy with fitness and recreational activities in sports centres, camps, nursing homes, community centres, parks and elsewhere. With an increasing societal focus on lifelong health and wellbeing, these professionals will continue to be in demand to work with people of all ages in a variety of settings.




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Executive chefs

While automation will take over some food production jobs (and already has), people will always want a good meal out. Combining manual skills with great creativity, an executive chef knows how to mix flavours and create innovative menus in ways that will future-proof their profession. Fast-food chefs, however, are susceptible to automation and AI burger-flipping assistants.




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