Careers That Didn’t Exist Five Years Ago

One of the most exciting things about the world today is its global and strongly connected nature. This worldwide development, and the rapid rise of technology and social media, have allowed for a number of new career opportunities that did not exist as recently as five years ago. Here’s our run-down of five such careers:

1. Social Media Influencer/Entertainer

The job: The most obvious job within this new category is the role of social media influencer or entertainer. Thousands of people with a phone in hand and camera in their room get on websites like Instagram and YouTube every day, hoping to monetize their interactions. From educational content to make-up tutorials, discussions of app development and trends in wearables, people are sharing things that they are passionate about and find audiences who share their enthusiasm.

The pros: For those who enjoy social media, it is one of those dream jobs where you invest very little, start as small as a camera and Wi-Fi, and can literally shoot to fame overnight.

The cons: At present, the most liked picture on Instagram is of an egg, pointing not only to the absolute cynicism of internet humour, but also highlighting the instability of a job like this.

2. Social Media Manager/Content Manager

The job: Another huge trend, adapted by everyone from startups to the largest companies, is the focus they put on developing a structured social media strategy. This sort of brand development focused on the company’s online presence has exploded in recent years. Everyone feels the need to curate the content they send out on social media and everyone needs a person dedicated solely to their social media content management; either in-house or through an agency.

The pros: Social media is not used only for marketing and advertisement; a brand’s presence online is growing to define and represent it, and for the foreseeable future, this seems a growing field to work within.

The cons: This field is still quite young and does not guarantee a defined career progression, and is primarily an endeavour for the adventurous.

3. User experience manager

The job: Coordinating with the designers, researchers and developers, the UX manager’s job is to define the feeling that arises within a person when visiting a website or app. From understanding the audience demographic to make sure it looks a certain way and can be navigated easily, they are the gatekeepers of the online home of the company.

The pros: This work profile is increasingly being recognized as a necessity and slowly being adapted into more mainstream business, resulting in high demand.

The cons: Being qualified for this role would require being educationally qualified and having relevant work experience. It essentially calls for strategically planning your career path quite early on.

4. Tech Ethicist

The job: Experts predict that over time, tech ethics is going to grow into a full-fledged field of debate and monitoring. Quite frequently, people are confronted with the ambiguity of the rules and systems of online content moderation. Every big social media platform is susceptible to disturbing content that cannot clearly be banned under their policies. More and more, clearly defined rules and human moderation are needed to control and tackle things from immoral content to online bullying and other terrors of the anonymous internet.

The pros: You will be working every day toward making the internet more hospitable and bringing a sense of stability.

The cons: The way rules are structured, there is no unified way of dealing with this problem. Every country and every social media platform creates their own rules and this sort of moderation will only gain importance through continued pressure from authorities.

5. Anything to do with AI, blockchain and cryptocurrency, and SEO

The job: In recent years, these have all become attractive buzzwords that are liberally used and heavily invested in. From AI copywriter to SEO analyst, there is a whole range of new jobs available, offering high monetary compensations.

The pros: These are young and certainly upcoming fields of work that guarantee plenty of opportunity for work and are in high demand.

The cons: These fields are young and at present, there are no solid structures for either entry into the field or job progression once you’re in.