Looking for a new career? Here are the 3 most promising careers of 2020

Natalie Rabson on behalf of Boston City Campus.

We seem to be surrounded by doom and gloom – these are hard and confusing times for all South Africans. We need to remain positive and upbeat –and we have some practical ways for you. 

  What are the downsides of what we are experiencing? Chaos, panic and stockpiling, loss of work and loss of studies. So how do we turn this around? Consider what will be in use 24 hours a day, despite ports being closed, ban on travel and closed schools? The internet! Tech! This is where we will not only spend our time, but we can create our futures. The temptation will be to spend all the time on Netflix, but imagine if you set some aside to gain new skills? Our present and our future is all about what happens on our laptops – so make yourself valuable and learn or upgrade your career.

  Due to the nature of online learning, Boston has always used it in order to pass on the benefits which include greater knowledge retention as well as learning in your own time and your own space, and lastly of course, at your own pace. Now is the best time to take advantage of this with new 4th IR careers such as cyber security, data science and project management.

  Computer and mathematical occupations are growing at a rate of 22% and they have one of the highest average salaries. 

  Thanks to expanding mobile networks, and a growing energy sector, IT professionals have an extremely favorable outlook. As big data increasingly drives commerce, the skills needed to control our vast networks of information are more valuable than ever. The demand for data scientists continues to grow.

  Data Science has emerged as one of the most popular fields of the 21st Century. Companies employ Data Scientists to help them gain insights about the market and to better their products. Data Scientists work as decision makers and are largely responsible for analysing and handling a large amount of unstructured and structured data. In order to do so, he requires various tools and programming languages for Data Science to mend the day in the way he wants.

  Cyber security secures your future as you need to always be one step ahead of where the next breach will be. Cyber security is the practice of protecting systems, networks, and programs from digital attacks. These cyber-attacks are usually aimed at accessing, changing, or destroying sensitive information; extorting money from users; or interrupting normal business processes.

  Graphic designers’ job functions often bleed into analytics and research as they look to improve the way data is represented.

  Wikipedia describes Project Management as “…the practice of initiating, planning, executing, controlling, and closing the work of a team to achieve specific goals and meet specific success criteria at the specified time. The primary challenge of project management is to achieve all of the project goals within the given constraints”.  Both Project and product managers work across disciplines, taking the output of team members and integrating it into the bigger picture. One of the most notable characteristics of opportunities for project managers is their truly global nature.

  If one of these fields speaks to you, there’s plenty of time to get prepped and make the switch, and use the time you have now to develop so that when we emerge from this recession you will be in the top position to offer employers up to date skills, or to open your own consultancy because you will be in such high demand!  It’s never too early to get started enjoying the sense of well-being derived from promising and fulfilling work. Prepare to thrive!

Visit www.boston.co.za, or call 011 551 2000.