In the age of automation and progress and various careers feelings like they’re going to be phased out eventually, there’s some anxiety among teenagers and people who are thinking about possible career paths. Nobody wants to invest in an education for a field that might not exist in 10 or 20 years.
While things tend to move a little more slowly in the real world, there are still certain jobs that might not have as much long-term stability than others.
Here are some possible career paths and ideas that will probably be around for a very long time, or at least that will work as good stepping stones and provide a strong foundation should you need to pivot to something related down the road.
3. HVAC Repairs
Regardless of where technology takes us in the coming years and decades, it’s a safe bet that there will always be weather. As long as weather exists, we’ll need ways to stay comfortable indoors.
HVAC means heating, ventilation and air conditioning. As temperatures rise, more places will require air conditioning, and air conditioning units will be used more often, for example a small increase in temperature each year can mean needing to use your AC a week sooner in the summer months, or needing to keep using it a week or two longer, and this puts more wear and tear on the unique, which means it’ll need to be repaired and maintained more often, and will breakdown sooner and need to be replaced. Because of this, HVAC repair is a job that’s not going anywhere.
2. Computer Programming and IT
As things become automated, there will be an increasing demand for people to program them in the first place, not to mention people to build the apps that power them, the cyber-infrastructures that move data around, and more.
If you enjoy math and problem solving, then programming can be a rewarding career path to take. Not everyone is great with math and numbers, and that’s perfectly fine, because even if you would rather work with your hands, there will still be a need for those types of jobs, too. In fact, as more people opt for jobs that they can do from the comfort of home, there becomes a premium for the types of folks who like to get out there and do physical work. For example…
1. Mechanic
As fleets of vehicles start to switch over to being driver-less, they’ll still need to be repaired. As more cars become electric, they’ll still need to be repaired. Batteries need to be swapped out, solar panels need to be maintained… even if it’s not a gas engine, vehicles are still mechanical things that can break down, and need to be repaired.
Types of Careers That Will Always Be Around: Starting as a Teenager
When you get into certain career paths, there’s no guarantee that there won’t be some massive breakthrough that changes the whole paradigm, but generally speaking, certain skills are always going to be valuable and will also become increasingly more valuable. Nonetheless, it’s still a good idea to keep an eye on trends over the decades, and to make sure you’re doing what you can to stay on top of changes in your field, so that even if things shift, you’re ready to adapt.
