"Cyborg Psychologist" and "Offworld Habitat Designer" Among 100 Actual "Jobs of the Future"

What a time to be alive.

When you were a kid, and someone asked what you wanted to be when you grew up, you'd only need to pick from a few professions: doctor, lawyer, police officer, artist, rock star, astronaut or cowboy/cowgirl.

Nowadays, the choices seem endless, but the opportunities for graduating students feel few and far between.

That's because a significant percentage of young people are entering workforces that are being radically affected by automation.

So, as the world evolves, it's more important than ever for students to understand what the "future of work" looks like, and the different industries and roles they'll be able to choose from.

A new project by Ford Australia, Deakin University and Griffith University attempts just that. Titled "100 Jobs of the Future", the report uses findings from experts across industry and academia to describe some of the roles that’ll need to be filled in the coming years.

And by the descriptions of these roles, the future sounds wild.

Consider, for instance, cyborg psychologist, which isn't what it sounds like...

Actually, a cyborg psychologist would "work with people who have synthetic organs, robotic limbs and body implants, to help them come to terms living as cyborgs."

Still in the realm of social work is a 100-year counsellor, which sounds like a long haul gig, and it is. "A 100 year counsellor will work with people over all of their lives, but particularly into the third age, so as to support them to have a productive and fulfilling life at any age," the report says. There will also be a need for nostalgists, who will "recreate remembered experiences for the elderly."

If you’re keen to get off planet Earth, you could seek work as a space tourism operator or offworld habitat designer, while those with a love for our agriculture and biology can study to be a smart dust wrangler or bio-jacker.

Those who preferred it when we were talking about cyborgs can investigate the positions of robot ethicist or child assistant bot programmer, the latter of which involves designing "humanoid robots (kiddobots) that will support children to play safely." That definitely won’t give us nightmares for the next week, even though it is the exact plot of the recent Child’s Play remake.

And if you’re not so into STEM, you could become a sportsperson of the future, which, admittedly, just sounds like a regular sportsperson but has "of the future" added to the end, making it cooler.

You can browse all 100 Jobs of the Future here, or, better yet, take a quiz to see which one suits you.

Turns out this writer would be better off as a drone experience designer, so I’ll see you all in the 22nd century!