10 careers that didn’t exist 10 years ago

The world is evolving much faster than it did for the generations before us. With the growth of new technologies, what initially took decades to complete is now taking us mere months to achieve.

This shift is much more apparent in the evolution of careers; the job of a copy typist, which involves hours and hours of typing documents, or that of a filing clerk, whose job is to organise and arrange files into filing cabinets, are now almost obsolete.

The world of careers today is opening up to new opportunities that allow you to explore your interests and strengths and make a living.

Here are 10 new jobs which exist in today’s global market that didn’t five to 10 years ago.

• Zumba Instructor

You may have heard of the aerobics instructor, but whoever thought infusing Latino and Afrodance with aerobic moves could become a job?

The Colombian gym instructor who created Zumba didn’t either. This dance-based workout is now an international fitness franchise which trains those interested in becoming instructors.

After the training, they can then set up a business offering classes to various age groups such as children, teens, and even retirees. Certification is solely from South Africa at the moment.

• Digital Marketing Specialist

When the Internet birthed Facebook in 2004, YouTube in 2005 and all these other major social media sites, very few people thought it would be the world’s largest marketing and activist tool.

Now, millions of businesses worldwide are trying to propel their brands online to grow more revenue and top of mind awareness.

And with over 300 social media sites, they need a professional to actively and creatively put them on the map. This person is the digital marketing specialist.

• Big Data Architect

For any country, industry or business to grow, data is needed. Data provides important insights for growth and improvement in all these sectors.

But it was only from about 2008 that this became a core part of industry and economic blueprints for countries.

Big data refers to large amounts of information analysed computationally to reveal patterns, trends and associations. This helps institutions determine behavioural trends and interactions core to marketing and strategy building.

• User Interface/User Experience Designer

This job is fondly referred to in its abbreviated version (UI/UX Designer). This technical expertise ensures our Internet and digital experience is aesthetically appealing and interactive. Without these experts, not a single social media site, email or even website would be appealing to use. It would be a dull screen with lines and lines of endless computer code. As users’ needs get more sophisticated online, it is essential for digital sites to evolve with those needs, and indeed the rising demand for UI/UX designers is apparent.

• Android Developer

You are pretty familiar with all the apps companies and friends encourage you to download from the Google store; from banking apps, farming apps, healthcare apps, to games, social media apps and many more.

These different applications you download and quickly delete from your phone are the product of an android developer’s hard work.

Android is an open source operating system used on smart phones and tablet computers.

Android developers are software developers who specialise in creating all these applications specifically for the Android market place which is more widely found on smart phones and tablets.

• Sustainability Manager

With the threat to the earth from climate change, there are many concerns rising on how best to care for the planet and live sustainably. Most companies now seek specialists to guide them on how best to use their resources better without causing pollution and affecting the environment.

• Millennial Generation Expert

A 2015 study conducted by Ernst and Young, titled, Global Generations: a global study on work-life challenges across generations, states that in just seven years, millennials will constitute 75 per cent of the global workforce.

The millennial generation expert helps companies understand the values and expectations of these young employees and how best to engage with them.

•  Uber Driver

We all know about the conventional taxi which can be hailed wherever you are. With the technological advent of mobile applications, Uber created a digital cab hailing application which has seen the birth of others, such as Little and Taxify.

Now an individual in select cities and towns in Kenya can hail a cab virtually, and in the process, more and more people are earning a living as cab drivers.

• Chief Listening Officer (CLO)

The CLO is a new communication position in organisations. The CLO keeps a keen eye on all social media and face-to-face communication with customers and provides reports and insights on the effectiveness of the organisation’s communication style.

• Bloggers / Vloggers

Bloggers are slightly much older in the digital space. They run active online blogs championing causes, providing industry-specific information, self-help or even fiction stories.

Vloggers are video bloggers who also create content and disperse digitally in video format. They make a living by either creating paid sponsored content, or providing advertising opportunities for corporates on their websites to advertise to their vast number of readers.