By Sarah Blenner, JD, MPH

From Arthur C. Clarke’s 2001: A Space Odyssey to the 1969 hit song by Zager and Evans In the Year 2525, humans have pondered what life will be like in the future.  A 2010 report called “The Shape of Jobs to Come,” published by Fast Future, as a part of the Science: [So what? So everything] campaign, once again predicts the future—this time focusing on new and soon to be invented jobs and industries that will boom between the years 2010 and 2030.

Some of the professions that made the top 20 job forecast list for 2030 include: body part makers, nano-medics, vertical farmers, weather modification police, social “social networking” workers, time brokers, and space tour guides.

The job descriptions vary in abstractness—ranging from the body part makers who will “create high performing body parts,” such as copies of knee caps for injured athletes or soldiers returning from war, then sell the body parts and manage body part repair shops, to the social “social networking” workers, who will counsel individuals traumatized by social networking sites, such as Facebook.

Perhaps the need for some of these jobs is not too far off—estimated to enter the workforces by 2015, vertical farmers, will help solve the world’s food shortages by bringing food production to the urban setting.  Cities are already seeing the emergence of community gardens, such as the Jean Carter-Hill Community Garden  in the Englewood neighborhood of  Chicago, and grocery stores carrying fresh fruits and vegetables to combat food deserts (urban areas that lack sufficient access to grocery stores), such as Graffiti and Grub.  Vertical farmers will take urban farming one step further.  The vertical farms will be constructed in tall buildings and skyscrapers, using “hydroponically fed food being grown under artificial growth-enhancing lighting” and will “offer the potential to dramatically increase farm yield and reduce environmental degradation.”

And while employers may not yet be ready to hire the soon to be coveted “body part makers,” there certainly is a growing economy for jobs that focus on emerging technologies—especially technologies that will create new job markets.  For example, LA Green Corps, a program sponsored by the Alliance of Affordable Energy of New Orleans, the ARC of Greater New Orleans, and the Old City Building Center, aims to create jobs, educate youth, help jumpstart a “green economy,” and make New Orleans more energy efficient.  The program, founded in 2008, trains at risk youth (meaning unemployed, under-employed, court involved or otherwise disadvantaged New Orleans youth) to enter the “green collar” work force. 

But New Orleans is not the only city aiming to improve its economy, become more environmentally friendly (in part incorporating newer technologies into job trainings), and help lower unemployment rates.  President Obama recently announced his budget for the 2011 fiscal year.  The $3.8 trillion budget sets aside $100 billion for job creation, $2.3 billion of which will be in the form of tax credits to promote green jobs and a green economy. 

According to the authors of “The Shape of Jobs to Come,” as the economy recovers from a recession, thinking about potential future jobs is appropriate and may enhance economic recovery.  This is especially true as we transition into what the report calls “a new era for science and technology.”  UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown commented on the relevance of the report: “A priority for this Government is to prepare Britain for the economy of the future and to make sure our young people can seize the opportunities that innovations in science and technology will bring. The shape of jobs to come shows what might be on offer for the next generation. I hope it will inspire young people to gain the skills and training they will need to succeed.”