The rapid pace of technological development is reshaping our economy and how we work. To ensure our economy stays ahead of the competition, we need to be early adopters of emerging trends like artificial intelligence and machine learning to seize new opportunities. While certain traditional jobs may be displaced by technology, it also paves the way for the emergence of new roles.
During the recent 2024 May Day Rally—also his final one—Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong made reference to the jobs of the future that would be available to the younger generation, which were non-existent in previous generations. Here’s a look at what these roles are and the skills that you require to land them.
#1 Data Scientist
As more businesses go digital, there is a growing demand for analytical professionals, such as data scientists, who can provide actionable insights into the big data generated.
As a data scientist, you would be responsible for designing and implementing processes and logic to extract, transform, and load data from multiple data sources to obtain business insights and provide recommendations.
Salary Range: $5,500 – $9,750 (Junior Role with 0 – 2 years of experience)
Skills Required:
- Degree/post-graduate qualifications in Computer Science, Business Analytics, Data Science or other relevant fields
- Programming languages: Python, R, SQL, SAS
- Soft skills: communication, teamwork
Read Also: Salary Guide: How Much Can A Data Scientist Earn In Singapore?
#2 Machine Learning Engineer
Another important role within the data science team is that of the machine learning engineer (ML engineer).
Basically, ML engineers are the programmers who design and build software that can automate artificial intelligence and machine learning models. As a ML engineer, you would build large-scale systems that feed massive data sets and use them to train algorithms that can learn cognitive tasks to generate useful insights and predictions.
Salary Range: $6,000 – $8,000 (average salary based on Glassdoor)
Skills Required:
- Degree/post-graduate qualifications in software engineering, data science, or other relevant fields
- Strong foundation in mathematics, statistics, and software engineering
- Soft skills: communication
#3 Carbon Trader
With climate change a defining issue of our time, Singapore is committed to playing its role in reducing carbon emissions by aiming to be net zero by 2050. In this whole-of-society initiative, there is an increasing demand for professionals in the green economy to help carbon tax-liable companies decarbonise and implement their net-zero strategies.
Among them is the role of carbon traders, who help companies offset their carbon emissions using carbon credits. Carbon trading works in two ways. First, companies are levied a carbon tax for every tonne of CO2 emitted. Second is where the trading aspect is involved with what is commonly called the “cap and trade” system, which caps the organisation’s total emissions and allows it to trade any excess allocation.
Salary Range: $15,000 – $20,000 (Based on job advertisements for candidates with at least 3 years’ experience)
Skills Required:
- Degree/post-graduate qualifications in finance, economics, marketing, or other relevant fields
- Soft skills: Negotiation, communication, management
#4 Novel Food Biotechnologist
Singapore, as a land-scarce nation, imports more than 90% of its food from more than 180 countries and regions. Diversifying our import sources is one of the strategies we are adopting to strengthen our food security. In that regard, a novel food biotechnologist plays an important role.
As a novel food biotechnologist, you, in PM Lee’s words, “take a plant and you make it look like wagyu beef.” A more technical definition is that you would be responsible for the development and enhancement of food products’ safety and shelf life through novel food processing technologies like high-pressure processing (HPP) technology, pulsed electric field (PEF) processing, and food iradiation.
Salary Range: $3,450 (average salary based on Jobstreet)
Skills Required:
- Degree/post-graduate qualifications in food science and technology or a related course such as nutrition or dietetics
- Knowledge on ISO, HACCP, BRC, and Halal food safety certification
#5 UX Designer
With more of us interacting with brands through websites and mobile applications, having a good user experience is important to attract and retain customers. This has led to the demand for user experience (UX) designers.
As a UX designer, you would be responsible for improving the usability of a system. This involves shaping and optimising its layout and graphics for how a visitor interacts with the product to enhance a user’s overall experience.
Salary Range: $4,200 – $5,400 (according to Jobstreet)
Skills Required:
- Degree/post-graduate qualifications in graphic design, human-computer interaction or other relevant course in graphic and visual communications or UX design
- Proficiency in design and prototyping tools such as Sketch, Adobe CS
- Soft Skills: Good time management, teamwork
#6 Social Counsellor
The government has prioritized strengthening our social compact to ensure that no Singaporean falls behind, given the ageing society and shrinking family sizes. That’s where the work of a social counsellor (or social worker) is vital to society, and one that technology cannot easily replace.
Social counsellors help individuals, families, and communities with their current problems and provide multi-disciplinary support including accessing financial, legal, and psychological. As a social counsellor, you would need to analyse a complex range of factors when assessing the needs and wishes of an individual.
Social counsellors help individuals, families, and communities with their current problems and provide multi-disciplinary support, including financial, legal, and psychological. As a social counsellor, you would need to assess an individual’s needs and wishes based on a complex range of factors.
Salary Range: $3,500 – $4,700 (based on Jobstreet)
Skills Required:
- Degree/post-graduate qualifications in social work, counselling, psychology, sociology, community development or other related courses
- Good interpersonal skills and communication skills
#7 E-Sports Coach
With the rise of esports, short for electronic sports, those who excel at these computer games could carve a career as an esports coach.
As an esports coach, you would be responsible for guiding and mentoring esports gamers and teams to achieve their potential and success in their relevant games. You would work closely with teams or individual players to develop strategies, identify weaknesses, and build on existing strengths.
Salary Range: $4,034 (average salary based on Glassdoor)
Skills Required:
- Certification in sports management, esports coaching and management, and other related courses
- Extensive knowledge in the games you work on
- Soft skills: strong communication and leadership
Read Also: 4 Jobs That Will See The Biggest Job Losses Due To Generative AI By 2030
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