IN last week’s issue, we quoted Minister of Education Ronald Thwaites advising young people to plan for jobs in the areas of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). Sure, a lot of those jobs don’t exist right now, but if current trends hold, pretty soon there will be plenty of jobs that are not only lucrative, but fun too. If you have the vision to start prepping now, pretty soon you could be flying starships, designing organs, developing drones, even building hotels on Mars!

We’ll get you started with this list of five STEM careers that don’t exist yet, and how to prepare for them.

1. Robotics Engineer

You’ve seen those self checkouts at the grocery store become more popular, right? Before we know it, robots will be taking over simple jobs, but we’ll need brilliant people to design, build, and fix them. This will be a huge department in future STEM careers.

How to prepare yourself:

First off, take the most advanced math and science courses your school offers. In college, major in something along the lines of electronic engineering or mechanical engineering. There are plenty of clubs and hobbies like coding that can advance your learning (and boost your résumé) too. Consider paticipating in Lego Yuh Mind, the robotics workshops put on by Halls of Learning each year.

2. Drone Development & Exploration

Drones might give us some beautiful videos and photos, but they can be used for so much more. STEM careers involving drones will span from law enforcement to designing to agriculture.

How to prepare yourself:

If you can’t purchase your own drone to experiment with (they do cost hundreds of thousands of dollars), consider getting together with a group of like-minded people and splitting the price. You might even be able to find a used one. Just don’t get into trouble flying where you shouldn’t be…

3. Space Pilot

There was a time when it was thought impossible to fly aeroplanes, but now thousands travel on commercial airlines every day. The next frontier? Space! Before you know it, you’ll be flying customers on a trip to the moon.

How To Prepare Yourself:

Although you can’t just casually leave the atmosphere yet, attending aviation school or enlisting in the Jamaica Defence Force’s Air Wing or the US Air Force are ways to transition into flying a space shuttle. Also, check out NASA’s underwater space-simulator laboratory if you ever get the chance.

4. Organ Designer

People are living longer and longer, and pretty soon, instead of waiting for organ transplants, doctors will find a way to create organs using that person’s own cells. Scientists are already on their way — medical company Tengion’s simple neo-organs, such as bladders, will arrive soon, but organs like lungs, kidneys and hearts are trickier.

How to prepare yourself:

Keep your grades up in advanced maths and science courses, then study bioengineering in college.

5. Water Harvester

Humans will always need water, but with climate change and the forecasts for longer, drier droughts, the need becomes even more critical. Harvesting it from the atmosphere, or desalinating seawater are two options, but innovators will have to find even more creative means with low environmental impact.

How to prepare yourself:

Majoring in environmental science or engineering in college will give you a head start. You should also be knowledgeable about safe environmental practices.

— stemjobs.com

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