The world is more interconnected than ever before in an era of globalization, as technology progresses at a breakneck pace. This means that job – and startup – prospects are available practically everywhere. However, this is also a concern. How can you know which trends to follow when choosing a career when so much is occurring so quickly? If you’re not sure where you want to work or what degree to pursue, simply follow the money – to the industries that attracted the greatest investment in 2017, like healthcare, consumer technology, and green energy. All that’s left is to figure out which industry best suits your personality because doing what you love pays off in the end.
Elderly Care (for the charitable)
Given Asia’s aging population – not just in Singapore, but also in countries like Japan – the number of people involved in the elderly healthcare service will increase exponentially. The med-tech industry in the Asia Pacific gained 10% between 2015 and 2017, with biotech output accounting for 65% of overall manufacturing growth in 2015. Singapore, as a gateway to Asia, serves as an incubator for med-tech businesses, allowing them to thrive and expand throughout the region. Even if you’re not interested in medicine, other connected fields such as pharmaceuticals, psychiatry, and physiotherapy are expected to increase.
Green Energy
Green energy is unquestionably a growing business in the face of climate change. Despite the sustained cheap prices of fossil fuels, renewable energy – particularly solar – has seen a 42 percent annual increase in global capacity over the last five years. Singapore committed more than $900 million in new public sector R&D investment for Urban Solutions and Sustainability over the next five years in 2016. Meanwhile, jobs in solar energy surpassed those in oil and natural gas extraction in the United States for the first time last year, contributing to a global rise in clean-energy employment.
For the Visualiser: Virtual Reality
The market is expected to increase tremendously based on the industry’s existing strength – thanks to the advent of VR hardware like the Oculus Rift. According to Statista, its global market size is $1.7 billion this year and will grow to $24.5 billion by 2020. Between 2014 and 2017, the industry’s revenue increased by 50 times. In 2015, Singapore, riding the wave, announced $2.2 billion in ICT tenders in digital, data and online services, and IT infrastructure.
Video Games
Video game titans like Sony are already including VR compatibility in their upcoming releases thanks to VR technology. Not only will this increase consumer sales, but it will also allow advertisers to generate more money from video games through numerous income channels, thanks to constant technology breakthroughs and innovative concepts. Singapore is following suit, supporting a move to a high-tech creative economy in areas like animation and game design.
For the High-flying Type: FinTech
There are now more payment choices than ever before. Businesses that accept online payments such as Bitcoin, Apple Pay, Alipay, or Paypal have a significant advantage over their competitors. Singapore’s Monetary Authority has pledged $225 million to grow the FinTech industry through 2020, indicating that financial technology has the potential to become global quickly. However, as FinTech develops, there will be more attacks on apps, digital wallets, and the like, therefore cybersecurity is another emerging business that will ride the wave alongside FinTech development.
Drone
Drones are a big growth business, with tens of thousands of new drones flying around airspaces across the world, owned by everyone from enthusiasts to mine-hunters to the military. According to a PWC report, the global drone market will expand from $2 billion today to $127 billion by 2020. Each industry has varied needs that require different functionalities, such as AI that can defeat human pilots in war or airborne 3D cameras that can assist in future Hollywood blockbusters, with the company expected to grow by more than 6,000 percent in the next decade.
The good news is that, because of technologies like Bubble and Zapier, non-technical entrepreneurs are beginning tech enterprises in record numbers, regardless of their industry. As a result, soft skills such as business acumen, sales, and industry expertise are becoming more crucial than pure coding aptitude.
