How do you feel about the possibility of working for the next 60 years? It might seem a little far fetched, but recent research from the Stanford Center on Longevity predicts that most of us will live to the age of 100, an increase expected to become the norm by 2050, which means a significantly longer time spent in the workforce.
While longer life expectancy is a gift, it brings with it a rising pension age and potentially, a 60-year period of work.
While there is the option to retire earlier than the state retirement age and enjoy the extended life expectancy, for the majority, the rising cost of living makes that option unlikely. As governments across Europe continue to increase the pension age for workers, it now looks certain that those in their 30s and 40s will now be working until at least age 70.
The idea of a job for life is long gone, but while we change jobs every few years, it’s rare we change careers entirely or switch sectors, but have you ever considered how your skills could translate to an entirely different sector?
Transferable skills
For example, if you have a marketing background, could you add value in tech, or, if you have a fintech background, think about the skills you have that could be applied to an AI startup.
Or, as fashion businesses such as Nike are making NFTs a central part of their business models, could your traditional retail experience be applied here? A zig-zag approach is not only a mentally stimulating strategy for a long career, but will ensure you stay relevant throughout.
Wondering where to start?
- Constant upskilling
What changes are happening in your industry? Will AI impact your role or your skills, for example? The World Economic Forum predicts that by 2025 half of workers will need some form of reskilling, ask yourself whether you want to be ahead of the competition or behind.
Keep an eye on your industry and on your colleagues. If your company has recently been through a round of redundancies, consider who made the cut and what their skills were. Perform a skills audit on yourself, and identify areas in which you may need to upskill.
Similarly, ask yourself if there’s a sector you would like you to make a lateral move into. In order for that to happen within the next 18–24 months, what experience or skills will you require and set about making it happen.
- Research your industry
Start reading up on the jobs which are in high demand or predicted to be the highest earnings within the next five years. Examine the skills or experience needed for those jobs. For example, careers in AI, fintech and cyber security are expected to grow over the next five years as demand outweighs supply. Is there an area in either that appeals to you or can you leverage your experience to date and bring value to the table?
If you don’t know where to start, the Silicon Canals Job Board is full of companies promoting opportunities across all sectors and skill levels, like the three exciting roles below.
Digital Business Development Manager, PayPlug, Paris
The Role: As Digital Business Development Manager with PayPlug your role will be to understand the prospects’ perspectives and align their business objectives with the solutions offered by Payplug
The Responsibilities: You will present a thorough understanding of the payment products and services offered, with the ability to communicate those to prospective merchants and establish an extensive pipeline of sales opportunities, manage the development of the pipeline, and accurately forecast your identified projects to senior management.
The Requirements: You will have a demonstrated B2B new business development/sales/account management experience; expertise and understanding in Payments, iGaming and/or online video games industries and a proven track record of complex solution sales, account-planning, proposal creation, c-level negotiations and closing skills.
Apply for the Digital Business Development Manager role or browse all available opportunities on PayPlug.
Senior Legal Counsel, Zalando, Berlin
The Role: As Senior Legal Counsel with Zalando you will support the company’s rapid growth and advise the Zalando Payments company, strategically and on any regulatory and contractual issues related to payment services
The Responsibilities: You’ll work very closely with the payments team to help implement payment and FinTech solutions to support various ecommerce offerings and you’ll draft, structure and negotiate payment contracts.
The Requirements: You have at least four years of relevant professional experience (financial regulation/payments) and have proven experience in corporate finance.
Apply for the Senior Legal Counsel role or browse all available opportunities at Zalando.
Lead Gameplay Engineer, Improbable, Remote
The Role: As the Lead Gameplay Engineer with Improbable you will be directly involved in shaping both the technical and commercial direction of how metaverse experiences are developed and launched.
The Responsibilities: You will be responsible for owning the overarching game delivery plan while leading technical innovation in the metaverse experience space, helping industry-leading brands and IPs engage with their community in innovative ways never seen before.
The Requirements: You are experienced with managing programmers across multiple engineering disciplines, enabling them to excel and improve both themselves and the team around them using methods such as coaching, tutorials, and other important documentation.
Apply for the Lead Gameplay Engineer role or browse all available opportunities at Improbable.
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