CSIRO, Australia’s national science organisation, has identified seven global megatrends that reveal the challenges and opportunities of our future
As huge STEM fans, we got to thinking… How can skilling up in science, tech, engineering and/or maths help meet these challenges AND guarantee you an epic career where you’ll make a real difference?
Below you’ll find the seven global megatrends identified and explained by CSIRO, as well as the STEM careers that will be useful in facing them. Hot tip: these jobs will be needed more than ever in the next 20 years!
1. Adapting to climate change
With natural disasters expected to cost the Australian economy almost three times more in 2050 than in 2017, we can expect to be living in a more volatile climate, characterised by unprecedented weather events.
STEM careers that can help:
RELATED: 7 careers to fight global warming
2. Leaner, cleaner and greener
An increased focus on potential solutions to our resource constraints through synthetic biology, alternative proteins, advanced recycling and the net-zero energy transition. By 2025, renewables are expected to surpass coal as the primary energy source.
STEM careers that can help:
3. The escalating health imperative
The post-pandemic world has exacerbated existing health challenges posed by an ageing population and growing burden of chronic disease. One in five Australians report high or very high levels of psychological distress and there is heightened risk of infectious diseases and pathogens resistant to modern antibiotics. There is now a burning platform to also respond to our health risks and improve health outcomes.
STEM careers that can help:
4. Geopolitical shifts
An uncertain future, characterised by disrupted patterns of global trade, geopolitical tensions and growing investment in defence. While the global economy shrunk by 3.2% in 2020, global military spend reached an all-time high of $2.9 trillion and Australia saw a 13% increase in cybercrime reported relative to the previous year.
STEM careers that can help:
RELATED: Read the latest Careers with STEM: Cyber Security digital magazine
5. Diving into digital
The pandemic-fuelled a boom in digitisation, with teleworking, telehealth, online shopping and digital currencies becoming mainstream. Forty percent of Australians now work remotely on a regular basis and the future demand for digital workers expected to increase by 79% from 2020 to 2025.
STEM careers that can help:
- Digital health expert
- Service desk analyst
- Data scientist
- Digital product manager
- App developer
- Customer analytics manager
6. Increasingly autonomous
There has been an explosion in artificial intelligence (AI) discoveries and applications across practically all industry sectors over the past several years. Within the science domain the use of AI is rising with the number of peer-reviewed AI publications increasing nearly 12 times from 2000 to 2019.
STEM careers that can help:
RELATED: What is artificial intelligence?
7. Unlocking the human dimension
A strong consumer and citizen push for decision makers to consider trust, transparency, fairness and environmental and social governance. While Australia saw a record level increase in public trust in institutions during the pandemic, this ‘trust bubble’ has since burst, with societal trust in business dropping by 7.9% and trust in government declining by 14.8% from 2020-21.
STEM careers that can help:
- Environmental policy officer
- Environmental economist
- Environmental, social, and governance officer
- Environmental lawyer
Inspired to jump on a STEM study and career path after seeing these megatrends? Find your STEM + X over here.
