MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Jobs of the future: space pilot, human body part maker or climate change averter

Science and Innovation Minister Lord Drayson

Tomorrow's job hunters could be applying for the position of space pilot, human body part maker or climate change averter, according to a British government commissioned report.

Gone will be the days when a trip to the school careers officer ends with the suggestion you should work “with people”. Instead, future graduates and school-leavers will be hunting down jobs with titles that sound as though they belong in a science fiction novel.

The changing face of science and technology will mean our career paths and aspirations will be substantially different within as little as 20 years, the report suggests.

Flying car creators, virtual lawyers, virtual clutter organisers and waste data handlers are some of the other jobs our children and grandchildren could be chasing.

Science and Innovation Minister Lord Drayson said: “These jobs are no longer the stuff of dreams”. He added: ”today's schoolchildren could become our first generation of scientists to build a flying car or help reverse climate change.“

Prime Minister Gordon Brown said: ”A priority for this Government is to prepare Britain for the economy of the future and to make sure our young people can seize the opportunities that innovations in science and technology will bring.“

Rohit Talwar, chief executive of research company Fast Future, said we were set to cross ”the boundaries between science fiction and reality“.

”The list of future jobs highlights the vast array of exciting things today's school children could be doing in 20 years' time, all made possible by fields of science and innovation in which Britain has real expertise,“ he said.

”We're crossing the boundaries between science fiction and reality, and what we're seeing in the movies are becoming genuine career opportunities. Although these are made possible by science, they won't necessarily require a high level of scientific expertise in themselves”.