You’ve seen the numbers, your prospects for the future are in flux, your daily life has changed.
If you are facing joblessness due to the many layoffs that sent shockwaves through the economy this month, you are not alone. With a 30% increase in unemployment applications in a single week, it’s a shared reality.
Don’t let your circumstances control your mind. People may be panicking, feeling hopeless, and giving up. Do not be one of them. Your mind, and the actions your mind commits to, almost always exert a measure of control over your circumstances. Targeted, focused action, even amidst crisis, cannot fail to bring about results. That is a fact. So get in the driver’s seat of your reality and wrest back control over your own mind. What you do right now matters immensely.
The economy did not crumble — it shifted. It will continue to shift. But there will always be an economy. Even edge-case scenarios, such as a return to a barter-based system, a triumph of cryptocurrency, or an inflationary regime, are still scenarios taking place within an economy, and you can participate in it.
So if you’re out of a job or afraid you may be soon, allow yourself no more than a day to mentally absorb the trauma.
But after that, you must spring into action.
Here are 12 sectors that are projected to grow during — and because of — the COVID-19 crisis, along with online course suggestions to help you retrain and prepare. If you need new skills to realign with our new economy, do that now.
Don’t take this as a blueprint for what to do. It’s a starting point for your own research and planning.
Get to it.
Streaming and Videoconferencing
Think Netflix, Hulu, and YouTube. Think GoToMeeting, Zoom, and FaceTime. There’s podcasting and audiobooks, too. Movie theaters are closed. We’re going to need to entertain ourselves with platforms that not only stream content, but take it a step beyond what we enjoy today. You’re already seeing live social watch parties to recreate the visual and auditory experiences we can no longer get outside the home. Innovations in in-home entertainment and productivity will continue. The opportunities in this field will expand as we envision new and better ways to telework and teleplay. Be ready.
Virtual Reality and Gaming
Same rule applies as above. As we spend time indoors, we’ll need ever more immersive gaming and VR experiences to expand our constrained physical footprint. Can you code? Sketch a UI? Manufacture headsets? Write storylines? Develop a marketing plan? Whatever your skill, this field will be hiring.
Telecommunications, Networking, and WiFi
With the increased streaming load from all the movies, gaming, and videoconferencing we’re all doing comes a greater demand for faster, more reliable connectivity.
Online Learning
The kids are at home. And so are you. And you need to retrain, because your old job is gone. Enter EdX, Coursera, Khan Academy, Udemy, General Assembly, LinkedIn Learning, to name just a few off the top of my head with a glass of wine in hand. This one is obvious. Growth in this sector will be exponential, and incumbent players will need expertise on scaling and delivery, business development and partnerships, troubleshooting and customer service, market research, curriculum design, etc.
Healthcare
Our nation has always faced a critical shortage of healthcare workers, and that has never been more evident than now. Healthcare is not limited to doctors and nurses. There are administrative, support, and managerial positions across public health, managed care, hospitals and clinics, billing — you name it.
Telemedicine
Related to healthcare, telemedicine allows healthcare professionals to evaluate, diagnose, and treat patients in remote locations using telecommunications technology. It’s a new and growing field and draws on multiple sectors I named above, all of which are projected to grow.
Phone and Online Customer Service
More users, more problems. We’re all going to need technical support soon. Who’s going to provide it? Maybe you.
Learn! Phone-Based Customer Service
Pharmaceuticals
You don’t have to be a chemist or researcher. It’s a sector like any other, with experts in operations, project management, marketing, regulatory affairs, copywriting, etc. But with the entire world engaged in an Olympic race for a COVID19 vaccine, you’ll see far more investment in research and development for life-saving drugs, influenza treatments, and experimental therapies to prevent the next pandemic.
Learn! Drug Commercialization
Environment and Climate Change
As travel, transport, and industrial activity grind to a halt, we already witness decreased air pollution levels and changes in patterns and habitation of aquatic life. Some see the crisis as a wake-up call for a new relationship with and stewardship of the planet. While I make no normative statements or policy recommendations, I’m certain the global mobilization spurred by the pandemic will shift environmental priorities.
Manufacturing
Yes, we need masks and personal protective equipment right now, and companies with manufacturing capacity are already stepping up to the plate and redirecting their efforts towards the production of critical medical supplies. But as global trade is disrupted, so will our access to goods and materials we are accustomed to shipping from overseas. There will almost certainly be a resurgence in domestic manufacturing.
Fast Moving Consumer Goods
As the nation spends more time at home and allocates far less discretionary income to luxury consumption, demand in this low-price sector expands. You’ve seen it: household goods, packaged and canned foods, beverages, toiletries, and over-the-counter drugs are flying off the shelves while high-priced items remain in stock. How will these in-demand inventories be managed as demand surges?
Trade, Supply Chain, and Logistics
By now, you’ve heard that both Amazon and Walmart are hiring thousands of workers to help with vastly increased demand for moving goods from distribution hubs to destination points. The reason your grocery store is empty? The nation has stockpiles of food and supplies (with the notable and evident exception of N95 masks), but they aren’t getting from storage to shelf with the efficiency you are used to. There’s stock, but we just have to wait for it to get to the stores. From transportation departments and ports to warehousing and storage facilities to the complex logistics software used to manage supply chains, get ready for a boon.
Learn! Supply Chain Analytics