Evolving Career Pathways

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝘀𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗹𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿? The World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Survey 2024 makes one thing clear: 𝗯𝘆 𝟮𝟬𝟯𝟬, the 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝘃𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗲𝗱 𝘀𝗸𝗶𝗹𝗹𝘀 won’t be memorised facts, but 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲, 𝗮𝗱𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆, 𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘁𝘆, 𝗲𝗺𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗵𝘆, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗲𝗰𝗵𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘆. As this chart shows, the world is shifting:  • From static knowledge to lifelong learning  • From routine tasks to creative and analytical thinking  • From individual achievement to collaboration and emotional intelligence. As educators and policymakers, we must ask ourselves:  • Are our classrooms cultivating these future-ready skills?  • Are assessments aligned with what will truly matter?  • Are we enabling students to thrive, not just survive, in an uncertain future? It’s time to move from a content-heavy curriculum to one that values agency, self-awareness, and purposeful learning. Every school should, and can, be a place where every child learns to be a problem-solver, a systems thinker, a compassionate teammate and, most of all, a curious, adaptable, humane being. At ThriveNow Education, we believe in a balanced approach. Yes, the future demands adaptability, creativity, and digital fluency but these must be built on solid foundations of literacy, numeracy, and global citizenship. Our curriculum blends core academic learning with real-world experiences, integrated projects, and values-driven action. We support students to achieve in essential subjects, but also to develop the skills and mindsets they’ll need to thrive in a rapidly changing world. Let’s move beyond the false choice between knowledge and skills. The future belongs to those who can think critically, act ethically, adapt appropriately, and connect deeply and that starts with an education that is both rigorous and relevant. 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗹𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘀𝗸𝗶𝗹𝗹, 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗱𝘀𝗲𝘁, 𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗮 𝗼𝗳 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽𝘀 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗼𝗿 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻? 𝗦𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀—𝗹𝗲𝘁’𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗮 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝘅𝘁 𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝘂𝗰𝗰𝗲𝗲𝗱. (𝘐𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘦: 𝘊𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘚𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 2030, 𝘣𝘢𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘞𝘌𝘍 𝘍𝘶𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘑𝘰𝘣𝘴 𝘚𝘶𝘳𝘷𝘦𝘺)

The DoD just dropped its FY26 RDT&E budget—and it’s a $179B North Star for anyone building the future of national defense. Here’s what’s hot (and heavily funded): 🤖 Unmanned Systems & Physical AI – The budget is stacked with programs for launched effects, ground robotics, SUAS, TITAN, and AI-enabled C2. This is the golden hour for anyone working in cyber-physical systems, autonomous platforms, and real-world AI at the tactical edge. 🧠 AI/ML & Autonomy – From soldier lethality to ISR and C3I, embedded AI is showing up everywhere. Physical + digital fusion isn’t hype—it’s a requirement. 🚁 Future Vertical Lift & Next-Gen Combat Vehicles – Army and Navy are doubling down on transformational platforms, from long-range assault aircraft to hybrid-electric tracked systems. ⚔️ Hypersonics, Precision Fires & EW – Rapid, smart kill chains are in. Big money flows to hypersonic weapons, integrated fires, and resilient spectrum ops. 🧬 Biotech & Materials Science – Quietly accelerating: synthetic biology, survivability-enhancing materials, and warfighter performance R&D. Big implications for dual-use founders. 🛰️ Tactical Space & Multi-Domain Sensing – LEO, PNT, ISR nodes—space is tactical now, and the budget reflects it. 💻 Digital Pilots & Agile RDT&E – Software-defined everything. Over $1B in funding for digital pilot programs and agile prototyping. If you’re building fast, the DoD wants in. This isn’t just a spending plan—it’s a mission set for innovators. If you’re in unmanned systems, autonomy, biotech, robotics, or defense software… the signal is clear: let’s go. #DoDBudget #RDTandE #DefenseTech #UnmannedSystems #PhysicalAI #Robotics #Biotech #FutureVerticalLift #Hypersonics #DualUse #AgileRDTandE #ISR #GovTech #NationalSecurity

The Class of 2025 faces unprecedented challenges—but your greatest asset isn't just your degree, it's your capacity for transformation. Research consistently shows that sustainable career success emerges from internal motivation: ↳ 68% higher employment satisfaction when work aligns with personal values, according to Workforce Analytics ↳ 2.9x greater career resilience when skills development is self-directed, according to Harvard Business Review ↳ 81% improved interview performance when candidates articulate authentic purpose, according to PSYCHOMETRIC RECRUITMENT LIMITED To activate your career transformation engine, master these five essential components: 🔹 Design your "Skills Acceleration System": Map your learning against emerging industry needs. Graduates who dedicate 5 hours weekly to strategic upskilling secure roles 40% faster (LinkedIn Workforce Report). 🔹 Craft your "Rejection Resilience Protocol": Convert interview feedback into growth opportunities. Candidates who implement structured feedback review processes receive 3x more follow-up interviews. 🔹 Develop your "Network Cultivation Rhythm": Create systematic touchpoints with industry connections. Professionals with consistent relationship-building practices receive 57% more unsolicited opportunities. 🔹 Create your "Opportunity Visibility Framework": Establish daily practices that position you where serendipity happens. Graduates in 3+ industry communities encounter 4x more "hidden market" roles. 🔹 Formulate your "Professional Identity Narrative": Craft and practice your unique value proposition until it becomes second nature. Candidates with coherent personal narratives advance 2.5x faster in early career stages. That's how you become career-resilient in a competitive landscape—by systematically building the professional identity that creates opportunities where others see only obstacles. What's one step from this framework that sparks your curiosity? Share below. Coaching can help; let’s chat. Joshua Miller #Classof2025 #CareerAdvice #Executivecoaching

Nobody warns you about the hard parts of freelancing. So here's what I had to get my head around: 1/ If I get sick, the whole operation collapses. No sick pay. No back-up team. No “OOO.” Just me, paracetamol, and deliverables 😭 2/ Clients don’t care what you meant; they care what you delivered. You have to communicate clearly, set boundaries and repeat them when needed. 3/ Visibility isn’t optional. When you stop posting, people genuinely think you stopped working. You have to stay top of mind even when you’re tired. 4/ Networking is currency. Some coffee chat, DM, comment or introduction is building your pipeline, even if it doesn’t look like it today. 5/ You can’t wait to “feel confident.” Half the time you’re doing things for the first time. Confidence comes after you do it, not before. 6/ There’s no one to hype you up. You clap for yourself, you validate yourself, you take yourself seriously first. 7/ Chasing invoices should be illegal. But here we are sending “gentle reminders” when we really want to say “run me my money.” 8/ You must create opportunities, not wait for them. Posting, emailing, pitching, positioning, it’s all part of the job. 9/ Work-life balance doesn’t exist; you have to build it. Otherwise you’ll look up and realise you haven’t been outside in 72 hours. Freelancing is the most freeing and most humbling thing I’ve ever done. But once you learn how to navigate it? It becomes the best decision you ever made. Freelancers, what’s one thing YOU had to get used to? 👇🏾

Every day, I see headlines about what roles AI will replace. But the real question I hear from leaders is: What roles will AI *create*? Let’s start with the data: - ‘Artificial Intelligence Engineer’ is the #1 fastest-growing job in the U.S. - ‘Artificial Intelligence Consultant’ is the #2 fastest-growing job. - Searches for ‘AI Engineer’ increased by 1,640% in five years. - AI and data skills are the fastest-growing in importance. AI isn’t just changing how work gets done. It is reshaping our teams. And the future of teams is hybrid - humans and AI working side by side, doing what we do best. And within these hybrid teams, two new types of roles will arise: AI Ops (Super Orchestrators) and Super Contributors. 1. Super Orchestrators or AI Ops These are systems thinkers who build the foundation for how work gets done with AI. Typical job titles are GTM Engineer, AI Ops, and AI Solutions Architect. They train models, clean data, run experiments, and iterate. In effect, they create the engine that allows everyone at their company to scale their work with speed. 2. Super Contributors These are individual contributors who use AI to 10x their output. Their job titles may look the same – content marketer, account executive, customer service manager – but their impact is completely different. These folks will use AI to do more end to end tasks. They are marketers who create multi-modal content and launch entire campaigns – in the time it takes to write a blog post. They’re salespeople who automate prospecting, do deep research before every call, and connect with more buyers in a day than others do in a week. They’re customer service professionals who use AI to handle tier 1 tickets and flag at-risk accounts – so they solve complex problems proactively. Super Contributors don’t just increase impact within their teams. They drive growth for their companies. Leaders, I’d love to hear from you. What new roles are emerging in your teams? P.S. This post is part of a series on Leadership in the Age of AI. Next, I’ll share my advice on what skills to look for when hiring AI talent. The goal is to spark conversations we can all learn from. If you have a question, leave a comment! (*Data sources: LinkedIn News, Exploding Topics, World Economic Forum)

'26 is looking like a tough job market: Steady but stagnant is probably the best way to put it. There are opportunities and growth, but it's uneven, with only certain sectors and roles growing. I was on the Today Show this morning unveiling our annual Jobs on the Rise list, which is designed to help everyone understand where the market is going — in good times and bad. Here’s what job seekers should know this year: 1️⃣ The AI boom is extending beyond technical roles. Artificial Intelligence Engineers rank #1 on nearly every global list. Go deeper into JoTR and you start seeing how AI is growing roles in strategy, opps, real estate and planning: from hands-on roles like Datacenter Technicians and Prompt Engineers, to leadership titles like Directors of Artificial Intelligence and AI Strategists. We’re also seeing AI move deeper into fields like finance and hiring – a signal that AI skills are quickly becoming foundational. 2️⃣ More people are betting on themselves. For the first time, Founders and Entrepreneurs appear on our list, with “founder” titles up 69% in the U.S. over the last year (and nearly 3x since 2022). In a stagnant market, more professionals are choosing to build instead of wait. 3️⃣ Growth-driving roles stay resilient. Sales and revenue jobs show up on half of the lists, from Advertising Sales Specialists to Chief Sales Officers. When companies are under pressure, roles tied directly to growth and ROI continue to matter. The big takeaway: Opportunity hasn’t disappeared, but it’s shifting fast. The people best positioned for what’s next are staying curious, building new skills and open to change. Check out the full list here: https://lnkd.in/dt8cdskk #JobsOnTheRise

Inclusion isn’t a one-time initiative or a single program—it’s a continuous commitment that must be embedded across every stage of the employee lifecycle. By taking deliberate steps, organizations can create workplaces where all employees feel valued, respected, and empowered to succeed. Here’s how we can make a meaningful impact at each stage: 1. Attract Build inclusive employer branding and equitable hiring practices. Ensure job postings use inclusive language and focus on skills rather than unnecessary credentials. Broaden recruitment pipelines by partnering with diverse professional organizations, schools, and networks. Showcase your commitment to inclusion in external messaging with employee stories that reflect diversity. 2. Recruit Eliminate bias and promote fair candidate evaluation. Use structured interviews and standardized evaluation rubrics to reduce bias. Train recruiters and hiring managers on unconscious bias and inclusive hiring practices. Implement blind resume reviews or AI tools to focus on qualifications, not identifiers. 3. Onboard Create an inclusive onboarding experience. Design onboarding materials that reflect a diverse workplace culture. Pair new hires with mentors or buddies from Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) to foster belonging. Offer inclusion training early to set the tone for inclusivity from day one. 4. Develop Provide equitable opportunities for growth. Ensure leadership programs and career development resources are accessible to underrepresented employees. Regularly review training, mentorship, and promotion programs to address any disparities. Offer specific development opportunities, such as allyship training or workshops on cultural competency. 5. Engage Foster a culture of inclusion. Actively listen to employee feedback through pulse surveys, focus groups, and open forums. Support ERGs and create platforms for marginalized voices to influence organizational policies. Recognize and celebrate diverse perspectives, cultures, and contributions in the workplace. 6. Retain Address barriers to equity and belonging. Conduct pay equity audits and address discrepancies to ensure fairness. Create flexible policies that accommodate diverse needs, including caregiving responsibilities, religious practices, and accessibility. Provide regular inclusion updates to build trust and demonstrate progress. 7. Offboard Learn and grow from employee transitions. Use exit interviews to uncover potential inequities and areas for improvement. Analyze trends in attrition to identify and address any patterns of exclusion or bias. Maintain relationships with alumni and invite them to stay engaged through inclusive networks. Embedding inclusion across the employee lifecycle is not just the right thing to do—it’s a strategic imperative that drives innovation, engagement, and organizational success. By making these steps intentional, companies can create environments where everyone can thrive.

After 15 years working in careers and 8 years as a Career Coach, here’s my advice to anyone wanting to change career: ➡️ If you’re not happy in your current job, don’t pretend you are ➡️ If you don’t know why you’re unhappy, spend some time working this out ➡️ If you ever get glimmers of motivation and inspiration at work, take note, because they’re the things that light you up and you need to do more of them ➡️ Not everyone needs a complete career change. Sometimes you just need to fall back in love with what you’re doing and refocus ➡️ If you’re completely stuck and clueless about what you want to do, experience new things - eg voluntary work, courses, work shadowing, volunteer for projects at work ➡️ If you’re not sure what your strengths are, ask your friends, family and work colleagues. They often see things you just can’t ➡️ If you are ready for a full change, look before you leap! Take time to research and consider your options before making a move ➡️ Most of us know, deep down what we want to do but are too afraid to say it out loud. Don’t do that! Let it out and explore it! ➡️ And finally, if you think you’re too old to make a change, think again! It’s not over ‘til it’s over! What else would you add for someone wanting to make a change in their career?

Leadership is not always about people management. Authentic accessibility leadership happens when people are allowed to push boundaries, innovate, and solve complex problems—often without ever having any people management responsibilities. For many in the accessibility field, their expertise, passion, and drive come from focusing on the work itself, not overseeing teams. Sometimes, the disabilities that attract us to the accessibility space make the idea of people management debilitatingly stressful. Yet, we often expect these brilliant minds to step into management roles to be recognized as leaders and receive the compensation they deserve. Not everyone in the accessibility field sees management as their career end game. We need to establish alternative career paths that allow professionals to lead through impact, not headcount. Principal Accessibility Engineers, Senior Accessibility Architects, and Expert Accessibility Consultants should be valued at the same level as managers, without being forced into roles that detract from the work that fuels their passion. Accessibility leadership means driving change, shaping standards, and making the world more inclusive—regardless of whether you're managing people. Let’s break free from traditional career ladders and embrace leadership in all its forms. Alt: If you want better accessibility leaders, you need to offer a non-mamager career path. #Accessibility #Leadership #CareerPaths #Inclusion #Innovation

I have a question for my freelance friends out there: What’s something you wish more people understood about freelancing or running your own business? Ya know, over the past few weeks, I’ve had some really honest conversations with friends who freelance...the kind of conversations you don’t always see in public. And it made me realize…there’s a lot about the life of being a freelancer that we don’t talk about in the open. So, I want to talk about it. Because here’s the truth: Freelancing isn’t just a different kind of job. It’s running a business. Full stop. But I think a lot of people oversimplify what that actually means. I’ve heard things like, “Just quit your job and become a freelancer,” or “I’m burned out, so I’m thinking I’ll quit and try freelancing instead.” As if freelancing is something you can just casually fall into. As if it’s the easier path. As if all it takes is making a Canva logo and updating your LinkedIn headline to “Freelancer.” But the reality? Freelancing isn’t some carefree alternative to a 9–5. It’s a commitment. A risk. A full-time job plus a dozen other roles you didn’t ask for. And I get it! I really do. On the surface, freelancing sounds like freedom. No boss. No 9–5. Work from wherever. Take on the projects you want. But what most people don’t see is everything that sits underneath that. The mental weight. The financial risk. The constant self-promotion. The dry spells when no one’s hiring and you’re still trying to make rent. The hustle that doesn’t stop just because you’re busy...in fact, it doubles when you’re busy, because you’re already preparing for when things slow down. Freelancing means being your own sales team, your own finance department, your own legal team, your own IT, and your own project manager. You have to market yourself, pitch yourself, sell yourself..over and over and over again. You have to know what you’re good at, price your work accordingly, write your own contracts, handle your own taxes, buy your own software, drive your own professional development, and figure out your own health insurance. You don’t get to coast for a few days between projects. You don’t get paid time off. You don’t get to turn your brain off at 5pm. And even if you have savings and experience and a good reputation...it can still be scary AF. Now don’t get me wrong...I love freelancing. I chose this. I’ve worked hard to make it work. But I also spent almost a decade preparing for it. And I’ve learned the hard way that it’s not something you casually fall into. At least, not if you want to stay in it. Let’s make the conversation more honest for those who are considering this path...and a little more vulnerable for those already on it. Because if you’re out here building something on your own, you shouldn’t have to feel like you’re doing it alone. #eLearning #InstructionalDesign #LearningAndDevelopment