10 Careers For the Not-So-Distant Future

Daily Galaxy has an interesting round up of hot careers for the future. Not too boring, and not too far fetched. All of the occupations jibe with trends we’ve been watching come down the line. 2012 is the year these jobs are predicted for, which is approaching fast. Give your boss notice now, and start brushing up on simulation engineering, robotics and space hospitality.

MSNBC’s 10 Careers for the future list:

Organic food producers, retailers
Computational biologists
Parallel programmers
Data technologists
Simulation engineers
Boomer companions, caretakers
Genetic counseling
Brain analysts
Space tour guide
Robot builders, tenders

[MSNBC via Daily Galaxy]

IKEA Aims For a Green Future

Need some solar panels for your house? No need to find a specialty shop, IKEA will have you covered. The Swedish home furnishings giant is working on sustainability initiatives that will help turn them into a more green retailer. They’ve started the IKEA GreenTech fund, and are investing $77 million dollars into clean technology start-ups within the next five years. Clean tech products developed by the start-ups such as solar panels, lighting and efficiency meters will be making their way onto IKEA’s shelves in the near future. Plastic bags are also being phased out in all their stores by this fall. It’s hoped that due to IKEA’s size, these green efforts could reshape the furniture  industry and create a ripple effect, making it much easier for consumers to access sustainable product options.

[via CNet]