This article originally appeared in the Knoxville News Sentinel on August 4, 2025.
By Ozlem Kilic, Vice Provost and Founding Dean
Your current job could disappear in the next few years. Your next one hasn’t been invented. Whether you’re entering the workforce or decades into a career, one truth holds: The world of work is being reimagined.
Fueled by exponential growth in technology and its applications, breakthroughs no longer happen in isolation. They collide and spark, forging industries and careers unimaginable a decade ago.
In this age of convergence, you have a choice: Will you wait for the future to unfold, or design the one you want?
The World Economic Forum projects that by 2030, 92 million jobs will be displaced – but 170 million new roles will emerge, for a net gain of 78 million. In advanced economies like the United States, nearly two-thirds of jobs face some degree of automation. As technology reshapes the labor market in real time, the future will reward those who are curious, adaptable, and ready to grow. For them, disruption isn’t a barrier, it’s a launchpad into emerging careers.
In a fast-changing world, thriving means thinking like an entrepreneur. Success will come to those who can recognize their unique strengths, align them with their passions, and pivot quickly to seize emerging opportunities. Just as startups do. Here design thinking becomes a career superpower: Define your aspirations, prototype new roles, and iterate as industries evolve. Career agility is no longer optional. It’s the new baseline.
And here’s the exciting part: The opportunities of tomorrow aren’t limited to science labs or tech startups. Creative professionals are reimagining how we engage with AI. Educators are reinventing teaching in virtual worlds. Social scientists are guiding us through the ethical challenges of innovation. As the title of a July 2025 report by global management consulting firm McKinsey & Company declares, “We’re all techies now!” Whether you’re passionate about health care, the arts, business, or agriculture, every field is being transformed. Every passion has a place in this collaborative, evolving landscape.
Your background doesn’t limit you. It expands your potential. Whatever your field of study or career experience, there are pathways to contribute to the future. Writers are crafting narratives that make technology more accessible. Artists are helping shape human-centered design. Scientists and humanists alike are collaborating to solve global challenges. Passion and curiosity are the recipe for building meaningful, future-ready careers.
If they too are willing be bold and entrepreneurial, colleges and universities can play a vital role in preparing learners for this future. The University of Tennessee at Knoxville designed the College of Emerging and Collaborative Studies (CECS) as a model for this kind of innovation – an agile, entrepreneurial startup within a flagship, public institution.
CECS is helping all learners design careers that cross traditional boundaries – combining computing, artificial intelligence, and data science with health care, policy, arts and more. This model, and others like it, will soon empower all Tennesseans with the knowledge and skills to unlock the potential of emerging technologies.
The rules of work are being rewritten, but this isn’t cause for fear – it’s an invitation. Whether you’re starting out or starting over, the tools to design a purposeful, resilient career are within reach. The future doesn’t just happen to us. Together, we can shape it.
