When they grow up: Experts reveal jobs of the future for today’s Kindy kids

An estimated 1.25 million children in NSW will be back at school on Thursday, but for those just starting out, here’s what their futures might look like by the year 2038.

Five-year-old “little warrior” Aaliyah Sciamanna is raring to go for her first day of primary school, already eager to – one day – follow in her mother’s footsteps and become a teacher herself.

Mum Stefania Sciamanna admits she’s “very emotional” about the major milestone.

Despite watching on as hundreds of other parents said the same farewell at the school gate, nothing quite compares to seeing off your own firstborn on her big adventure, she explains.

“Your firstborn really is like your little, mini best friend. She’s my little sidekick, and we’ve gone through so much together, through a difficult pregnancy she’s been this little warrior from birth,” Ms Sciamanna.

She and partner Joseph want Aaliyah’s Kindergarten year at St Joan of Arc Catholic primary school to foster a love of learning in their child; “as parents, yes we want our children to thrive academically, but I’ve always said my priority for her is to thrive emotionally,” the Haberfield mum said.

An estimated 1.25 million children in NSW will be back at school today as public school students join their peers in Catholic and independent schools in returning to their classrooms.

Kindergarten students Chloe, Luca, Annabelle, Jonathan, and Aaliyah are excited about starting school. When they grow up, they want to become a mechanic, scientist, ballerina/doctor, engineer and teacher respectively. Picture: Tom Parrish

Luckily for little Aaliyah, if she sticks with a career in teaching, expert futurists say she’ll be in with a good chance of finding work by the time she finishes her 13 years of schooling in the year 2038.

Education futurist and school consultant Tony Ryan said artificial intelligence will be “the big mover and shaker” for the future workforce across every industry, making some jobs obsolete while creating others.

Kindergarten student Aaliyah Sciamanna with mum Stefania and dad Joseph. Aaliyah wants to be a teacher when she grows up, just like mum. Picture: Tom Parrish

“Empathy and connection” can’t be replaced by robots, he said, meaning caring professions like teaching, social work and nursing will continue to be needed into the future.

“We need to be careful that we don’t get so obsessed with the technology that we allow it to take our humanity.

“I recommend that every parent and teacher becomes an amateur futurist … it could be a positive wake-up call for them.”

The University of South Australia’s Professor of Engineering Innovation David Cropley said constant technological advances are the factor most likely to shape these children’s future careers, as AI products evolve into specialised “agents”.

Little Annabelle’s future as a doctor – or a dancer – is unlikely to be threatened by artificial intelligence. Picture: Tom Parrish

“However, I don’t think these will simply replace humans in the world of work. Rather, I see them as augmenting human specialists,” Professor Cropley said.

“For example, with medical diagnosis, doctors will consult with their AI assistant to confirm … what is visible on an X-ray. The AI provides an input but does not replace the human in the loop. This is because something like a medical consultation still begins and ends with a human interaction.”

Even certain highly-specified blue-collar jobs will be safe – “shearing a sheep is remarkably difficult to build into a robot”, he said.

“The automation and AI, as capable as it might be, is still really just a very fancy tool. Hammers and saws didn’t displace carpenters, they just made the job of carpentry easier and more efficient for the human.”

Kindergarten student Chloe, with Dad Danny, is excited about going to school and becoming her dream profession – a mechanic. Picture: Tom Parrish

Young Chloe Cardoso is ready to get her hands dirty, so excited to follow in her mechanic dad’s footsteps that Danny Cardoso was forced to find his daughter a miniature uniform to wear during visits to his Ashbury garage.

Meanwhile, budding scientist Luca Ranieri is starting Kindergarten at St Francis Xavier Catholic Primary School in Croydon Park with a passion for experiments, while 5-year-old Jonathan Gurung joins St Ambrose Catholic Primary School in Concord West with dreams of becoming an engineer.

Luca’s parents are both teachers, and dad Jason believe his son’s sense of wonder and amazement is “going to take him far in life”, whatever path he ultimately chooses.

“We don’t know what’s going to be out there by the time he finishes school, so I hope he has the skills to choose and be whatever he wants to be.”

St Francis Xavier Catholic Primary School student Luca Ranieri with his dad Jason Ranieri. Picture: Tom Parrish

Jonathan’s mum Kaitlyn Zhang has built a home lab for he son to “practice his creative ideas”, eager to support him to become a “curious, resilient and empathetic person” as he grows up.

“As I always tell him, this world never lacks smart people, but it desperately needs those who use their abilities to make a positive impact – I hope he will be one of them,” she said.

Kindergarten student and aspiring engineer Jonathan, with his mum Kaitlyn. Picture: Tom Parrish

Critical and creative thinkers with skills in science, technology, engineering and mathematics will also be in high demand by 2038.

Engineers Australia’s Acting Chief Engineer Bernadette Foley urged parents to “challenge stereotypes” about what their child wants to be when they grow up.

Engineering is “such a diverse field with so many possibilities, it’s about so much more than wearing a hard-hat,” she said.

“There are so many more people that can be engineers than think they can be engineers.”