The “metaverse” is a difficult concept to wrap your mind around. Essentially, it’s a world that takes going online to the next level, meaning virtual and augmented reality are used to conduct business and form relationships. In other words, in the metaverse, our 3D avatars can do what we do offline now. A report from Citi estimates the metaverse could represent a $13 trillion market with up to five billion users by 2030. You might want to update your resume for these 10 new job opportunities in the metaverse, which go far beyond programming.
1. Metaverse hospitality professionals
The virtual events of the pandemic era were just a warm-up for the metaverse. Event planners will need to translate their skills to this new immersive experience in order to organize and engage people in everything from concerts to conferences. Similarly, the travel industry will take on new dimensions, with demand for creation of metaverse tours of travel destinations.
2. Avatar stylists
Our culture is appearance-obsessed, and that isn’t likely to change in the metaverse. Your avatar will become your newest form of self-expression, and you might want some help sprucing up your avatar for a big event, an important date, or a job interview. Enter the avatar stylist, who will help you select the appropriate attire and digital makeup.
3. Virtual reality educators
When it comes to education in the metaverse, Zoom classes were also just a taste of things to come. In the metaverse, students from around the world (represented by avatars) will be able to learn together in virtual classrooms taught by educators who lives in other cities entirely.
4. Metaverse real estate professionals
A $13 trillion market won’t be built on free and open spaces. Metaverse real estate professionals will be needed to guide users through the process of buying, selling, and leasing properties using cryptocurrency.
5. Crypto asset advisors
The metaverse economy is built on bitcoin and other forms of cryptocurrency—not something most average 401(k) or IRA holders have much experience with. Asset advisors will be needed to help investors wrap their mind around the idea of using funds you can’t physically touch to buy properties you also can’t physically touch.
6. Metaverse marketing experts
Every move you make in the metaverse will add to your digital footprint, which is already growing at warp speed. Metaverse marketing experts will be needed to take every metaverse consumer’s digital footprint and use predictive analytics to predict and monetize their next steps.
7. Privacy managers
The metaverse will generate an unprecedented amount of data, and those seeking to make money in the metaverse will have no shortage of ideas for how to maximize its use. But there’s a line where all this data mining goes too far. Privacy managers will be needed to protect your personal information and keep it out of unscrupulous hands.
8. Community moderators
It would be unrealistic to expect an estimated five billion users to all behave themselves. Community moderators will develop guidelines for behavior in specific metaverse spaces and be tasked with enforcing those guidelines. Because the metaverse transcends the physical boundaries of state and country, metaverse “mods” will face a complicated mix of legal and ethical considerations.
9. Hardware engineers
Although you won’t be able to physically touch your property in the metaverse, the very existence of a metaverse will require innovative new hardware, from servers to virtual reality headsets. A host of engineers will be needed to develop the physical means of accessing the metaverse.
10. Metaverse lawyer
Metaverse law governing cryptocurrency and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) is already picking up speed as a new area of practice. As more activities transition to the metaverse, which is inherently decentralized and user-governed, attorneys will be in hot demand to sort out personal rights and responsibilities (and, let’s face it, file lawsuits).
By Kate Johanns
