Emerging and Evolving Occupations

Emerging occupations are those whose requisite knowledge, skills, and abilities are not defined by occupations in current occupational coding structures (i.e., Standard Occupational Classification) or career planning guides. Basically, these are new occupations in the workforce: new titles with new skills. A good example is Wind Technician.

Evolving occupations are those already listed in the current occupational coding structures and career planning guides, but the requisite knowledge, skills, and abilities of the occupation have changed significantly from ones outlined in those publications. Simply put, these are traditional occupations whose knowledge, skills, and abilities have changed or evolved: old titles with new skills. An example would be Environmental Engineering Technicians.

The New and Emerging Occupations of the 21st Century: Updating the O*NET-SOC Taxonomy provides a good starting point for information on new and emerging occupations. The list found through this link is to raise awareness of certain new and emerging occupations at the national level, however, there currently are no data available to determine if there are significant job openings in Texas.

The impact of the green economy on occupations can be significant in some cases requiring new skills and credentials leading to the creation of new occupations. A new study Greening of the World of Work: Implications for O*NET-SOC and New and Emerging Occupations provides information on the impact of the green economy on existing occupations but also provides a list of new and emerging occupations (Appendix F). Note: there currently are no data available to determine if there are significant job openings in these occupations in Texas.