Earlier this week, you probably started seeing a lot of posts wishing the internet (or more accurately, the World Wide Web) a happy 25th birthday. There’s a reason we care so much, and it’s not just that it would be impossible to play Pokémon Go in a world without the interwebs. No, thanks to Sir Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the web and internet, a whole lot of us are working at jobs we’d never have had, 26 years ago.
For example, these jobs either wouldn’t exist or wouldn’t be growing at their current pace, were it not for the internet:
- Web Developer: Median Salary – $55,964
The fastest-growing occupation on this list—the Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that it will increase 27 percent between 2014 and 2024—web developer is also the more obviously dependent on the internet: no internet, no web or web developers. People with this job design websites and test and document software. Although some companies prefer to hire candidates with bachelor’s degrees, others will consider applicants with an associate degree or equivalent years of experience.
- Computer Systems Analyst: Median Salary – $66,858
Technically, this job could exist in a world without the internet, but it’s hard to imagine that the occupation would be growing so quickly (21 percent between 2014 and 2024) if we were still locked into the pre-internet era. Successful candidates typically have bachelor’s degrees in computer science or engineering.
- Information Security Analyst: Median Salary – $71,022
Information security analysts are responsible for analyzing security threats and vulnerabilities, as well as developing policies and procedures to minimize those threats. As a result, they have reason to be grateful for the internet, which provides a potential entry point for said threats and gives them job security (and an occupation that’s projected to grow by 18 percent between 2014 and 2024).
- Computer User Support Specialist: Median Salary – $41,105
Even without the internet, this occupation would exist as long as white-collar workers relied on computers. But, they probably wouldn’t be in such high demand (12 percent projected growth between 2014 and 2014) if we didn’t have the means to constantly infect our work computers with malware by stumbling across the wrong sites.
- Multimedia Artist/Animator: Median Salary – $52,065
The slowest growing job on this list is still projected to grow at the national average—6 percent by 2024—which makes this an attractive creative job for workers with a bachelor’s in graphic design, digital arts, or a related field.
Beyond these jobs, it’s worth mentioning that even non-tech jobs are different today, because we can use online productivity tools. Any way you look at it, we’re pretty lucky to live in a world where the internet exists.
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