These Canadian Jobs Will Be in Demand in a Post-Pandemic World

Physical distancing has opened up new opportunities for what once sounded like science fiction. In a post-pandemic world, there may be more demand for robots to do everything from stacking shelves in the grocery store to performing medical procedures. And of course, for there to be robots, there has to be robotics engineers. It’s not only one of the best careers for women in STEM but can be one of the most fun too. To become a robotics engineer in Canada, you generally need to study for a bachelor’s degree in engineering first. Several Canadian universities and colleges then offer diploma or certificate courses in robotics.

Even before the pandemic struck, data scientists had one of the highest-paying jobs in the world. As a data scientist, you’ll collect, analyze and interpret data sets to help find solutions to problems. You can crunch the numbers to see which strategies work and which don’t and you can create predictive models — skills that have been crucial in helping countries manage the pandemic. To become a data scientist in Canada, you need to study computer programming, statistics, mathematics or a similar field. You also need to learn the relevant computer programs.

As more of us are now not only working from home but are also paying the bills and managing our finances online, the need for protection against hackers is greater than ever. A cybersecurity specialist looks for vulnerabilities in computer systems, manages attacks and helps to find ways to prevent future attacks. To become a cybersecurity specialist, most employers will require at least a bachelor’s degree in computer science. You can then supplement this with a course or even a master’s degree in cybersecurity.

Tech jobs will continue to be in demand as our post-pandemic world becomes more digitalized. As a software developer, you design and develop computer software. It’s a little different from software engineering in the sense that you work mainly by yourself rather than as part of a team. It’s also one of the best careers for women in tech because it requires multitasking and creativity. To become a software developer in Canada, employers tend to require you to have at least a degree in a computer science-related field. You’ll also need to be proficient in coding languages like PHP or Java.

Increased digitization and the rise of online shopping means that a company can’t rely on just a basic web page anymore: it has to be an informative site that will draw people in. As a content writer, you’ll create the words that go onto that website: whether it’s product descriptions or blogs. While some employers may require you to have a degree in English or whatever other language you’ll be writing in, it’s not strictly necessary. You do need to have excellent writing skills, though. The ability to write without making spelling and grammar mistakes is a definite plus, as is a good understanding of SEO principles.

In the world after Covid, businesses might not be able to rely anymore on customers coming in and seeing what’s on offer. Instead, they need to find creative ways to pique people’s interest online and through commercials. Multimedia designers combine traditional graphic design with audio and animation to create videos, commercials and even special effects in movies. It’s one of the great jobs for women in trades because it is creative and you can do it from home. To become a multimedia designer, you can do a course at a trade school or learn the ropes through an internship.

If you scour through the LinkedIn jobs pages or other job sites, you’ll probably notice that many companies are looking for customer service representatives. This is a job that will remain in demand. During lockdown, customer service representatives mostly worked from home and this is likely to continue, since it’s a way to maintain physical distance and can also save companies money. You generally don’t need a tertiary qualification to become a customer service representative: most companies provide on-the-job training. You do need to have excellent communication skills and a patient, friendly personality. Skills in an additional language can help you land the top jobs.

Ask any parent who tried to balance work and basic household management during lockdown while keeping the kids occupied and they’ll tell you that they have a newfound respect for teachers. As future outbreaks of serious diseases are about as certain as death and taxes, there will be periods where parents may be reluctant to send their kids to school. This is where online tutors will save the day and it’s one of the best jobs for retirees. To become an online tutor, the qualifications you need depend on the type of tutoring you will do. Patience, great communication skills and an excellent understanding of the subject matter are the minimum requirements, though.

Education social workers – also known as school social workers – work with students, parents and school staff to ensure the wellbeing of the students. They identify and address potential issues that may be holding back the student. In a post-pandemic world, there are many potential issues that may need the intervention of an educational social worker other than bullying, drug abuse, teen pregnancy or abuse at home — access to distance learning, for instance. To become an education social worker, you need at least a diploma in social work, although many school districts will require at least a bachelor’s degree. Then you need to be registered with the relevant governing body for social workers in your province or territory before you start looking at how to find a job.

The experts agree that unless we take better care of the environment, we may see more outbreaks of serious diseases in the future. These won’t necessarily be airborne like coronavirus. Waterborne diseases like cholera have killed millions in the past and can do so again. As a water quality technician, your job is to prevent that from happening, by making sure that the water we drink is safe. To become a water quality technician, you need at least a college technical diploma. You also need to be certified by the governing body for water quality technicians in your province or territory.

In a post-pandemic world, there will not only be a greater focus on taking care of the environment but also on becoming more self-reliant and self-sustaining. One aspect of this is focusing on greener buildings that will not only use fewer resources and produce less waste but will also be better for our health. Green builders make these ideas a reality. To become a green builder in Canada, you can take a regular construction course and supplement it with short courses focusing on green building practices.

If you could spend the rest of your life digging in the garden, you may wonder how to find a job you love. Before the pandemic, urban growers were mainly people who helped create greener buildings or maybe worked in community gardens. Lockdown has showed us just how important – and fragile – supply chains are. Urban growers can improve access to fresh produce by virtually cutting out the long distances the produce has to travel to get to hungry city slickers. In addition, all that greenery makes for healthier cities. You don’t need any special education to become an urban grower but a qualification in a field like horticulture is recommended.

It’s hard to imagine a time when registered nurses won’t be in demand. They were on the frontlines during the pandemic and their role will remain invaluable in preventing and/or managing future outbreaks of diseases. As a registered nurse, you are often the person who has most contact with the patient, monitoring their health, administering their treatment and communicating with them and their loved ones. It’s hard work but it’s also one of the jobs with the best starting salaries in Canada. To become a registered nurse, you need a bachelor’s degree in nursing and then meet the requirements to become registered with the governing body for nurses in your province or territory.

A telephone triage nurse or telehealth nurse is a registered nurse with a job you can do from home or the hospital. People contact you by phone or online and based on their symptoms, you assess whether they need to get back into bed with a bowl of chicken soup or whether they need to go to the emergency room. It’s a field that’s growing fast and gives more people easy access to primary healthcare, even if they live in a remote area. To become a telephone triage nurse in Canada, you need to become a registered nurse in the area you’ll be working in. If you’ll be dealing with patients who contact you from another jurisdiction – for instance, if you’re based in Ontario and work with patients based in Nunavut – you need to be registered in that jurisdiction too.

Before the pandemic, Canada’s aging population meant that health care aides had one of the most in-demand jobs in 2025 and beyond. This hasn’t changed at all. In fact, young people who have recovered from Covid-19 often still suffer from debilitating side effects that may last for a very long time and may sometimes also need help with tasks like bathing, grooming and dressing. The requirements for how to get a job as a health care aide vary from one province or territory to another. However, you may need a certificate from an accredited health care aide program.

While most healthcare jobs will remain in demand after Covid, there’s one that will become even more important as new diseases develop. A clinician scientist – also called a physician scientist – is a physician who not only treats patients but does medical research. They are the ones who discover how a disease presents itself in different people, who are more at risk and which treatments work. It’s the perfect job for you if you want to be a doctor but need to retreat back into your shell every now and then. To become a clinician scientist, you need to either enroll in a joint MD/PhD or MD/MSc program or study medicine and then do the two-year post-graduate Clinician Investigator Program at the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada.

An emergency management director is in charge of risk assessment, finding ways to mitigate those risks and developing responses to disasters and other emergencies. There is an ever-greater need for emergency management directors as climate change brings more natural disasters like wildfires, floods and disease outbreaks but also to deal with disasters like acts of terror. Several universities in Canada offer programs in disaster and emergency management, ranging from diploma courses to doctorate degrees.

During lockdown, most of us became used to doing our shopping online. This trend is likely to continue even in post-pandemic times. Of course, someone has to make sure the right people receive your order, get the product from the supplier to the fulfillment centre and get the product to you. This person is a logistics manager. To become a logistics manager in Canada, a degree in a field like business administration will help. Many colleges and universities in Canada also offer courses in supply chain and logistics management, including diplomas and master’s degrees.

If you’re trying to figure out how to find a job but don’t have much training or tertiary education, becoming a fulfillment worker is an option that is increasingly in demand. Basically, you prepare people’s online orders for shipping. It’s a very physical job: depending on the company you work for and the size of the warehouse, you may find yourself getting in much more than your ten thousand steps a day. At least you’ll be getting paid for it.

The surge in popularity of online shopping has also created more demand for delivery drivers who can get orders out to customers. This can be a very satisfying job if you like being out and about and not seeing the same scene day after day. It doesn’t require any special training either, except getting a driver’s licence for the class of vehicle you’ll be driving.