You may have heard of this futuristic other world called the metaverse. Here’s what it looks like.
Shelby is working a mundane life as an assistant librarian. Spending much of her time in the company of books, periodicals, and people who prefer plenty of peace and quiet, she makes it through each day with the same tasks and with very little interaction.
However, Shelby is also living a double life. In the metaverse, she is an active member of various social hubs where she gets to interact, play, and even gossip with others. In this world, she never runs out of people to hang out with. In fact, she has formed her most significant friendships in the metaverse.
How The Metaverse Works
The metaverse refers to this 3D universe where individuals have avatars together with their friends. In it, they interact through several social hubs in an alternate reality that offers far more opportunities to interact and meet other people regardless of who and where they are in real life.
In the metaverse, your avatar can visit and interact with others in dance clubs, comedy bars, special interest groups, karaokes, and truly immersive game worlds. You enter the metaverse via augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR).
Big tech organizations such as Facebook, Apple, Microsoft, and Sony are all gearing up to launch products and services that will be usable in the metaverse.
As a result, analysts forecast that the metaverse, currently an industry valued at $30 billion, will increase tenfold in just ten years to $300 billion.
There are also many iterations of the metaverse that are being planned for launch all over the world. Take, for example, Korea’s Seoul Vision 2030 Plan. This is a comprehensive plan by the South Korean capital to be the first city in the world to enter the metaverse by coming up with a virtual communication ecosystem encompassing all areas of city life by 2030 using AR and VR.
If you are looking for an existing sample of a metaverse, then pay a visit to Decentraland.
With 30,000 active users and a virtual space being used by 18,000 users daily, the organization is heavily investing in user experience and word-of-mouth as their primary marketing tools. It currently holds the top spot in the nascent world of the metaverse in terms of the number of users and active subscribers.
Of course, the most notable prime mover for the metaverse is the CEO and CEO of Meta Platforms, Mark Zuckerberg. Being the organization that also owns Facebook, Meta spent $10 billion in 2021 to launch Metaverse products, such as virtual reality goggles and Horizon Worlds.
Horizon Worlds has an alternate-world building feature that allows you to interact with others and play games using VR. In October, Meta infused a fresh $10 million fund to support creators and incentivize them as they continue to create more worlds.
Metaverse and the Future of Work
In the future of work, we can expect every organization to be a tech company. The vibrant world of the metaverse is predicted to profoundly affect the world of work. It is expected to disrupt work by introducing innovations in customer experience. Regardless of the nature of the industry you want to work in, we can expect that most organizations will leverage metaverse technologies to create a more immersive customer experience anchored on VR and AR.
To survive this tech disruption and be capable of utilizing the metaverse for your continued professional development and marketability, you must recognize and take advantage of opportunities to learn and know more about virtual reality technology and how it will shape the world of work.
Be it a virtual workplace or environment, sweeping digital transformations, remote work, or virtual work, you must be able to handle all these changes to the fullest and be equipped to succeed amid disruptions.
Metaverse For Work
So how do you prepare yourself for the metaverse? How can you take full advantage of this disruption?
The metaverse will require you to come up with and be adept with new ways of working. Know that failure to embrace new technology causes you to be left behind. This means that resisting the metaverse and everything it offers can lock you out of a rich and thriving world that can potentially provide greater efficiency, marketability, and, therefore – higher income for you as an employee or a job candidate.
In 2026, tech consultancy firm Gartner predicts that 25 percent of people will spend at least an hour in the metaverse. Currently, the number of metaverse job vacancies has increased by 500 percent and is still expected to rise exponentially. Major organizations such as Nike, HSBC, and Amazon have already started hiring for metaverse positions.
This is where the virtual world of the metaverse directly impacts the real world. Here are five of the most in-demand jobs in the metaverse.
1. VR and AR Software Engineers
Topping the list are VR and AR software engineers tasked with working with advanced technology to develop interactive worlds across various platforms. As a basic requirement, this position requires you to have an outstanding background in coding.
2. Cybersecurity Experts
Once organizations start embracing the metaverse, these organizations will inadvertently also be opening up their organizations to possible threats, such as data leaks, cyberattacks, and data theft. To ensure that this is avoided or quickly mitigated, it is vital to hire a metaverse cybersecurity expert who will be tasked to insulate the organization from possible dangers and security breaches. Thus, professionals skilled in cybersecurity and other related disciplines will find themselves highly employable.
3. Hardware Engineers
Despite the metaverse mainly operating using VR or AR, the world of work will still need hardware engineers to be responsible for coming up with devices that support the metaverse, such as new sensors, cameras, headsets, and the like. These allow you to experience the metaverse in a very immersive manner. For individuals dabbling in hardware engineering and related disciplines, yours will probably be one of the sexiest jobs in a metaverse-centric society.
4. Blockchain Engineers
This role will also be in demand. Blockchain engineers will be primarily tasked with creating and maintaining digital blockchains for businesses. This is highly technical and will require blockchain experts. This rather nascent field requires huge manpower now and, in the future, more than ever.
5. Metaverse Marketing Specialists
You are probably adept at marketing. However, the challenge is for you to take your expertise a step further as a metaverse marketing specialist. You will be responsible for marketing and selling products and services via virtual experiences.
PREPARE FOR THE METAVERSE AND PARTNER WITH ACS PROFESSIONAL STAFFING
As you prepare for the metaverse, it will be ideal to partner with an organization that knows the future direction of the world of work. ACS Professional Staffing can partner with you to redefine your professional profile and set you up for jobs that are highly in demand today and in the future. Let ACS Professional Staffing help you thrive as a tech professional in the real world and even in the virtual world.