Here is some crazy data to blow your mind: Have you ever wondered how long until a technical skill you learn becomes useless? According to Stanford University’s Kian Katanforoosh, the “half-life” of technical skills (meaning: the time it takes for half of what you know to become outdated) has dropped from about 10 years in the 1980s to 4 years today, and may soon fall below 2. This means that whatever technical skills you are learning now, might be actually completely expired knowledge by the time you graduate- and AI makes this trend faster than ever.

What to do then? Well, first, don’t panic. Researchers have already found ways to train yourself and stay desirable on the job market. The solution: 1. learn foundational knowledge and 2. learn useful skills.

1. Foundational knowledge: According to Harvard Business Review, if you know the basics of your craft, you’ll be much better at pivoting your technical skills as time goes on. For example, if you understand the mathematical foundations of coding, you’ll be much more successful at adapting to new, emerging programming languages or technologies than if you know how to code in one language and that’s that.
2. Useful skills: When technical skills are changing so quickly, chances are, you have to refresh your knowledge continuously and most likely even learn new knowledge right at your workplace (instead of relying solely on your previous academics or training). So what could make you a better professional or a better prospect than anyone else on the job market? Soft skills and combination skills, of course.

What are the best future-proof skills?

We compiled 19 articles and scientific studies to decide once and for all, what are the best future-proof skills. Here is our top 6 list, each mentioned by at least 10 sources:

1. AI, machine learning and data-related skills (14 mentions): even if you are not planning to become a coder, familiarizing yourself with the future is sure going to be important in any career path.
2. Resilience, flexibility, adaptability (13 mentions): As careers, and well, everything in life, changes so quickly, this one’s is rather obvious. And also: it’s so not obvious. We, as humans, usually like stability and predictability more, so learning how to cope with fast-changing environments and requirements is truly important. Not just for the reasons of productivity, but also, for your own peace of mind.
3. Creative thinking, creativity and innovation (12 mentions): the magic skills AI cannot fully replace (and many argue, that it’ll never be possible). Unfortunately, creativity is often understood as something you have to be born to be good at, but it’s really far from reality. Creative thinking, just like any other skill, can be learnt and perfected. Just because you cannot paint or sing beautifully, it doesn’t mean you cannot plan an innovative business strategy!
4. Technological literacy (11 mentions): Being familiar and comfortable with technology is crucial. It has been for a while, and it’s going to be even more in the future. You don’t have to be a tech wizard, but you have to be well-versed enough to learn new work-related software, get a printer running or be able to automate your e-mail inbox sorting.
5. Leadership and social influence (10 mentions): Having good networking capabilities, being likeable, motivational etc. improves your chances tremendously when it comes to career progress- as a matter of fact, often it’s more important than technical skills.
6. Communication (10 mentions): being able to communicate your ideas clearly; giving clear instructions for customers; pitching a project for your boss… They all need a very unique skillset. For many, communication sounds like a boring (and honestly, less-than) discipline, but that cannot be farther from the truth. According to BIC Marketing manager, Luca ” communication is an art that everyone thinks they do very well, but very few come across as convincing, smart and straightforward communicators in a workplace setting.” Learning this skill could actually be the key for making your other skills shine.

Honorable mentions:

• Empathy, emotional intelligence and active listening (9 mentions)
• Programming / coding (9 mentions)
• Networks and cybersecurity (8 mentions)
• Critical thinking (8 mentions)
• Problem solving (7 mentions)
• Metacognition, willingness to learn, curiosity (7 mentions)
• Analytical thinking (6 mentions)
• Marketing and media, content creation (6 mentions)
• Project management (6 mentions)

Other skills on the list but with less mentions: Customer service, customer retention; Green skills, environmental stewardship; User Experience (UX); Motivation and self-awareness; Quality assurance; Strategic thinking, systems thinking; Public Speaking; Teamwork.

The world may be changing faster than ever, but that’s not bad news. Every new skill makes you more future proof, and don’t forget: the future doesn’t belong to those who know the most, the future favors those who are ready to adapt and learn.