New Careers in the Digital Era
In the year of 2021, new careers across the internet industry have emerged out of the post-pandemic recovery, promising diverse opportunities for the youth.
According to Bilibili and DT Finance’s recent report 360 Emerging Occupations: A Career Guide for Youth (2021), 58% of the participants are willing to try new occupations, 12% of them are currently exploring these new occupations part-time, and 5.5% are already committed to them full-time.
Take a look below to see what roles rounded out the top 5 spots of trendiest new jobs in China in 2021:
5.Fitness Influencer
Source: 大师兄MB, fitness influencer on WeChat Channels
Industry: Fitness/New Media
What is it?
A Fitness Influencer is a social media key opinion leader who specializes in fitness and healthy lifestyle. Normally, they share and post their daily exercise routine and diet to encourage and inspire their followers. Sometimes, they also offer consultation services and own their personal fitness brands.
4.Pet Nutritionist
Source: 董老师, the pet chef on WeChat Channels, Little Red Book, and other social media platforms.
Industry: Animal/Pet Healthcare
What is it?
There are two kinds of pet nutritionists – one is called veterinary nutritionists who are veterinarians who have been board-certified to practice medicine with a focus on the specialty area of animal nutrition; the other is nutrition consultants who are certified to plan healthy and balanced meals for pets to ensure their health and/or post-surgical recovery.
3.E-Sport Livestream Host
Source：The Washington Post, Photo by Eve Edelheit—Tfue, the E-Sport Livestream host with 10.2M followers on Twitch
Industry: E-Sport/Entertainment
What is it?
An E-Sport Livestream Host tracks ongoing E-Sport event closely and explain them as they go to the audience. With the increasing demand in E-Sports live shows in China in recent years, E-Sport-related jobs also rose about 44.6% in the first half of 2019. It is also predicted as one of the biggest entertainment job markets in the following years.
2.WeChat Mini-Program Developer
Source: 拓新 is a developer owned account on Tiktok and shares knowledges about WeChat Mini-Program
Industry: Tech/New Media
What is it?
A WeChat Mini-Program Developer is a professional who develops customized WeChat Mini-Programs for business owners. The surging demand for this position could be caused by the growth of daily active users of mini-programs. It is reported that by 2020, the DAU exceeded 4 billion and witnessed a yearly increase of 21.2%, comparing to 2019. More independent business owners are developing their own mini shops.
1.Social Community Manager
Source: 彭伟良 teaches social community management on WeChat Channels
Industry: Tech/New Media
What is it?
A Social Community Manager is a professional who manages, monitors, and builds social media communities on WeChat for commercial or non-profit purposes. According to iResearch, the traders’ market on WeChat exceeded CNY¥5000 billion in 2020 and the number of traders is expected to reach 330 million by 2023. Social community managers are essential in establishing the cycle of customer acquisition, retention, and referral on WeChat.
From 2014 to 2020, the Chinese super app WeChat has created 26.76 million employments through building its ecosystem from a social media app to a comprehensive platform of financial services, shopping & entertainment, travel & transportation, and other daily services. Among these, the most popular jobs include WeChat Mini-Program developer, operation specialist, and social community manager.
Since the launch of WeChat Mini-Programs (cloud-based embedded apps within WeChat) in 2017, it stimulated 7.81 million new employment opportunities by 2020, along with other 4.89 million indirect employments from the new careers derived from the app in new media and other fields.