The notion that a renaissance man is more important today than ever is presented in recent Research by Burning Glass Technologies. Perhaps the best renaissance man of all time was Leonardo da Vinci, who was highly esteemed for his broad knowledge of many fields. The research concludes that we must all become more da Vinci-like in our careers. Said another way: learning a single skill in isolation has a short shelf life. Learning complementary skills becomes critical in what the research describes as a hybrid job economy.

As automation continues its onward march, jobs become more hybrid in nature, with more complexity. Examples from the research include marketing and public relations, where jobs require data analytics skills, a combination of Right Brain thinking (creative design), and Left Brain thinking (analytics and data analysis) to succeed. Today’s advertising managers are creative designers and analysts rolled into one.

This left-right brain dynamic plays out broadly, as a Future Capability Profile emerges. Even highly technical jobs require writing skills, problem-solving skills, creative and research skills, and skills in teamwork and collaboration. That lists clearly portrays a blend of left and right brain characteristics. The research indicates that these hybrid jobs may be immune to automation. As many single-role jobs head towards automation, hybrid work can only be done by people; analytics is often done by software, while interpretation and design is done by people. The research shows that 42% of all jobs can be automated, but only 12% of highly hybrid jobs fall into this category.

The research authors indicate that lifelong learning could be the biggest finding of their study. With only 16% of these high-powered hybrid jobs considered entry-level, these skills must be learned through several years of experience and self-development.

The research provides considerable detail on occupations, skills, salaries, and more. We get a current view into the scope of this hybrid job phenomenon; more than one-quarter of all occupations (26%) and 12% of job postings are either very high or high on the Burning Glass hybridization scale. We also get a glimpse into the future;  the Burning Glass projections find that postings for “very high” hybridization jobs will grow 21% over the next 10 years, double the pace (10%) for jobs overall.

Overall, a very good study that I highly recommend.