Lesser-known programming jobs for the soul


The digital age is definitely upon us, just look at what you are doing right now. You are probably on your phone or your laptop, connected to the internet and surfing through pages. Perhaps you are even watching YouTube videos, and maybe even playing a game. Programming jobs which include extensive coding to create websites, apps, computer effects for movies and so on, now seem to be the way of the future. However, there are some lesser-known jobs that a lot of people don’t know about, which may just be your next career choice.

A Lego Model Designer

Remember all of those years you spent playing with colorful blocks of Lego to create houses, boats, and anything else you could think of? If this was you, then you may have been training for this position since you were a child. When it comes to designing new Lego models, ‘builders’ as they are called, are tasked with building all of the giant models you see on display in locations around the world. Once you have gotten used to that aspect, and you know how to use 3D technology, you may be able to start creating. To do this, you need to digitally begin building new models for future Legoland use. This programming job is technical but does require a touch of artistry. If you have a very creative mind, then you will be able to design some fantastical things.

Photo: Getty Images

A Meteorologist

You know the man or woman that stands on screen and points to various cloud patterns as they shift across your country? That’s the meteorologist or weather forecaster for your local news channel, but it takes a lot more than simply saying, “Expect rain today,” to be one. Not only does it take a lot of schooling to ensure that you understand weather patterns, you actually need to be able to code in order to work with weather models. A program doesn’t just print out the weather for the day. It actually takes a meteorologist coding a forecast model to see what the shifts and trends are in weather patterns. This makes it a highly technical job but also an exciting one. The weather is forever changing.

Photo: Getty Images

A Quant

Have you ever seen the television series Billions which features the characters Bobby Axelrod and the Quant, Taylor Mason in the world of big finance? Taylor is what is known as a Quant. Essentially, a Quant or quantitative analyst is someone who can look at big data sets to create statistics. These stats are used to see where a trading company or hedge fund should be buying and selling. The statistics generated from the carefully coded models will show certain areas where companies may be weak, or where a drop in the stock may occur. This makes it a good time to buy or to sell if a business is going under. This is by no means an easy programming job, and it takes extremely high levels of coding skills in languages like C++ and Python to be successful.

A Race Engineer

This is the programming job for the person who wants to feel the rush of race car driving. You know all of those vehicles that go whipping around the track? Each of those racecar drivers have an earpiece with someone feeding them information. They are being told about the best places to turn on a track or when to slow down. The person on the sidelines doing this is known as the race engineer. They program their way through racecourses to ensure that their drivers make the most of the driving conditions on race day. If a race did not go well, they can quickly analyze what went wrong and how to fix it.

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