Demographic changes, the onset of digital transformation and rapid advances in technology have changed how consumers shop, businesses operate and people work.

From news reporters to flight attendants, jobs are evolving faster than ever before, while thousands of new professions get listed on LinkedIn every day. Whatever your occupation, your job description won’t be exactly the same in two, five, ten years. And that’s okay. But you need to be prepared, to make sure you don’t get left behind. Read on for five ways to future-proof your career.

1. Choose a growing sector

Keep your eyes fixed on the bigger picture, to ensure you will still have a part to play in your industry and the wider world in the years to come. Is your industry responding to modern issues? Is it driving meaningful change? What are some of the biggest challenges it faces, and is your organization headed in the right direction?

According to a survey conducted last year by Canadian jobs website Workopolis.com, the sectors with the biggest increase in hiring include high tech, healthcare and data analytics. Among the most in-demand CV boosters, Workopolis lists IT skills such as software and app development; customer relationship management (CRM); knowledge of HTML, Unix and JavaScript; and User Experience (UX) Design.

Meanwhile, according to US jobs website Monster.com, emerging professions set for continued growth include cyber security managers, data specialists in healthcare, video game designers, social media executives, and green-collar jobs in wind farm or solar thermal engineering.

2. Be a digital native

From GP consultations to ordering a coffee, more interactions and transactions are being completed online and on-demand, thanks to the onward march of digital technologies. To future-proof your career it’s important to stay up to date with the latest digital strategies and tools. The mobile web, social media, sponsored content, social monitoring – these are just some of the (fairly) new digital media trends you need to know back to front.

Many ongoing workplace and industry changes will be caused by the impact of high tech on companies’ operations and processes, as they seek to become leaner, more efficient and global. Mastery of Microsoft Office is old hat – you need to know how to build a social following, analyze big data, code and program. There are many courses, online and/or part-time, that can help you grow those in-demand tech skills. Ask your HR department or manager to sponsor you in a tech training course, or if this is something you’re really keen to invest in, consider a full postgraduate qualification. 

3. Consider going solo

As workplaces and industries continue to evolve towards more agile and flexible operations, being able and willing to go freelance is another way to future-proof your career. Freelance work has experienced a significant growth in popularity over the past few years, and self-employed professionals are expected to continue to grow in number. This pathway is especially appealing to many in the current generation, who are often used to working outside of the ‘9 to 5’ norm, and who like the idea of setting up for themselves, with greater control over their schedule and work-life balance.

According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, one in three workers in the US were already earning income from work outside of the ‘9 to 5’ model in 2014, with as many as 15 million workers self-employed. According to the same report, the professions with the highest levels of expected growth in freelance work included personal care aides, management analysts, accountants, auditors and childcare workers.

4. Embrace change

The new generation of workers is largely rejecting the idea of settling into a job, punching a time card and expecting to be rewarded for the years put in – instead embracing change and job-hopping their way into new challenges and more fulfilling roles.

A 2014 study published by the Harvard Business Review confirmed that today’s typical executive profile has changed dramatically in the last 30 years. Leaders in the top 10 roles of all the Fortune 100 companies in 1980 were for the most part ‘lifers’ – executives who had spent 20, 30 years working for the same company. The number of lifers in top executive roles today has steeply declined. The road to the top, as the Economist puts it, is ‘bumpy’, but the single biggest differentiator remains your higher education level. According to the same 2014 study, in fact, more than a third of the top 10 executives in Fortune 100 companies had an Ivy League MBA.

Outside of formal education, those with a readiness to continue learning and developing new skills are most likely to stay ahead in today’s change-driven workplaces. Never stop asking questions or seeking out new knowledge, and be wary of your comfort zone!

5. Level-up

A specialized master’s degree (in the right sector) could boost your career prospects for years to come, giving you access to roles at the companies you’d really love to work for. Depending on your field, investing in up-skilling in a growing field could help you gain job security, future-proof your career and increase your earning potential.  

According to the latest figures from the US’s National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), engineering graduates are forecast to be the highest earners at master’s degree level, followed by those specializing in computer science and business.  

Future-proof your career with a postgraduate degree

Ready to up-skill? Join fellow students and professionals at an upcoming QS World Grad School Tour event in a city near you. This is your opportunity to meet representatives of leading universities and graduate schools from around the world, discuss emerging specializations and career paths, and get answers to all your questions about further study. You’ll also have the chance to attend free seminars, get a complimentary copy of the QS Top Grad School Guide, and apply for exclusive scholarships.

Click here to view the latest version of this article, based on the QS BRICS World University Rankings 2018.

Home to some of the most prestigious universities in Latin America, Brazil claims 54 out of the 250 total positions in the QS University Rankings: BRICS 2016. Published annually since 2013, the ranking aims to highlight the best universities in Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, five major developing economies which each offer a number of highly regarded universities.

Read on to discover the 10 top universities in Brazil this year, as well as how each institution performed in the recently published QS University Rankings: Latin America and the QS World University Rankings by Subject. Alternatively, click here to see the full BRICS ranking table.

1. Universidade de São Paulo (USP)

The Universidade de São Paulo (USP) features at 10^th in the BRICS ranking this year and has also been ranked 1^st in the QS University Rankings: Latin America twice in a row. Established in 1934, USP is often referred to as the most prestigious university in the country, and has educated 12 Brazilian presidents. It’s the largest of the public universities in Brazil with over 90,000 students enrolled, spread across 11 campuses. Four of these are in São Paulo – the largest city in both Brazil and the Southern Hemisphere.

In the QS World University Rankings by Subject, USP performs exceptionally well, ranked among the top universities in the world for 40 out of a possible 42 subjects. Of these, it’s in the global top 50 for seven subjects, including agriculture, veterinary science and architecture. 

2. Universidade Estadual de Campinas (Unicamp)

Also located in São Paulo, the Universidade Estadual de Campinas (Unicamp) retains its position of 12^th in the BRICS ranking this year, and also features at 2^nd place in the Latin America ranking. It was established in 1966, and is consistently ranked as one the world’s best young institutions. Unicamp is responsible for around 15% of Brazil’s research, with its three campuses containing a total of 22 teaching and research centers. It has a large student body of around 35,600 students, of which almost 16,000 are studying postgraduate degrees.

Unicamp currently features among the world’s top universities for 29 subjects, with positions in the top 50 for dentistry and agriculture and forestry, as well as many more top 100 places.

3. Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ)

Ranked 29^th in the BRICS countries this year, the Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) is currently placed 5^th in Latin America and is the oldest of all universities in Brazil. It was established in 1792, when the precursor to its technical school, the Royal Academy of Artillery, Fortification and Design, was founded. Now home to around 67,000 students, the university owns a range of museums, hospitals and research centers around the city of Rio de Janeiro, the second-largest in the country and 2016 Olympic Games host city.

Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) is included as one of the best universities in the world for 30 subjects, with eight of these in the top 100, including performing arts, sociology and mineral and mining engineering.

4. Universidade Estadual Paulista "Júlio de Mesquita Filho"

Universidade Estadual Paulista “Júlio de Mesquita Filho” is ranked 36^th in BRICS and 12^th in Latin America this year. It’s one of the six public universities in Brazil to be located in São Paulo, and is also sometimes known as São Paulo State University or simply UNESP. Another of the younger universities in Brazil, it was founded in 1976, and now has around 50,600 students enrolled in 23 campuses in São Paulo state.  It’s considered one of Brazil’s leading research universities, and has 33 libraries, two university hospitals, three veterinary hospitals and several other clinics and complementary units.

Internationally ranked for 13 subjects this year, UNESP achieves positions among the top 50 institutions in the world for dentistry and veterinary science, as well as the top 100 for agriculture and forestry.

5. Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP)

Staying in São Paulo state for the next of these top universities in Brazil, and the Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP) is ranked 45^th in BRICS and 27^th among Latin American countries. Founded in 1933 as a private medical school, UNESP’s teaching hospital was the first to be founded in Brazil. It was exclusively focused on the health sciences before becoming multidisciplinary, following government reforms in 2005.  

The university’s background in health sciences is reflected in the subject rankings, in which UNESP ranks among the world’s best for four subjects. This includes a place in the global top 50 for nursing, top 150 for pharmacy and pharmacology, top 200 for medicine and top 250 for biological sciences.

6=. Pontificia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro – (PUC-Rio)

The Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro (or PUC-Rio) is up one place in the BRICS ranking this year to now share 46^th place with the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul. Also ranked 15^th in Latin America, PUC-Rio was founded in 1940 by the Society of Jesus and was the first of the private universities in Brazil to be established. It is a non-profit, philanthropic and Catholic institution with humanistic principles, and is located in the Gávea neighborhood, south of Rio de Janeiro, in an attractive position on the edge of the Tijuca national forest.

PUC-Rio is this year included in nine subject rankings, including the global top 200 for politics and philosophy.

6=. Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS)

Featured at joint 46^th in the BRICS ranking this year along with PUC-Rio, the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS) also places 16^th in Latin America. UFRGS has one of the highest numbers of scientific publications amongst these top universities in Brazil. It’s mostly located in the vibrant city of Porto Alegre (the capital of the Rio Grande do Sul state, in the south of the country), but has some off-campus buildings for its business school and art institute.    

UFRGS is internationally ranked in an impressive 18 subjects this year, achieving positions in the top 100 for performing arts, philosophy, and mineral and mining engineering. 

8. Universidade de Brasilia

The Universidade de Brasília is up two places from last year to place 51^st in the BRICS ranking. It also comes 9^th in the Latin America ranking, and is the only one of these 10 top universities in Brazil to be located in the country’s capital, Brasilia. Founded in 1962, the university currently enrolls around 40,000 students in 26 faculties and has 18 centers dedicated to specialized research. Other facilities include a hospital, sports center, seismological observatory, physical experiment facilities, an ecological station, a farm and more.

Ranked among the world’s best for eight subjects this year, the Universidade de Brasília achieves its best positions for anthropology (top 100) and agriculture and forestry (top 150).

9. Pontificia Universidade Católica de São Paulo (PUC-SP)

Pontificia Universidade Católica de São Paulo, also known as PUC-SP for short, is a private, non-profit Catholic university located in the Perdizes neighborhood of São Paulo. Ranked 52^nd in BRICS and 38^th in Latin America this year, PUC-SP was founded in 1946 and currently educates around 23,000 students. It was the first university in Brazil to offer graduate programs in the fields of multimedia, social service, psychology of learning, applied linguistics and speech-language therapy, and is highly regarded for its research in the social sciences.

PUC-SP is currently only internationally ranked for one subject, claiming a place in the world’s top 200 for modern languages.

10. Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG)

The final of our list of the 10 top universities in Brazil is the public Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, placing 53^rd in the BRICS ranking and 14^th in Latin America. One of the largest Brazilian universities, UFMG was established in 1927 and today has a student body of around 49,000. It’s located in the city of Belo Horizonte (the state capital of Minas Gerais) across a 2,000 acre campus in the Pampulha neighborhood.

Currently ranked among the world’s best for 18 subjects, UFMG achieves its highest positions (all in the top 150) for philosophy, agriculture and forestry, pharmacy and pharmacology, and statistics. 

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Click here to view the most recent edition of this article, based on the QS BRICS University Rankings 2018.

The recently released QS University Rankings: BRICS sees 55 Russian universities feature among the best 250 universities in the BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa). The BRICS ranking, published annually since 2013, celebrates leading institutions found in these five emerging economies.

Read on for an overview of the 10 top universities in Russia in 2016, including information on how each institution performed in the recent QS World University Rankings by Subject. Or click here to view the BRICS rankings table.

1. Lomonosov Moscow State University

Lomonosov Moscow State University is consistently the highest ranked Russian university in both the BRICS ranking and the QS World University Rankings®, placing 7^th in BRICS and 108^th in the world. It’s the largest of all Russian universities and one of the oldest, founded in 1755 and currently educating around 47,000 students, the majority of which are studying at graduate level. Located just outside the city center of Russian capital Moscow on Sparrow Hills, the university’s main building is said to be the largest educational building in the world, and Lomonosov’s library system is one of Russia’s largest.

Featured 24 times out of a possible 42 in the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2016, Lomonosov Moscow State University achieves top 50 positions for linguistics, mathematics, and physics and astronomy, plus several more subjects in the top 100.

2=. Saint-Petersburg State University

Ranked joint 20^th in BRICS this year, Saint-Petersburg State University is the oldest of these top universities in Russia, originally established as the Saint Petersburg Academy of Sciences in 1724 by Peter the Great. It now has around 30,000 students, including over 3,000 who come from outside Russia, making it one of the largest Russian universities. Saint-Petersburg State University is a member of the Coimbra Group, an association of deep-rooted, multidisciplinary and internationally respected European universities.

The university features 11 times in the rankings by subject this year, with a position in the top 50 for mineral and mining engineering, a top-100 spot for linguistics, and positions in the worldwide top 150 for mathematics, philosophy, modern languages and history.

2=. Novosibirsk State University

Sharing 20^th place with Saint-Petersburg State University in the BRICS ranking this year, Novosibirsk State University is also in the top 350 of the World University Rankings. One of the younger Russian universities, it was established in 1959 and is located in the educational and scientific center of Siberia, ‘Akademgorodok’ (Academic Town) – 20 kilometers from Novosibirsk, the largest city in the Asian section of Russia. It’s also a smaller institution than other top universities in Russia listed here, with 6,000 students enrolled in 13 faculties.

Novosibirsk State University is currently featured as one of the world’s best for five subjects – placing within the top 100 for physics and astronomy and the top 150 for mathematics.

4. Bauman Moscow State Technical University

Bauman Moscow State Technical University comes 38^th in this year’s BRICS ranking and is the oldest and largest of the technical Russian universities. It has 19 departments but specializes in various fields of engineering and applied sciences, and teaches more than 19,000 students at all study levels. Bauman Moscow State Technical University is also known for granting up to 3,000 students free room and board in its halls of residence each year, as well as offering well-regarded support for hearing-impaired students.

The university’s technical focus is reflected in its performance in the subject rankings – it’s ranked among the world’s best for five subjects in 2016 (compared to just one in 2015). Its highest ranked subject is mechanical engineering, for which it’s placed in the global top 200.  

5. Tomsk State University

Heading back to Siberia for the next of these top universities in Russia, Tomsk State University comes 43^rd in this year’s BRICS. Founded in 1878 but not opened to students until 1888, it’s the oldest institution in the vast ‘Russian Asia’ area. It now has around 17,000 students enrolled in 23 faculties, and offers 165 master’s programs, including some English-taught courses. Tomsk State University was designated as a National Research University in 2010 and offers its students one of the most extensive library archives of all Russian universities.

In this year’s subject rankings, Tomsk State University is ranked among the top 300 universities in the world for modern languages, and among the top 400 for physics and astronomy.

6. Moscow State Institute of International Relations – MGIMO University

Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO University) is ranked 44^th in the BRICS ranking this year and is consistently ranked within the top 400 universities in the world. Run by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia, MGIMO University was previously part of Moscow State University but became a separate institution in 1944. MGIMO specializes mainly in the humanities and, although it doesn’t feature in the subject rankings, the university is particularly well known for preparing students for careers in international relations. The university also holds the distinction of appearing in the Guinness Book of World Records for offering courses in 56 languages, more than any other institution in the world.

7. Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology State University

Another of the top universities in Russia to be located in Moscow, the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, colloquially known as PhysTech, is ranked joint 47^th in the BRICS ranking this year. It was established in 1946 and is a leading institution for educating specialists in various fields of modern science and technology, and today has a fairly small student body of 5,600 students in 11 faculties. Eight of its professors are Nobel Prize winners.

Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (State University) features among the world’s best for five subjects this year – all of which are, unsurprisingly, science subjects. Its highest position comes for physics and astronomy, in the global top 150.

8. National Research Nuclear University "Mephi" (Moscow Engineering Physics Institute)

Ranked 50^th in BRICS, the National Research Nuclear University, or “MEPhI” was founded in 1942 as the Moscow Mechanical Institute of Munitions and is now another of the most well-respected technical Russian universities. As the name suggests, it focuses on the nuclear industry, as well as physics, engineering and mathematics. However, the institute, which counts a number of Nobel Prize winners amongst its alumni, has also been increasingly working on improving its programs in the fields of economic sciences, humanities and foreign languages.

National Research Nuclear University is internationally ranked for three subjects this year – physics and astronomy (top 100), electrical and electronic engineering (top 300) and mathematics (in the worldwide top 400).

9. Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University

St. Petersburg Polytechnic University features at 61^st in the BRICS ranking this year and is consistently ranked among the top 500 in the world university rankings. Located in St. Petersburg, it’s a large university, with almost 31,000 students currently enrolled. It houses one of the country's most advanced research laboratories in hydro-aerodynamics, and has 20 research centers in total, which conduct research with prominent technology corporations such as Microsoft, Siemens and Apple.

St. Petersburg Polytechnic University is included three times in the latest subject rankings, ranked as one of the world’s leading universities for electrical and electronic engineering (top 250), physics and astronomy (top 300) and computer science and information systems (top 500).

10. National Research University Higher School of Economics (HSE, Moscow)

Concluding our list of the 10 top universities in Russia is the Higher School of Economics (HSE), which is also the youngest university in this list, founded as recently as 1992. It was awarded National Research University status in 2009 and specializes in the social sciences, mathematics, computer science and of course economics. Ranked 62^nd in BRICS, its main campus can be found in Moscow, with three other campuses located in St. Petersburg, Nizhniy Novgorod and Perm.

The Higher School of Economics is internationally ranked for eight subjects this year, achieving positions as one of the world’s top 150 universities for economics and econometrics, politics and sociology, with three more subjects in the top 200. 

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