The UK jobs market has changed incredibly over the past 100 years; even the past decade has seen a proliferation of new roles. We look at a selection and ask whether your role existed 10 years ago
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Zumba has opened up new job opportunities for dance and fitness instructors. Photograph: Martin Godwin for the Guardian
Can you imagine a world without Facebook, iPhone apps, civil partnerships and the reimagined Doctor Who? That was Britain in 2003 – a time before people poked each other without fear of anyone pressing charges or trolled celebrities on Twitter. It was also a time when some of the jobs being advertised today simply didn't exist.
Research by website Genes Reunited put the spotlight on a range of roles that existed in the 1800s and 1900s, including leech collector, toad doctor and royal rat catcher, which are thankfully no longer seen in the situations vacant column. But you don't have to go back that far to recognise the shifting sands – careers pages now feature a whole selection of jobs that didn't exist just a decade ago (in the UK, at least).
Here are five, together with the lowdown on what you might need to qualify for the role.
Offshore windfarm engineer
The first offshore windfarm – North Hoyle – came online in December 2003 and the UK now has one of the largest offshore windfarms in the world, in Greater Gabbard. The London Array being constructed in the outer Thames estuary is expected to become one of the world's largest offshore windfarms – creating plenty of work for windfarm engineers.
There are currently 48 wind-related roles being offered through employment website Adzuna, 41% of which are offshore, with an average advertised salary of £38,625. This is 11% more than the average paid to onshore windfarm engineers.
What you need to do the job:
• Accredited degree in civil and/or structural engineering
• Marine specialisation a bonus
• A high level of understanding of structures, geotechnics and marine loading is required
• Offshore wind energy experience
• Construction experience
Zumba teacher
Zumba is a Latin-inspired dance-fitness program founded in 2001, but it didn't salsa its way to the UK until years later.
There is no prescribed route to a career in dance and many Zumba teachers do not have any specialised education. Instead, they must attend a Zumba Fitness instructor training course (Zumba basic steps level 1 or jump start gold), costing between £180 and £200. To keep their licence teachers must attend a set number of courses offered by the Zumba Academy. A quick search of Zumba.com found 11 introductory Zumba classes on offer across the UK.
Adzuna says the average salary is £17,491. Before Zumba, teachers would no doubt be holding classes in any number of aerobics or dance styles.
What you need to do the job:
• Essential skills/experience
• Sports/fitness experience
App designer
App developers tend to be split between user experience architects (UEAs) and visual designers, though some may do both. A UEA will plan all aspects of how a user will navigate their way through an app, while a visual designer will create the look and feel of it.
UEAs usually have a graphic design or a psychology background, but also have a keen interest in technology. Visual designers mainly come from graphic or web design courses.
Trisha Patel, head of creative at app design firm Grapple, says: "To transfer into a career in mobile design, graduates would need to demonstrate an understanding and appreciation of designing for a smaller screen, and the ability to apply strategic thinking specific to mobile, such as touch screen considerations."
Patel adds that today's app developer would probably have been working as a web developer 10 years ago, building desktop applications, webpages or infrastructure systems.
Graduates with Objective-C (the language used to code iPhone apps) knowledge are able to demand starting salaries of £44,327. This is 23% higher than the average technical graduate job, according to Adzuna.
What you need to do the job:
• Strong proficiency in Objective-C
• NS Operation, Grand Central Dispatch and Blocks Networking using NSURL Connection, knowledge of CoreLocation, UIKit, MapKit, Security, CoreData, CoreGraphics, CoreAnimation and UIWebView
• Experience in XML and JSON-based application development
• Great understanding of iOS memory management, both automatic and manual reference counting
Green Deal assessor
The Green Deal allows consumers to make energy-saving improvements to their home or business without having to pay all the costs upfront. An assessor visits people's properties to assess and make recommendations for energy-saving improvements. They must have the technical knowledge and skills to provide consumers with the best advice, meeting requirements set out in the National Occupational Standards for Green Deal advisors.
Companies started taking on Green Deal assessors in 2012 to begin assessments from 1 October 2012. There are currently 38 jobs advertised at Adzuna, with average pay of £24,070. Nearly a quarter of them are based in north-west England.
Ten years ago, today's Green Deal assessors would probably have worked as building or property surveyors. Five years ago they might even have been ill-fated home information pack (Hip) surveyors. Hips were almost entirely phased out in 2010.
What you need to do the job:
• Full training and qualification as domestic energy assessor or Green Deal assessor (GDA)
• An excellent knowledge and understanding of energy services products and /or a willingness and ability to learn in detail a broad product portfolio
• Excellent IT and numeracy skills
• Knowledge of energy regulations related to quality and compliance
Social media manager
A social media manager is generally responsible for all social media activity carried out by a company, including Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, YouTube, Pinterest, Instagram and others.
They will often delegate this work and focus more on strategy, designing plans to increase a firm's profile and manage how consumers interact and engage with the brand. It is an important role: get it wrong and you can alienate the very customers you are trying to woo; while stories of Twitter errors are legion.
This is a hot sector, with 1,066 social media jobs currently being advertised in the UK on Adzuna, 177 of which are social media manager positions commanding an average salary of £30,086. However, Adzuna says this advertised average has decreased by 9% in the past six months.
Five years ago, today's social media manager would probably have been operating elsewhere within a corporate PR, marketing or advertising department.
What you need to do the job:
• University degree in relevant field or equivalent work experience
• Substantial hands-on experience of managing and growing online communities
• Proven track record in producing and commissioning content for social media channels
• Passion for, and knowledge of, digital trends and new media
• Extensive experience of managing and growing online communities
• Excellent knowledge of social media channels, particularly Facebook, Twitter and YouTube
Did your job exist 10 years ago – if not, how did you end up doing it? Will it still be around in 100 years, or will it look as antiquated as the role of leech collector?
