Space pilot jobs set to take off

Richard Branson's Virgin company already hopes to send people into space

Becoming the pilot of a spaceship may seem the stuff of science fiction, but it could be a regular job in just 20 years time, a report has concluded.

That is one of the findings of a government study into jobs of the future, which also suggests people will be employed to make human body parts.

It names 20 jobs that could be common by 2030, including "vertical farmers" growing food in multi-storey buildings.

It also says surgeons may be employed to give people extra memory capacity.

The report was carried out by market research group Fast Future, which tried to determine a list of both jobs that do not currently exist and current jobs that could become more prominent.

Potential jobs of the future will include more farmers of genetically engineered crops and livestock, specialists in climate change reversal, and personal branders who will help individuals to establish their own brand across social networking sites.

In addition, it predicts that police officers will be needed to monitor weather manipulation, and electronic waste data managers will be employed by people who do not want to be tracked online.

The report was commissioned by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.