[SPOILER ALERT: As well as invaluable nuggets of careers advice, this post reveals endings]

@EvaLongoria & @kerrywashington present The David L. Wolper Award for Outstanding Producer of Long-Form Television to @blackmirror #netflix #PGAwards pic.twitter.com/Q79Ieduzm5

— Producers Guild (@producersguild) January 21, 2018

Have you watched series 4 of Black Mirror yet? I have, and I’m loving the feeling of healthy paranoia each new instalment brings; I’m now keeping my DNA away from my boss (sorry Calum), and assuming my Mum’s spying on me through my own eyes (sorry Mum).

Many admire how Charlie Brooker uses each episode to explore possible unanticipated consequences of technological advances. But what I find most impressive is the way he subtly weaves career lessons into the show. So subtly in fact you may have missed them. To help you out, here are my top three career insights from the current series:

1) The job you want now may not exist in 10 years

“When I grow up I want to be an Arkangel Remover or a Memory Collector”. Sounds kind of silly, right? Partly because I have (apparently) been a grown-up for some time. But mostly because such futuristic jobs don’t exist outside Black Mirror episodes.

But the statement sounds only a tad sillier than if I’d said “When I grow up I want to be a Social Media Strategist or a Big Data Analyst” back when I was an actual child (or even, for the former at least, when I was at university). Those jobs only exist in the futuristic, humungous-data-filled, internet-based world of work we currently inhabit.

Google “The future of work” and you’ll find ~91,600,000 hits predicting the road ahead. These prophecies tell us technology will eliminate some roles, but new opportunities will be created to replace them. What should you do in response? Reading a few of the “future of work” google results might be a good idea. But they’re just educated guesses. The best plan is to plan loosely. Be flexible. Be open. Be aware. Keep acquiring new skills and learning how to sell them to employers. So when the changes come, you’ll be ready.

2) Your emotional side could be the key to success

Episode 1’s Robert Daly was pretty smart. I don’t know what university he attended, but he may even have been smart enough to make it to UCL. He was so smart that he learned to code, partnered with a business-minded friend, and created a global virtual reality gaming company called Callister.

But Robert Daly relied only on his IQ (intelligence quotient) and neglected his EQ (emotional quotient, commonly referred to as emotional intelligence). And of course we can all guess exactly how that turned out: Robert inevitably found himself pilfering his colleagues’ DNA and imprisoning virtual copies of them inside his own sick personal computer game where he enjoyed playing God before they eventually trapped his consciousness inside said game presumably leaving Robert’s real-world self to spend the rest of his days in a coma. Obv.

…Ok. Sure. That was probably more the inevitable consequence of Daly being an evil psychopathic megalomaniac than of him neglecting his EQ. But EQ, which is the ability to identify and manage your own emotions and the emotions of others, is nevertheless important to success. Studies show those with higher EQ scores perform better in the workplace and earn more. Luckily EQ can be improved, and there are plenty of articles explaining how. So while you’re honing your knowledge and technical skills, it might be worth improving your emotional side too.

3) Following your heart can uncover new worlds

How do we know this is reality? Like, real reality? You know what I mean, man? Like, am I actually me? Or am I simply a digital version of me in one of thousands of simulations run to find the real me a suitable love match?

In episode three we follow Amy and Frank as they allow a dating app to dictate their lives, and finally to select a ‘perfect match’ with whom they will spend forever. Amy and Frank think the system sucks, so they rebel, and in doing so they reveal a different world with different rules, where they can be together.

This sort of paradigm shift can happen in careers too. Perhaps those around you have gently (or strongly) encouraged you down a certain study and/or career path? And perhaps now you’re on it, and you socialise with lots of other people on the same path, it feels like the only possible reality?

If you’re loving your current reality, good for you. Keep at it. But if, like Amy, your gut’s telling you something isn’t quite right, you too can rebel! We all have multiple possible future selves, and there are whole other career worlds out there to be explored if you care to look. If you think you’re in this situation, book an appointment to chat to a careers consultant about investigating your options.