The main reason for job demand growth is that the interest in 3D printing is still expanding at a phenomenal rate, even if we’re not printing our own knick knacks at home. Statista, a company that aggregates research reports, estimates that the 3D printing market, which includes printing, materials and associated services, sales will top $16.2bnin 2019, up from $3.8bn in 2014, while Gartner Research, a global IT research firm, estimates that sales of cheaper printers in the sub $1,000 range – an important driver of the market – will account for 28.1% of sales by 2018, up from 11.6% in 2014.

Click on the arrow above to see how 3D printing is changing the nature of jobs in the world of artists and designers.

Specialised skills

Despite what Wanted Analytics found, Nima Mirpourian, a branch manager at Toronto’s Robert Half Technology, a company that specializes in IT staffing, hasn’t yet seen many job postings requiring 3D technology skills, but he expects that to change soon. “We’re starting to hear rumblings about the hiring pickup in 3D printing,” he says.

Although 3D printing “is a very specialised area of expertise,” said Mirpourian, anyone with an interest in this space could land themselves a job, as there are opportunities for people almost any field. First of all, 3D printing is often considered more of a technology than a manufacturing application, meaning that developers, coders, programmers and other technology-related staffers will be needed to create and develop the software required to run 3D printing machines.

There should also be more opportunities for creative types, such as designers and artists, who will help create the products printed by these printers. More manual labour will also be needed to operate printers and handle parts and prototypes, said Todd Grimm, a member of the 3D Printing Association’s advisory board.

There are also opportunities in research and development, where scientists and academics are developing new theories on how additive materials should be used and made, said Pete Basiliere, Gartner’s research vice-president of imaging and print services.

Those with some 3D printing knowhow are likely to be heavily recruited as the industry grows. “Experience trumps all,” said Mirpourian. “This is a disruptor in the marketplace and because of that, these skills, especially on the development and design side, are super relevant.”

Reasons for optimism

There are several reasons why Basiliere and others think that 3D printing is about to take off. One is because of those new graduates who have learnt additive manufacturing skills in university and will apply these in to their first jobs. The military sector, which hopes to use 3D printing for everything from food — cartridges are filled with ingredients that then can create eats on-demand — to weapons, is teaching recruits to use this technology.