1st foray into #dataJournalism and we're on the front page of @el_pais: history, tech, jobs!:https://t.co/AKYhtNX4ny

Congrats @catmule 🍾 pic.twitter.com/9Omy88T5oR
— RJ Andrews (@infowetrust) May 1, 2017

This week I wrapped up a fun commission to create a data story + illustrations about the future of jobs. The project was sponsored by the Inter American Development Bank and we worked with El Pais to publish the piece on May Day, or Labor Day for Spain and other Latin American Countries.

I brought in my collaborator RJ Andrews to help me think through the project. It was great to have a partner to expand the thinking and also narrow the focus at the right times. It was the first experiment in data journalism for both of us, which has left us excited to try more.

Go check out the piece on El Pais and then come back here to see how we sketched our way to the final product!

Data + Research

Data

The topic of the labor market is super expansive. You can't think about specific datasets in a vacuum without asking about things like technology, geopolitical climates, and social issues. We knew that the piece should focus on jobs and skills for the future, but we cast a very wide net before honing in on the actual story and outline.

In addition to exploring the topic visually (see next section), we researched a variety of data sources and tried to identify connecting threads.

The first thing we looked at is the history of jobs over the last 200 years. For context we read about the different techno-economic revolutions (agricultural, industrial, technological, green, digital, fourth) which transformed how we all live. We focused on defining key dates, foundation technologies, and what daily life was like for an average worker. Here's a spreadsheet RJ compiled from this information.

Then we went looking for data that could put some quantitative meat on these historic bones. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics provides a wealth of employment data, neatly organized into a categorical hierarchy. Number of jobs, job growth, annual wages, and other dimensions. We were inspired by Richard Florida to group job categories into four super-categories (agricultural, manual, service, knowledge). We also relied on his research presented in The Rise of the Creative Class to join historic data going back to 1800 to modern job categories.

Now that we had a rich high-level overview of where jobs were today, and where they had come from, we sought data that could give a bottom-up perspective on information relevant to a modern worker. O*NET Online, sponsored by the US Department of Labor/Employment and Training Administration, provides data-driven career exploration tools at no cost. It is a survey-driven database that includes practical information structured under a content model that includes knowledge, skills, and abilities. We rounded out our research by reading the World Economic Forum's Future of Jobs report, the Economist's Lifelong Learning report, and IDB's Apprenticeships for the XXI Century report.

Visual Research

This isn't a new topic-- it has already been visualized in many different ways. It was important to compile a visual library to reference for inspiration on the most effective ways certain elements were visualized and alternative approaches and formats.

The Outline

The Relay method is all about visualizing possibilities through drawing. That doesn't mean I don't explore data and organize my thoughts without actual visualization or presentation software, but the most valuable part of the process takes place on (digital) paper.

Jobs Project Outline

1. All of my projects start with a mind map, using only information and questions in my own mind. Then I research where to find the answers to the questions this process sparks.

2. I created this second mind map after reading the WEF Future of Jobs report to better understand the way the authors categorized the issue.

3. After I have explored some initial data on the computer, I'll create some Shitty First Drafts on my iPad. Here are a few SFDs I made just to get some of the junk ideas out of my head.

4. At some point we finalized the project budget, which allowed for three static images. This format led me to hone in on a field-guide format and three key story points.

5. Once we honed in on the format and story points and had a sense of which specific datasets would support it, we focused on the visual elements.

6. Reason #4,512 why drawing your ideas is important: it is so much easier to try new things on the fly and make decisions about which format and approach will work best.

Part 1: The History

The first chapter of our visual story focuses on the fact that today's situation of automation and the decline of manufacturing is not actually unique when considered in the history of previous industrial revolutions. We wanted to explore what technologies were introduced, who was impacted, and how quickly the labor markets changed over all four revolutions.

Jobs Project History

1. Based on the image research I had done on the history of industrial revolutions, I felt that most of the timelines focused more on the technology and less on the humans that were impacted by the tech. This is my first sketch exploration to incorporate humans into the viz.

2. Various timeline sketches. We thought that the story might include a vignette about a specific occupation and how it transformed over time (e.g. weaving, where Luddites burned new machinery that would disrupt their jobs)

3. Combined timeline sketches. We determined that layering illustrations on top of Tableau charts would be a fun way to accomplish a more human connection.

4. Experimenting with more detailed drawings. We quickly realized the illustrations needed to strike a balance between detail and simplicity, and that these were much too specific and detailed.

5. Building the charts. I loved the way adding text labels inside the line chart helped illustrate industries getting squeezed and growing. Here's a timelapse of the final version coming together in Procreate.

6. All together, now. We combined the final set of charts for part one of the story into one view at the last minute when it was decided that each section should contain one image of the exact same size.

Part 2: Jobs Today

The second part of the story visualizes where we are today in the jobs market. Building off of part one, where you see clearly that service and knowledge work are on the incline, we wanted to visualize that these two occupation groups actually have a much different character when you dig deeper. How much earning potential does each category have? How many actual jobs are available? Where should people seek work?

Jobs Project Today

1. Before we knew the budget. Our initial ideas involved a lot of interactive data exploration. From maps to exploding bubble charts, the possibilities were exciting but also a bit overwhelming, particularly for a first foray in digital journalism.

2. A clearer understanding. Once all of the story, format, and data details had been decided, we experimented with many different approaches for visualizing part 2. I actually prefer this visual structure, but the text labels were illegible on a small screen.

3. Formatting and details. We honed in on a more vertical structure for better mobile viewing, but struggled to get the spacing right at first. Here's a timelapse of the process of layering artistic elements on top of a Tableau export.

4. Editing elements. A big piece of the story that didn't make the cut was a drill down to the top 10 jobs identified by the BLS. It would have been awesome to include this but we didn't have the space (or time!) to make it work. Sigh.

5. Making tweaks. Here is another timelapse video of the final tweaks we made to make the piece more visually appealing and legible. Side note- google translate is great, but not all that great. Additional side note- don't forget accent marks when you make a font of your own handwriting.

6. The final. Where are the most jobs today, and where can you earn the most money? I'm proud of how well this chart reads on a phone, but have a lot of ideas for ways to improve it in future versions if we get the chance.

Part 3: Skills

The final part of the story focuses on the future. The one question most people want to ask is "What skills do I need?" but the answer is not what they expect. We wanted to communicate that rather than focusing on a specific technological skill (i.e. programming in Python or csharp) you should focus on softer skills like flexibility, adaptability, and most importantly, the ability to learn.

Jobs Project Skills

1. The initial idea that "stuck". This is one of the first SFDs I created for the third part of the story. I liked the way that the WEF defined skills and abilities, and wanted to illustrate idea. Essentially, abilities you gain over a long period of time (often starting in early childhood) but skills are gained on the job over shorter periods and they are more transient. At first I explored a visual translation of their specific skills and abilities classification.

2. Metaphor exploration. We didn't want to get into the prediction game and create any actual charts about what might happen in the future, so the idea of a metaphor seemed like a good option. While we explored MANY different ideas, the tree from my initial SFD wouldn't get out of my head.

3. More trees! There are a lot of different directions you can go. Should we introduce time? Should we suggest evolution and adaptation? Should we incorporate the bigger picture and external forces? I experimented with these questions through sketching, duh.

4. But there's more! I knew that the tree couldn't tell the whole story, and was tempted to include different charts that could help fill the gaps. The challenge was tying them together, which we didn't quite solve.

5. The parts that work. Finally we decided to stick with the elements of the tree metaphor that really worked for the story, removing the big picture and more specific elements from the visual. Here's a time lapse video of how it came together in Procreate.

6. The final. Who will succeed in the future? People who recognize that lifelong learning is the key, and who focus on strengthening their cognitive abilities, while maintaining flexibility and adaptability with their specific job-related skills.

The Final "Field Guide" Images

While they ended up as three fairly simple images, you now know that the process to creating them is much more in-depth!

The Chopping Block

Here are a few of the many different ideas for visualization that never made it past the doodle phase.

Jobs Project Chopping Block

Blog

Tutorials, Inspiration & more!

Jobs of the Future Project