30+ Photos That Show How People of Different Professions Have Changed in the Past 30 Years

The world has changed beyond recognition in the past 100 years, and it’s also true for people and their professions. Engineers are using computers now, swimmers wear more open suits, figure skaters have developed their skills even more, and opera singers don’t wear crinolines anymore.

The first and only 3-time Olympic champion in women’s singles, Sonja Henie, in 1928, and figure skater Rika Kihira at the 2019–20 Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final

A tattoo artist in 1928, and his colleague in 2013

Annette Kellerman wearing a swimsuit designed specifically for sports swimming (some people thought it was too open), and the photo on the right is of a Mexican synchronized swimming team member.

On the left is Primo Carnera, the first Italian World Heavyweight Champion. On the right is Laila Ali, a boxing World Champion and the daughter of Muhammad Ali.

An office employee in 1930 vs one today

Archaeologist Howard Carter, who discovered the tomb of Tutankhamun, and his modern colleague

A nurse in 1925, and her colleague in modern times

Hollywood superstars Mary Pickford (1933) and Angelina Jolie (2021)

A train crew in 1934, and a modern person controlling a train

Circus artists in 1910 alongside their modern colleague from Cirque du Soleil

A jeweler working in the first half of the twentieth century vs one today

Engineer John Logie Baird, famous for creating the first working television system, and Holud Bakri, a maintenance planning engineer at a wind power plant

Air traffic controllers in 1922 vs today

A photographer in 1921, and one today

Meteorologist George Simpson is taking detailed measurements to predict the best conditions to travel to the South Pole. His modern colleague is gathering data at a weather station in 2020.

Opera singer Lina Cavalieri at the beginning of the twentieth century, and her modern colleague, Tarja Turunen

How much has your profession changed over the past 50-100 years?