“Future Proof” Your Job…. What To Do?
In an interesting article, TechRepublic (www.techrepublic.com) tackled the tough and uncomfortable subject of job elimination due to technology advancements.
In the article entitled “How to future-proof your career: 5 tips“, they report that “The rise of automation and artificial intelligence (AI) has brought a bevy of concerns for many US workers, who remain fearful that these technological movements could take their jobs. While many believe humans will work with robots instead of being replaced by them, the reality is that robots will kill 36 million American jobs in the next decade”. There is no doubt that many people are rightly frightened by the coming job elimination due to technology, so some tips to staying relevant are certainly welcome. Unfortunately, it would seem that these tips, while well-intended, may not be tangible enough or even available to use in a meaningful way.
The “tips” include “Be Open, Be Greedy About Experiences and Bounce Forward”. Hmmm. Let’s assume that one is already open to the idea of staying employed and being able to eat and pay rent. We doubt that there are many people who are more open to having their job eliminated than to transitioning to a new position. Be Greedy is basically their way of better your self when you can. Not a real stretch to assume that if you are worried about your job, that you won’t try and better yourself when you can. Unfortunately, many current jobs don’t really allow us lots of new opportunities to take advantage of. Lastly, Bounce Forward means to turn your failures into life lessons and come out of them in a better place. Well, it seems like that too is some generic advice and, by the way, doing this is one of the most common for challenges in all aspects of life for everyone, everywhere. Not really the job elimination due to technology help one didn’t already grasp.
Take a look at their article and tell us what you think.