- Guest Contributor
- June 21, 2022
Is the idea of an automated future exciting or scary? For most people, it’s a little bit of both. High-powered robots and self-driving cars sound pretty cool, but losing jobs to artificial intelligence is terrifying. A robotic assistant won’t do you much good if you can’t afford to take care of your family.
If you’re scared of an automated future, this simple fact might make you feel better: The changes are already underway. And while certain positions are being lost, other essential jobs are being created. Ultimately, people will continue to find ways to do meaningful work and participate in the economy. The key is to look for areas where human expertise will always be valued.
Like It or Not, More Disruptions Are Coming
Automation is already affecting the labor market, and more changes are coming in the years ahead. Research indicates that 50% of all work activities are already automatable, and further innovation will only increase that percentage. Globally, experts expect automation to disrupt around 800 million jobs by 2030. This means potential technological change should be a major factor as you consider the next steps in your career.
The Good News: Humans Are Still Special (And Useful)
While automation will severely disrupt the global economy, it can never replace human workers altogether. People are a lot more special than they’re often given credit for. Our minds are incredibly complex, and we can make all sorts of nuanced decisions that computers simply won’t be able to replicate – or at least not any time soon.
5 Essential Jobs to Consider
All sorts of factors go into making career decisions. You shouldn’t necessarily base your choices entirely on the future disruptions associated with automation, but you don’t want to disregard them, either. As you consider your next steps, here are five essential jobs to consider.
Teachers
No matter how much technology and automation alter the educational process, students will always require instruction from responsive human teachers. Even as learning moves increasingly online, humans are necessary for creating content and providing personalized feedback. There are many ways to work in education, from serving as a standard school teacher to providing tutoring services within the gig economy. Whichever route you take, you can count on continuing demand for educational expertise.
Healthcare Workers
Healthcare is another area where technology is having a major impact without decreasing the need for human workers. Automation and innovation are improving the standards of care, but they’re not making doctors or nurses any less valuable. In reality, a rapidly aging population is increasing the demand for all sorts of caregivers within the economy. You can capitalize on this societal need while pursuing a rewarding career.
Mental Health Professionals
The brain is often cited as a final frontier in science. Even as we learn ever more about the outer reaches of the universe, experts continue to puzzle about the inner workings of the human mind. Computers might help map data and conduct experiments, but they certainly can’t comprehend the nuances of a person’s complex mental states. That’s why counseling and other essential jobs in mental health will always require human workers.
Tradespeople
We might be able to imagine a world where everything is standardized, all homes and appliances are the same, and pre-programmed robots can carry out maintenance work and repairs – but such a world is still far, far away. For the foreseeable future, carpenters, masons, electricians, and plumbers will be necessary to build and fix things with their human minds and human hands. These trades might be undervalued in certain segments of society, but they’re highly valued where it counts – in the labor market. By pursuing these types of essential jobs, you set yourself up for a stable, productive career.
IT Specialists
It might be counterintuitive, but the people working most closely with technology are probably the ones who are least likely to see technology steal their jobs. That’s because even the best programs are beholden to their human operators, and we’ll always need people to monitor and manage the technologies that have become so central to our lives.
Making Career Decisions With the Future in Mind
No one can see the future, but we can make relatively accurate predictions by extrapolating from current trends. Some jobs, like fast food cooks and travel agents, are almost certain to disappear. Others require too much human intuition for technology to replace them. If you want to build a career that’s resistant to future automation, consider one of the essential jobs described above. It’s the best way to make the future exciting, not scary.
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About the Author: Ben Clabault is a freelance writer from Sandwich, Massachusetts. He has spent much of his adult life traveling through Latin America. He currently lives with his fiance in Santiago Atitlan, Guatemala. His areas of expertise include travel, marketing, SaaS, and global cultures. You can find his work on Copyfolio and reach out to him on LinkedIn.
