5 Jobs That Are Not Likely to Disappear in Your Lifetime
By Joe Issid
It is becoming harder and harder to ignore the growing concern surrounding automation and how advancing technology is rapidly eating away at entire job sectors. We’ve all seen countless dystopic sci-fi flicks where robots have taken over the world and humans are left to fight over the last few remaining ways to earn a living. The pessimists among us believe this reality is on the horizon and we need to collectively prepare for some sort of economic Armageddon. Others are somewhat more optimistic and can project a balanced co-existence between man and machine. Regardless of which camp you find yourself in, the reality is that automation will certainly lead to a re-distribution of labour across certain industries that may cause economic disturbances. For example, what happens if/when all fast food restaurants become fully mechanized? Millions of people across the world will lose their jobs, causing a huge ripple effect in the world labour market. As recently as five years ago, we could not have imagined certain jobs to be at risk (truck drivers, for example) but with technology advancing at break-neck speeds, it is becoming harder to identify what jobs may not be at risk. Fortunately, we’ve got your back. Here are some jobs that are unlikely to be usurped by a computer:
Skilled trade
As long as humans don’t find a way to eliminate going to the bathroom, we will always require plumbers, electricians and other skilled tradespeople. According to Martin Ford, author of Rise of the Robots: Technology and the Threat of a Jobless Future, “…a lot of trade jobs require a combination of visual perception, dexterity, mobility as well as problem solving. Some of the safest jobs are going to be areas like being an electrician or a plumber or maybe a car mechanic because it’s really hard to build a robot that can do all of those things.”
Dental/medical
Machines are already counted on to perform countless tasks in the medical world but there are few predicted advances that could lead to a machine performing complex dental and/or surgical work. Additionally, this type of work requires a great deal of creativity, which cannot be replicated Furthermore, there are some very serious ethical and/or moral implications involved in treating people and this is not something that we will ever want to hand over to artificial beings. Let’s face it: humans are not prepared to be surgically manipulated by something that cannot express regular emotion.
Social/health/childcare
These types of jobs require a level of emotional intelligence and interpersonal/social skills, which simply cannot be programmed into a robot. As a parent, I cannot imagine placing my daughter in the care of a robot for the day and feel comfortable that she will be fed, changed, educated and loved. Yes, there are bad humans and unsympathetic humans who may mistreat my daughter, but it is easier for parents to make that determination than to evaluate a computer algorithm. Furthermore, these types of workers provide a much-needed sense of support and empathy that simply cannot be performed by a robot. As a race, we will always require the presence of other humans as a comforting/supporting presence.
Education
As someone who has taught himself a wide range of skills from online courses, it feels somewhat funny for me to suggest that teachers are irreplaceable. Despite the huge amount of information that is available on the internet and how technology has evolved to greatly facilitate instructor-less learning, sharing the human experience will always be required in a classroom. This is especially true for childhood education, where a robot will not be able to understand a child’s perceptive or be able to so easily adapt to their unpredictable needs.
Well, someone has to design and build the robots, right?