Introduction
During my second year of university, I learned an important lesson. I went to my academic advisor with a question, What should I do to prepare myself for a future job?
To his credit, my advisor said, I don't know because I've never been on the open job market.
This started a personal journey which continues today.
It started with a decision to chart my own path - to take on personal responsibility for my future. There were two key aspects to this:
- to follow my heart with the thought that things will work out in the end
- to work hard and be as good as I could be at what I did
As it happened, I was hired right out of school on a dream job: laying out the optimum route for a renowned hiking trail. Imagine ... getting paid for a labour of love! It all happened by accident. As part of my thesis, I sent out a questionnaire to learn about the hiking behaviour of a hiking club. One of the randomly-selected recipients worked for a government agency charged with the task of developing land use plan for region through which the trail ran .... I received a request for an interview ...
Following that, I had had a succession of paid jobs that were, with one exception, something to look forward to with each new day.
In the following series of posts, I will write about strategies which I and others have adopted - lessons that were useful to pass on to people we mentored and our children.
The Future Job Market and the Future Nature of Work
Question: What do you want to be when you grow up?
Answer: I can't tell you because that job has yet to be invented.
While one can follow one's heart and try to be the best in one's field, there is also the question of balancing one's desires against the realities of the job market ... or the market for goods and services if one decides to strike out on one's own.
In assessing the future labour market, most people end their investigations at tables which predict demand and pay rates for various occupations. A more nuanced approach is required, especially if one is to survive in tomorrow's working environment.
Here are a few considerations:
1. Automation
This will change the nature of the work place. Here is a wonderful graphic from the Visual Capitalist:
Automation Potential and Wages for US Jobs
The graphic is based on Four fundamentals of workplace automation, a report on an ongoing study by McKinsey & Company. (You will have to register free of charge in order to read the article. It will also allow you to subscribe to some excellent research reports which are issued periodically.)
Here are some observations:
As the automation of physical and knowledge work advances, many jobs will be redefined rather than eliminated—at least in the short term.
Our results to date suggest, first and foremost, that a focus on occupations is misleading. Very few occupations will be automated in their entirety in the near or medium term. Rather, certain activities are more likely to be automated, requiring entire business processes to be transformed, and jobs performed by people to be redefined, much like the bank teller’s job was redefined with the advent of ATMs.
The report looks at four things:
In the following series of posts, I will write about strategies which I and others have adopted - lessons that were useful to pass on to people we mentored and our children.
The Future Job Market and the Future Nature of Work
Question: What do you want to be when you grow up?
Answer: I can't tell you because that job has yet to be invented.
While one can follow one's heart and try to be the best in one's field, there is also the question of balancing one's desires against the realities of the job market ... or the market for goods and services if one decides to strike out on one's own.
In assessing the future labour market, most people end their investigations at tables which predict demand and pay rates for various occupations. A more nuanced approach is required, especially if one is to survive in tomorrow's working environment.
Here are a few considerations:
1. Automation
This will change the nature of the work place. Here is a wonderful graphic from the Visual Capitalist:
Automation Potential and Wages for US Jobs
The graphic is based on Four fundamentals of workplace automation, a report on an ongoing study by McKinsey & Company. (You will have to register free of charge in order to read the article. It will also allow you to subscribe to some excellent research reports which are issued periodically.)
Here are some observations:
As the automation of physical and knowledge work advances, many jobs will be redefined rather than eliminated—at least in the short term.
Our results to date suggest, first and foremost, that a focus on occupations is misleading. Very few occupations will be automated in their entirety in the near or medium term. Rather, certain activities are more likely to be automated, requiring entire business processes to be transformed, and jobs performed by people to be redefined, much like the bank teller’s job was redefined with the advent of ATMs.
The report looks at four things:
- The automation of activities: an analysis of 2000 work activities and their potential for automation.
- The redefinition of jobs and business processes: automation will redefine how jobs are performed.
- The impact on high wage occupations: Our work to date suggests that a significant percentage of the activities performed by even those in the highest-paid occupations (for example, financial planners, physicians, and senior executives) can be automated by adapting current technology.
- The future of creativity and meaning: Creativity and sensing human emotions are difficult to automate.
It is not appreciated generally how artificial intelligence can alter the nature of future work. It already has a prominent place in environments where decisions have to be made very quickly in rapidly changing environments. For example, the military routinely uses algorithms in weapons guidance systems. No profession will be immune to the AI applications, including lawyers. LawGeex is an Israeli company that has developed a platform for reviewing legal contracts.
LawGeex is the world's first AI contract review platform, helping individuals and businesses get a fair deal before signing an agreement.
LawGeex combines machine learning algorithms with crowd-sourced data, text analytics, and the knowledge of expert lawyers to make in-depth contract reviews accessible to everyone. By providing a plain English explanation of what clauses may be unusual, problematic, or missing, LawGeex ensures that people understand exactly what they’re agreeing to before signing, helping them negotiate a better deal.
Make sure to read the FAQs section on the company's website.
In the medical field, the use of artificial intelligence has great promise, especially if the developers of various applications can integrate them with existing decision-making processes i.e. doctors are "indoctrinated" with an "I'm in control" approach to their practice of medicine - they will tolerate applications which bolster their decision-making but will oppose anything which threatens to erode their autonomy. See this:
2. Globalization
International trade agreements and technological innovation have transformed the workplace.
- talent can be accessed from almost anywhere at any time
- competition has the potential to lower wages in high cost jurisdictions except for high level management (my opinion)
- increasingly, it will lead to "virtual teams" linked by technology
- outsourcing will continue to increase, especially for knowledge workers (at the same time, robotics has the potential to repatriate offshore manufacturing to North America and Europe where it makes business sense)
- it will demand skills related to "how" products and services are tailored to meet the demands of specific markets
3. Corporate Structure
There has been a transformation in the work place. In their efforts to right size many corporations have trashed concepts such as worker loyalty, continuity in the work force, and idea innovation from within. There has also been a tremendous increase in the number of contract workers and consultants. What to do by way of preparing for this environment?
The following paper provides an interesting perspective on the nature of work and its demands in three types of organizations: large corporations, social and environmental ethically-based organizations, and small specialist organizations designed to work in networks. The reality is that the three classifications are not mutually exclusive but it is useful starting point for thinking about one's "fit" with a given working style.
4. Demographics of the Workplace
Much has been written on this topic so I will not dwell on it in depth. A few observations:
- labour legislation and economic insecurity will result in a larger cadre of older workers
- in some countries where immigration cannot supplement the workforce, there will be a premium on retaining high value employees
These are but a few of the "qualitative" aspects of the work environment which should be taken into account when charting one's future course.
In a future post, I will address other topics such as "self assessment" and "networking".
5. The Best Jobs Have Yet to be Invented
"There is no future in any job. The future lies in
the person who holds the job." - George W. Crane
One of my primary complaints with higher education is that they tend to prepare students for jobs of the past. The way a Midwesterner would phrase it, “they are constantly shooting behind the duck.”
These two sentences are the fanfare for an interesting article:
Future jobs which don't exist today
The prognostications of futurists are interesting but useful only in the sense that they are intended to generate thought about things to come.
It is tempting to prepare one's self for targeted jobs to the exclusion of all else. The approach is unproductive as the nature of future jobs is subject to change.
A more productive approach is to look at general trends and then assemble skills sets and a mental attitude to adapt to emerging opportunities.
Even better, it is best to follow one's heart and interests and be the best one can be.
I can remember when I took this gamble after having abandoned my graduate studies. I was dissatisfied with the course work and after a year in the work place, I returned to school with a resolve to follow my heart. That decision led to a wonderful opportunity and opened the door to a series of other jobs which were a real joy.
My son is on the same track. His present occupation was not on the job boards ten years ago ... or even five ... it is literally a work in progress. In a very real sense, he is defining himself as he goes. Fortunately his organization has the capacity to recognize value and to give him rein to explore new possibilities.
5. The Best Jobs Have Yet to be Invented
"There is no future in any job. The future lies in
the person who holds the job." - George W. Crane
One of my primary complaints with higher education is that they tend to prepare students for jobs of the past. The way a Midwesterner would phrase it, “they are constantly shooting behind the duck.”
These two sentences are the fanfare for an interesting article:
Future jobs which don't exist today
The prognostications of futurists are interesting but useful only in the sense that they are intended to generate thought about things to come.
It is tempting to prepare one's self for targeted jobs to the exclusion of all else. The approach is unproductive as the nature of future jobs is subject to change.
A more productive approach is to look at general trends and then assemble skills sets and a mental attitude to adapt to emerging opportunities.
Even better, it is best to follow one's heart and interests and be the best one can be.
I can remember when I took this gamble after having abandoned my graduate studies. I was dissatisfied with the course work and after a year in the work place, I returned to school with a resolve to follow my heart. That decision led to a wonderful opportunity and opened the door to a series of other jobs which were a real joy.
My son is on the same track. His present occupation was not on the job boards ten years ago ... or even five ... it is literally a work in progress. In a very real sense, he is defining himself as he goes. Fortunately his organization has the capacity to recognize value and to give him rein to explore new possibilities.
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