So, how many remember the good ol’ days? A college degree got you a job, and you stayed on the same job, often times with the same company, for your entire career? Those days are so over now. Americans and IT service jobs: Are we ready?
Studies show today’s 22-year-olds could work as many as 30 different jobs and 3 careers over their lives. Also, thanks to technology, more people will work at home or freelance then ever before. But that means they won’t have the same benefits their parents and others had. These include things like health care, on the job training and retirement. That is, those who are fortunate enough to land the job of their choice at all.
I say that because of the technological challenges. We have AI and robotics taking away manufacturing. Then we have E-commerce replacing retail stores. I often wonder what drones and self-driving cars will do to the job market in the decades ahead. They estimate that by 2030, 60% of jobs humans do today will be done by robots. That’s only 12 years from now! Agencies in the government and private sector rush to address this new order. It doesn’t just affect jobs. For example, what about unemployment? Now that many won’t be working traditional jobs like they did in the 20th century, how will they handle unemployment insurance?
So what do we do? I think education is a good place to start. I think it’s wonderful that they’re introducing code technology to elementary schoolkids. It’s also good they’re introducing them to the latest technology. But they need to do more. I think starting in pre-school, kindergarten at the latest, we need to equip kids for this changing work force. Don’t wait until they’re in high school. During the 20th century, the employer-employee relationship, despite the flaws, made the US the strongest economy in the world. But technology changes, as well as recent social movements, changes that game too. Even in our Boston computer service shop, we don’t operate the same way we did five years ago due to tech changes. Americans and IT service jobs: Are we ready?