Job Security: Will Machines Take your Job?

In the past few years, computers, cash machines and self-serve pumps have replaced secretaries, bank tellers and fuel station attendants. One question that still lingers in industries that have not yet been affected is, “will machines take your job?”

Technological Boom

In the USA, technological advancements endanger up to 47% of total employment. Such reports make you wonder if you should be concerned about your future in this age of automation.

It should be noted that technology, innovation and the shifting cultural norms have always aggravated a turnover in workforce composition.

Machines have been taking our jobs since time immemorial. We should note that market economics do not sit still. Various industries rise and fall while products and services change. In the past, some jobs have disappeared while others have risen.

Rapid Rates of Societal and Workforce Change

It’s too early to conclude but data shows that the employment market is not evolving fast enough to keep up with the change. The ratio of employment to the general population has been on the decline in developing nations.

Digital development has not created many jobs directly and the ones that are available are mainly found in big cities. The rural areas have been neglected.

A shift in Job Dynamics

There is a major shift happening in the skill sets that people need. Some major jobs are on the brink of extinction. These include positions like telephone operators, travel agents, photo lab technicians, bookbinders, cleaning houses, landscaping, and so forth There is a lack of training required to transition into other jobs in the equivalent economic tier.

Alternatively, there is a demand for highly skilled and educated workers but declining in those who have low-to-moderate education. The coming years will see this situation grow even bigger. Jobs that involve any kind of routine or are repetitive are at a huge risk of being replaced by machines. Fast food workers, telemarketers, cashiers, waiters, accountants, and even some journalists will have it rough.

Automation does not however spell doom for all sectors. There are many jobs that will need some level of human involvement. Automation will surely make us successful but it will come with income distribution challenges.