As our generation emerges from a recession with over $1 trillion in student debt, we are learning to adapt our skills and values to today's economy, which is increasingly dominated by technology.
Venture capitalist Mark Andreessen argues, "We are in the middle of a dramatic and broad technological and economic shift in which software companies are poised to take over large swathes of the economy." A recent Oxford University report found that 47% of jobs will be taken over by computers. In the coming decades, computers will replace humans in a wide range of careers, especially those in transportation, production, office support, sales, service, and extraction professions. How likely is your job to be taken over by computers? Have a look:
Our generation faces challenging hurdles, and we must adapt. As technology takes over certain occupations, it also opens up opportunities for improvements in efficiency and acquisition of knowledge. Computers will take over administrative, production, and service jobs is because they don't require much creativity, critical thinking, or social intelligence. The authors predict low-skill and low-wage workers will take on tasks that are not susceptible to computerization — i.e., work that requires social intelligence and creativity.
This is an extraordinary stage of humanity's development. Through mini-computers (smart phones), we have access to the world's knowledge at our fingertips. With discipline and desire, we can acquire the knowledge necessary for any career. One can find inexpensive or free online courses at sites like Udemy, Khan Academy, Treehouse, Codeacademy, Coursera, MIT open coursework, and Stanford Online, and ask questions and learn from sites like Quora, reddit, Stack Overflow and Google. The dirty secret of software engineers is that the majority of their time is spent on Google searching for answers. During this age, it's less important to know the answer than it is to ask the right questions.
This dissemination of information has made college degrees and standardized test scores less indicative of one's future success. Rather, a person's speed of learning, creativity, and social intelligence indicates his or her potential. Machines help us measure results, automate repetitive tasks, and move heavier things around faster. However, they can never replace our ability to imagine, entertain, and interact.