Ask Slashdot: Future-Proof Jobs? 509
An anonymous reader writes: My niece, who is graduating from high school, has asked me for some career advice. Since I work in data processing, my first thought was to recommend a degree course in computer science or computer engineering. However, after reading books by Jeremy Rifkin (The Third Industrial Revolution) and Ray Kurzweil (How to Create a Mind), I now wonder whether a career in information technology is actually better than, say, becoming a lawyer or a construction worker. While the two authors differ in their political persuasions (Rifkin is a Green leftist and Kurzweil is a Libertarian transhumanist), both foresee an increasingly automated future where most of humanity would become either jobless or underemployed by the middle of the century. While robots take over the production of consumer hardware, Big Data algorithms like the ones used by Google and IBM appear to be displacing even white collar tech workers. How long before the only ones left on the payroll are the few "rockstar" programmers and administrators needed to maintain the system? Besides politics and drug dealing, what jobs are really future-proof? Would it be better if my niece took a course in the Arts, since creativity is looking to be one of humanity's final frontiers against the inevitable Rise of the Machines?
I don't know how they pay (Score:5, Insightful)
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A/C repair doesn't pay very well, however with global warming, demand should skyrocket, so salaries may go up up and up!
Bonus point if you do that now, as there's only 1 year left for usage of Freon in condenser maintenance, and a lot of people will have to replace their systems with new ones (and they're not even slightly compatible, so you have to replace the whole thing, which is brutally expensive).
So I'd definitely recommend going that route.
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but being a plumber or AC repair can't be shipped overseas.
No, those jobs will not be shipped overseas, they will disappear. Look at the modular advancement of products. I do see a future where an HVAC system will be plug and play with parts sold at your local home depot. As for plumbing, why not use a "Lego" brand plumbing where "pipe A" connects to "pipe B" and snaps into place.
People can and will be replaced as technology advances. The goal is cheap and disposable with minimal impact on quality. Manufacturing jobs are dead and a thing of the past. We all have t
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HVAC techs specifically are in demand because they must do everything that's required for HVAC: plumbing, electric, gas and minor construction.
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It's like that line from Temple of Doom. "Again we see there is nothing you can possess which I cannot take away, Dr Jones"...
the pay depends ... (Score:3)
I have an ex-roommate who does refrigeration repair ... the pay's okay, but the hours can really, really suck.
He's on-call every couple of weeks, and might have to drive an hour away to fix a chiller at a grocery store; if they can't get to it and get it repaired before it warms up too much, they might have to destroy thousands of dollars worth of food. (and if you to go and get parts, you're kinda screwed) I don't think it's quite as bad as the 'always on duty' as some sysadmins get stuck with, but it ca
Jobs aren't future proof, skills are (Score:5, Insightful)
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Re:Jobs aren't future proof, skills are (Score:4, Insightful)
Skills become obsolete or can be automated. If you rely on skills you have to dedicate yourself to a lifetime of learning.
While I could have been more clear in my subject line, I did hint at the kinds of skills I meant in my comment text. I wasn't referring to specific technical skills, but rather more generic, high level skills -- sometimes referred to by recruiters as "soft skills". While specific technical skills (such as a programming in a specific language, brick laying, or buggy whip manufacturing) may come and go, high level or abstract skills (such as communication and problem solving), will never fall out of need.
Re:Jobs aren't future proof, skills are (Score:5, Insightful)
I'd go even further and say: Teach her to learn, and she will adapt herself to every job on the Galaxy.
But if eventually this if not feasible get her to focus on whatever she likes to do. Like Confucius once said: "Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life."
We'll deal with the machines for her.
Alvie.
Teach her to take care of herself and be happy (Score:4, Interesting)
I agree with Confucious there! As a teacher, I can say I have seen plenty of people chasing after the job-of-the-week. The company goes under, and you lose your job (or to keep it, you have to move out of state, country, live on an Antarctic glacier, etc.), then you have to retrain and spend a fortune. And they're not happy, because they lost their job, they're worried, they're in debt, more debt now because of student loans, and now they have to do some stupid job they don't really want to do for the oil company because that's the only way out they see. Nuh-uh. Don't let her grow up like that.
Everyone I know that followed their own path (granted, small sample size, etc etc), has seemed to end up way better off. They do what they love, they are in demand because they are good at what they do, and just everything seems to have a way of working out. Make sure she knows (1) what she loves; (2) how to think and solve new problems; (3) give her an entrepreneurial spirit, so she can CREATE HER OWN JOB and take care of herself if she doesn't want/find one in the market.
I think that last point is perhaps the most important. The best (and really only) way to prepare for the future is to learn how to take care of yourself. Create your own job, live on a budget and NOT be in debt (debt makes you a slave to the job trends since you can't settle for a more fun but less paying job), grow your own food, pick up a few trade skills to do house repair, etc... Of course definitely encourage higher level thought if she wants to be an engineer, but if she wants to be an artist, let her, as long as she knows how to take care of herself.
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Mortician
Groceries
Tax law
soylent green
amazon same day grocery^^^^^^^soylent delivery
turbo tax
Engineering (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Engineering (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Engineering (Score:4, Insightful)
Then the people who can design an effective irrigation system within cost constraints are in high demand.
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Re:Engineering (Score:5, Insightful)
Mortician (Score:2)
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Join the army for a job for the rest of your natural life.
Not really good advice for a woman. If she wanted to spend the rest of her life being abused she could make more money in the private sector.
Nothing, really. (Score:3)
Seriously, try to imagine describing a lot of the things people do professionally now to someone 30 years ago. Some of them are genuinely incomprehensible. Quite a lot, even.
You can't have a future-proof job. You will have to adapt as the world changes.
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Seriously, try to imagine describing a lot of the things people do professionally now to someone 30 years ago.
Prostitution . . . the world's oldest profession will be around . . . well, as long as humans are still around.
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Seriously, try to imagine describing a lot of the things people do professionally now to someone 30 years ago.
Prostitution . . . the world's oldest profession will be around . . . well, as long as humans are still around.
realdoll
fleshlight
easy (Score:2)
Hair Stylist (Score:3)
You are not talking about a career... (Score:2)
you are talking about something bigger.
You use your college focus to get the toolsets you need to be a generally competent employee. What you do with it, that is what is important.
My degree is in Humanities, but I have a current career in IT, and the tools transfer to other careers.
So should hers, whatever she decides. (Don't do Humanities, it is a crock now, all touchy feelly and not the critical thinking I got 30 years ago)
A shift in economic metrics (Score:5, Interesting)
Creativity is certainly future-proof (Score:2)
Would it be better if my niece took a course in the Arts, since creativity is looking to be one of humanity's final frontiers against the inevitable Rise of the Machines?
Unfortunately taking art classes does nothing to actually increase your creativity -- it's an innate characteristic of the human soul (or brain, depending on your religious views).
Tell her to go into medicine. There is no way doctors are gonna be replaced by robots, ever.
On the off chance that some tremendous breakthroughs do lead to medical robots like in Star Wars, NOBODY will have to worry about getting a job. I'm not holding my breath though.
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You know what's a lot easier than making a Star Wars-like medical robot? Creating an oversupply of doctors. Good luck paying that education off without the big salary!
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The problem with medicine is tuition. A friend of mine got out of dental school about four years ago and has $330,000 in debt. I'm sure tuition today is higher still. By the time this girl is done an MD is going to cost a million dollars. Next, with malpractice insurance and the byzantine regulations, it's very difficult to be a doctor with your own practice these days. Everybody is ending up having to work for the big hospitals, or clinics administered by the big hospitals. Now you're just a salaried emplo
Re:Creativity is certainly future-proof (Score:4, Insightful)
Simple advice. (Score:2)
But an intelligent person will always be in demand, by ensuring that they are always the most knowledgeable and by working in the elite end of the business.
The jobs that get destroyed are typically jobs that require the least amount of intelligence and skill.
Take fashion. Few Americans make a living sewing any more - unless of course you are a fashion designer, rather than a piece worker.
Taxi drivers may not exist in 20 years - but race car drivers will still ha
Healthcare Provider (Score:2)
Plumber, Gardner, HVAC repair (Score:2)
You get the picture, jobs that are onsite, and very hard to automate due to dexterity/strength requirements. Handyman also comes to mind.
Barring honest labor you can always go law or civil service.
Caregiver... (Score:5, Insightful)
Seriously, I know it's all anti-fem movement and all that but someone has to take care of children might as well take care of your own.
However, if having kids isn't your thing then you want to be somewhere in the robot design/maintenance track. So, something like Engineering or Computer Science would be best. Not everyone is good at math and abstract problem solving. Learn to do that really well and get some people skills and you should be able to stay at least marginally employed.
Another option might be to join the Military. There will always be a need for Generals even if all the grunts are robots. Someone, has to tell squad A to attack point B, and I'm not convinced that the lowly soldier will ever really be replaced with robots. Someone will always fight once the robots are defeated.
Also genetic engineering of crops might be a good thing to go into. We are going to need better yielding crops if we are going to support all the unemployed TV zombies the Robot's replace in the job market. Otherwise, someone might get the idea in their heads of limiting the population.
The personal touch! (Score:2)
Depends on how long of a future you need to proof against, but I'd imagine jobs requiring human interaction and contact will be among the last to go. PT's, masseuses, and psychologists are probably fairly safe for the next fifty years.
Becoming a physical therapist will be a great way to make a living off all the utopians who are injuring themselves with increasingly bizarre sports, plus you'll get to use the latest and greatest exoskeletons at work.
Think, write, and learn (Score:2)
Oversimplified answer (Score:5, Insightful)
1. Outsourcing
2. Automation
3. Disruptive innovation
4. Boom and bust economic cycles
Ways to protect your career and wages are:
1. Merit and Knowledge
2. Restricted professions & credentials
3. Union or government position
Not all dangers are avoidable, for example disruptive innovation is all but unavoidable, but boom and bust cycles are easier to survive in a bigger industry.
Not all way to protect career are available to everyone, for example merit and knowledge is unobtainable goal for significant portion of population (merit, by definition, it is zero-sum game). Additionally some have drawbacks - proximity to government or union usually has negative effect on one's maximum earning potential.
Now for more practical advice - a technical profession that interfaces with government, requires accreditation, and deals with local or critical infrastructure would be most stable long-term position. Civil engineer, food inspector, dentist are some typical example.
HVAC (Score:2)
Heating, ventilating, and air conditioning. The job sucks, but it's steady. Automation of ductwork installation and repair is a long way off. Unlike construction, there's maintenance work; someone always needs their A/C fixed.
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There's always... (Score:2)
... the oldest profession.
If these trends continue.... (Score:4, Interesting)
As other worthies have probably pointed out elsewhere in the comments, the best idea is to learn critical thinking and remain flexible. STEM education is valuable whether you're working in your specialty or not. Unlike Underwater Basket-Weaving or other majors that seem like a great idea as a freshman, STEM educations generally push students to learn basics about how the world works that can be universal (including submarine crafting mechanics). I have this same issue with my kids and I think the answer is just to let them know that building a network and constantly learning is the highest-payoff strategy but no guarantee. Anyone giving a job guarantee is, to paraphrase, lying or selling something.
Also I'm planning to have my drugs delivered by Amazon Drones(tm), so that's not a future-proof occupation either.
Seriously? (Score:5, Insightful)
Are you kidding me? You're planning your daughter's career based on predictions from Kurzweil and Rifken? They both have notoriously bad track records. Kurzweil is the guy who predicted that we'd have automatic translation for phones ten years ago. (He claims that his prediction held true because 2004 smart phones shipped with crappy text translation apps, but it is obvious from context that he originally meant real time voice-to-voice translation.)
I have no doubt that much of what Kurzweil and Rifken predict will eventually happen, but their timelines are far too optimistic. IMO, the best advice you could give your daughter is to keep away from factory work (everyone will be replaced by robots relatively soon, even in China), law (far too many grads, far too few jobs -- you need to go to a top 10 school if you want any shot at a good job), and academia (same problem as law).
Re:Seriously? (Score:5, Insightful)
If people like Kurzweil are right is the fact that planning for them is worthless. Kurzweil's predictions are, by definition, that the future is unpredictable due to rapid technological development. What on earth makes you think construction workers will have a job if Kurzweil's predictions were to come to fruition? Or Plumbers? Or even painters, actors, poets for that matter? In Kurzweil's future, you could have software that understands the human brain far, far better than we do today and could apply that knowledge to generate works of art of such sublime beauty that we'll look at Michelangelo's works like a toddler's scribbles (beautiful for what they are but ultimately primitive).
There's no point in planning for that future because that future is so far removed from where we are today that it's not yet imaginable how we, as fleshy, living, breathing human beings, will fit into it.
Should be asking other questions (Score:5, Insightful)
What does she want to do. It's fine if she doesn't know yet, too many kids are forced into a box too early, but those are the types of questions you should be asking her. What is she good at? What are her hobbies? There may be jobs she doesn't even know about that may relate to them that you can help her discover. Picking a profession is not something really that should be done on statistics/probability.
That said, of course it's good to reign in certain things - there aren't a lot of jobs for underwater basket weavers. But, you could suggest offshoots of that - either a basic business degree to run her own shop, or something in textiles/manufacturing. But it's always best to go with what she likes and/or is good at as a starting place - vs. figuring out what has the least amount of risk and going for it no matter what the profession is.
This is where those "aptitude" tests that you take in high school might be helpful. I'm sure there are equivalents online, or her school might still offer them. I'd never use them as a sole resource, but they can help you find things that may not be obvious. In high school one of the careers that mine said was "law enforcement" which at the time I laughed at - yet now, in my mid-30's - I suddenly found myself working in a different field in the private sector, but as a financial investigator. Something to those tests, I think.
Undertaker (Score:2)
People has that bad habit of dying...
food service (Score:2)
People have to eat. Plan for migration into servicing food service machines at some future time. And then servicing food service servicing machines.
Live performance? (Score:2)
It seems like a profession where your identity, presence, and personal behavior is part of the product being sold. Possibly the only such profession?
Maybe robotics? (Score:2)
There will be more of these jobs in the future than right now for sure, but there might not be many overall. Still, possibly the best bet for any job you'll need a degree to obtain.
From-the-career-path-department (Score:2)
Slashdot editor. Those guys are set for life! Timothy even has a lordship!
Capitalist (Score:5, Insightful)
We all know eventually the only ones profiting will be those who own the robots. So become a capitalist. Take that money she was going to spend on a college education and start a business instead. A few rules, though:
1) It must not be something other people do for free for fun. Don't become a photographer.
2) It must be something where eventually other people do the work while you make the money. Don't become a freelancer.
3) It must be scalable. That is, adding workers/locations/production increases profits. This is similar to "don't be a freelancer," as there are only so many hours in your day.
4) When you're finished, you can sell the business to somebody else. That is, it must be a business that accumulates assets, rather than just service contracts.
Good luck.
Math and Engineering (Score:2)
Get a job building things for the future.. If you can handle the math and learn to build things creatively that is a good basis for a ton of careers.
I told my daughter: get an undergrad degree in this.. if you don't like it later than get a Master's and change.. but getting an undergrad in something simplistic and simple later limits your options.
College is expensive.. learn hard things there.
No easy answer: (Score:3)
The answer really depends on several things, but she should start by looking at what she is good at and what she enjoys doing. Trouble is, for kids coming out of high school, they may or may not really know either one of those things yet. I knew right off that I enjoyed writing computer programs (taught myself Basic and some C during high school), so I went for a CS degree for system programming in college, and ended up working as a sysadmin. My wife was the opposite, and didn't find out that she enjoyed working in health care until having to get a "real job" after a couple really bad years of college. I also have a nephew who spent almost 8 years in college, switching majors (and sometimes colleges) every semester for the first 5 years until he found a passion for social work.
If she doesn't have a specific field that she is interested in, but she does want to go to college, I would recommend she pick a degree program that offers an Associates degree mid-way through, (or just go for an Associates of General Studies,) in order to make it easier to get a job or switch colleges halfway through, should the need arise. (In other words: be prepared.) If she wants to go into a field where she would need an advanced degree such as a Masters or PhD, I recommend picking a university that offers the advanced program she wants for her Bachelors' degree, as they often offer automatic acceptance to students who received their undergrad from them, and also may offer dual grad-school credit for some advanced undergrad classes.
With regards to books recommending one avoid studying computer science, I have one statement: We have not reached the Singularity yet, and if nobody studies computer science, how are we supposed to get there?
Big Picture (Score:2)
foresee an increasingly automated future where most of humanity would become either jobless or underemployed by the middle of the century. While robots take over the production of consumer hardware, Big Data algorithms like the ones used by Google and IBM appear to be displacing even white collar tech workers. How long before the only ones left on the payroll are the few "rockstar" programmers and administrators needed to maintain the system? Besides politics and drug dealing, what jobs are really future-pr
Que the ending for "Dinner at Eight" (Score:2)
Carlotta (a world weary diva): (taken aback) Reading a book?
Kitty: Yes. It's all about civilization or something. A nutty kind of a book! Do you know that the guy says that machinery is going to take the place of every profession?
Carlotta: (giving her a once-over) Oh, my dear, that's something you need never worry about.
.
skilled trades (Score:2)
plumbing, electrician, framer, mechanic, heavy equipment operator. if you're working for a contractor, not in-house at some firm, there will be boom and bust years. but no makerbot can do this work.
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Hairdresser (Score:2)
1. It's not outsourceable.
2. It's unlikely to be automated due to the precision required involving sharp objects around the skull.
3. It's more an art than a science.
4. You get to meet people in your local community.
5. The hours are reasonable.
6. In general it's a respectable profession.
Health (Score:2)
Health care is the modern issue. The societies which don't already have it are getting it. There's not enough health care providers now, and demand is only increasing.
Doesn't really matter if you're a provider or an enabler (e.g. health and human services, medical transcriptionist, etc) ... demand is there.
Sure, most doctors could be replaced (with improvement) with an expert system. But they will fight that tooth and nail for the foreseeable future, no matter the cost.
MBA/PHB/VP (Score:4, Insightful)
Train for Management, Business Administration and Making Tough Decisions(TM). There is no way that our corporate masters are going to outsource/offshore/automate their own cushy positions or let the great unwashed get their hands on the robots producing the goods.
No such thing as future proofing, of course . . . (Score:3)
Life Lottery (Score:5, Insightful)
Tell her to do what she enjoys for as long as she can because life is a lottery and you can't predict how it will turn out.
I haven't seen anyone ask the question... (Score:5, Insightful)
hookers (Score:4, Funny)
if you're worried about the collapse of society... (Score:3)
There are none (Score:3)
Considering that 25 years ago, someone talking about "the internet" would have been largely met with baffled stares, it's pretty sure that most of the jobs that are going to exist in the first world in 40 years may not have even been imagined yet.
Then again, considering politicians inability to let ANY special interest group go unsatisfied, just about any job is "safe" - if the buggy-whip manufacturers had had better lobbyists, they'd still be employed too.
Stripper! (Score:3, Funny)
A View From the Far End (Score:3)
I graduated in EE in '69. Over my career everything changed at least once or twice. What I found most important was an understanding of the fundamentals behind the practices. That is, the underlying theory, physics and mathematics. With a firm grounding in those and a feel for how to apply them, I could keep up with the changes. I suspect it is the same in most fields.
A couple of earlier posters noted she should do what she really loves to do, and that is of course correct, but concentrate on the basics at first. All else will change. Don't fight the changes, adapt to them, and exploit them. If you love what you are doing, it is part of the adventure.
Still, life is a crap shoot. It takes a little bit of luck as well as careful preparation. Aristotle said count no man fortunate until he is dead.
Re:Plumber (Score:5, Insightful)
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Car repair will see some decline with electric cars. (they have less parts)
And fewer parts as well. :-)
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Re:Plumber (Score:5, Interesting)
Pastor, plumber, electrician, and dentist were listed in an article I read recently.
The problem is that they all presume a functioning middle class which has money to pay for their services.
We could get into a situation where 50% of the population can't find jobs unless we pass lower overtime laws (32 hour week max) or provide a basic income to everyone from taxes on those who are working or some other entirely new approach.
It's really a paradigm shift coming.
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Pastor, plumber, electrician, and dentist were listed in an article I read recently.
The problem is that they all presume a functioning middle class which has money to pay for their services.
We could get into a situation where 50% of the population can't find jobs unless we pass lower overtime laws (32 hour week max) or provide a basic income to everyone from taxes on those who are working or some other entirely new approach.
It's really a paradigm shift coming.
If things get to the point where the richest country in the world can't pay for dental care for the majority of the population then I think unemployment would be the least of your worries.
Re:Plumber (Score:4, Insightful)
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I don't see toilets going away anytime soon....
Most problems with toilets are because they are simple, dumb, and gravity powered. In the past there was no other way. In the future, they will have sensors that optimize the flush cycle, and use a pressurized system to automatically clear clogs, while using far less water per flush. They will use electrically actuated valves, that are far less likely than the current "lever and flapper" valve, to get stuck in the wrong position, resulting in even less waste of water. In the near future, toilets will be
Re:Plumber (Score:4, Insightful)
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And more complex toilets will be more efficient then the current crop, but they'll also be really complex.
Complexity does not mean unreliable. Semiconductors are immensely complex, yet are the most reliable part of most systems.
There will be multiple failure points, and (this is the key thing), when a failure happens an amateur with a wrench and a basic knowledge of physics will have no fucking clue how to fix it.
Yes they will:
1. Pop out old valve.
2. Pop in new valve.
An electric valve may be complex internally, but to a repairperson it is a single part that requires no adjustment or configuration. A lever and flapper valve may be inherently simpler, but it is more complex to repair because it is many separate parts, that must be installed, adjusted, bent, re-jiggered, adjusted some more, and t
Math, Basic Finance, Demographics, Hands-On (Score:3)
Any specific trade you learn is subject to random technological revolutions. You need to learn as much math as you can cope with, because it's at the core of any engineering or science, which are the jobs that add value. You need to learn basic finance, even if your real accounting is going to get done by computers or professionals. You need to learn a bit about demographics, because that's one of the big things that drives what technologies and jobs and financial practices are going to be around in any
Re: Lawyers: You're wrong (Score:5, Insightful)
There's currently a serious glut of lawyers in the US market, and not just in LA and NYC. Sure, graduates from Harvard Law and its peers are going to have an advantage, doing high-end corporate law, but news articles I've been reading recently say that for average-quality law students at average-quality law schools, some ridiculous amount like 1/3 don't have a real law job within a year out of school, and the pay scales don't match the level of student-loan dent they have to pay off for most of them. A lot of the entry-level jobs are things like public defenders (get paid dirt, heavy case loads), or small-town business/real-estate (plumbers get paid better.)
And farming? Are you kidding? Americans may have a warm place in their hearts for farmers, especially if their grandparents farmed, but their grandparents got their butts off the farm and moved to the city for good reasons. And that was before mechanized agriculture radically changed the number of farm workers it took to grow food, and pushed us toward monoculture agribusiness that needs maybe 3% of the US population to grow most of the food, and most of the farm labor is low-paid migrant work. If you inherit some land or are willing to move to a dying town out on the prairie, sometimes you can make it pay off, or and there are some places you can do specialized-market farming and do ok at it, but it's tough work that won't put your kids through college.
Corrections? Yes, the US has far more prisoners per capita than China or even Soviet Russia used to, and until we end the drug war and have some time for its spin-off crimes like the gang business to die down, it'll probably stay big business for another few decades, but most of the work is morally about one step above being a slave-owner and financially it's two steps above minimum wage, competing with a labor pool of people who need a job that doesn't require an education, just a mostly-clean criminal record and adequate citizenship papers.
Re:Plumber (Score:5, Insightful)
Computers _are_ replacing accountants. Or more precisely computers are replacing bookkeepers and a lot of so called accountants are actually bookkeepers.
Most of the drudgery is leaving the profession now. What's left will be much more interesting and valuable work, but I suspect there will be a bit of a glut in lower end accountants.
Re:Plumber (Score:5, Funny)
Re: (Score:2)
Re:Just stay unemployed (Score:4, Informative)
Pretty sure they already have a robot for that.
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I'm not sure that the blatant misogyny in the joke here is worthy of anything higher than a -1: Flaimbait, but really: if you can completely automate production of every single thing that people depend on for their day-to-day lives: food, drinking water, medicine, and shelter: what's left?
Sure. Sure. Art, science, human progress. We're never going to give those up. Taking care of your own home and family would be the one obligation that would remain as a personal duty(yes, regardless of gender).
It's not
Re: (Score:3)
I'm not sure that the blatant misogyny in the joke here is worthy of anything higher than a -1: Flaimbait, but really: if you can completely automate production of every single thing that people depend on for their day-to-day lives: food, drinking water, medicine, and shelter: what's left?
Sure. Sure. Art, science, human progress. We're never going to give those up. Taking care of your own home and family would be the one obligation that would remain as a personal duty(yes, regardless of gender).
It's not yet, but at some point we're going to have to assess our work-ethic culture with the inevitable collision with technological progress.
You consider suggesting she learn to be a homemaker to be misogynist?
It's an important and fulfilling role, more important than ever in a world full of fucked up little bastards, deserving of your respect. It's you that is the misogynist for suggesting that only a persecuted woman would choose such a task. Just because a homemaker isn't producing something for you personally in exchange for your money doesn't mean what she does isn't of vital importance to us all.
You suggest she'd be most useful as a mode
Re:Simple (Score:5, Insightful)
Suggesting she become a homemaker despite her explicit request for career information and knowing nothing about her other than her gender -- yes, almost certainly misogyny.
Re: (Score:3)
See, I get the misogynists. They're idiots. But the people who out of their way to see zero misogyny in blatant misogyny. They're the ones who concern me.
Because that seems to be the normal reaction to justified accusations of bigotry these days: an immediate switch to defensive mode without a thought in between. And if that's normal, then every fractional scrap of progress has to have the whole argument over basic human equality be fought over and over.
Re:Simple (Score:5, Insightful)
Suggesting she become a homemaker despite her explicit request for career information and knowing nothing about her other than her gender -- yes, almost certainly misogyny.
Homemaker is a career, and it does take certain skillsets that are developed over a lifetime. It's an important career chosen by many women throughout history. Consider what happens if the next generation is not nurtured and educated.
And it is a future proof job - can't outsource child making and rearing, and she has capabilities unique to her sex. (eg: half the potential competition of other career paths) Kids are also an effective retirement plan when raised well.
Even if you don't think it's the best option, it's a valid option, and a noble one.
Re: (Score:2, Insightful)
Tell her to study home economics.
Ok, I'm sure dude here was trying to troll and all... but...
Any kid strait out of highschool needs, desperately, to have true home economics down. And I don't mean cooking.
Never own a credit card. They are all scams and are far more likely to ruin your credit than help it.
The basics of double entry bookkeeping.
The basics of Auto loans and home loans
The difference between Mutual Funds and Index funds and why you should always go with an index if you can.
What a fiduciary is, and why you should never take inve
Re: (Score:3)
Never own a credit card. They are all scams and are far more likely to ruin your credit than help it.
That's basically lowest-common denominator advice -- a better piece that is still a simplification is to ensure your credit card use is always backed by cash (your accounting tips may help in tracking that independently of the banks). A majority (admittedly not a vast majority) of people pay in full every month, and thus do not lose and typically gain from credit cards (other than possible cash-only discounts which aren't super common and imply no debit card either). cite: http://www.creditcards.com/cre.. [creditcards.com]
Re:Simple (Score:5, Insightful)
Tell her to study home economics.
Never own a credit card. They are all scams and are far more likely to ruin your credit than help it. .
This is terrible advice. Credit cards are the easiest way to build credit. The advice should actually be: Pay off your credit card in full every month. If you won't be able to pay it off, don't buy things with it.
The rebuttal: "This is too hard for some people" is not a reasonable response to this. This is a trivially easy behavior pattern to adopt. If you can't do this, I don't believe it is possible to be financially secure. This is the smallest, easiest, step in playing the game of our society's financial system.
Re:Simple (Score:5, Informative)
Never own a credit card. They are all scams and are far more likely to ruin your credit than help it.
This is quite possibly the worst financial advice I have ever seen. Forget about credit. You realize credit cards provide you with free money for 30 days, that is INSURED against all fraud/false claims, and most importantly, offers cash-back (or travel/movie/your interests) rewards by using it?
If you are responsible and pay off your credit card and never accrue/pay any sort of interest, you will actually gain money by using them (through rewards, and the ability to invest the money you spent for free for 30 days!), and be protected by VISA/MasterCard/whatever against bad purchases (someone trying to rip you off).
The only people who say "never use credit cards" are those with no self control, and thus wrongly assume others have no self control either. I have never held credit card debt (unless it was special 0% offers), and every year I get a few hundred dollars just for using it (no annual fee). In addition, several times I have made online purchases, but never received the item, called VISA, and they immediately refunded my card and dealt with the seller.
Re: (Score:2)
Politics has already been mentioned...
Yes, you can. (Score:2, Informative)
You really can't automate health care.
Yes, you can and it has been.
And it can be offshored. I worked on the software for McKesson that enables X-rays and whatnot to be offshored, Pharmacy robots, and various things are automating healthcare. It's amazing how much of medicine is just following a flow chart - even at the physician level.
In the not too distant future, we will be seeing healthcare being mostly automated: at least in other countries that don't have an organization like the AMA. Step into a full body scanner, anything the system can
Re: (Score:3)
I would suggest healthcare. With the aging population, there will be a greater need for personal care. Even a healthy older person will need some level of care. I do not think robotics can handle this area well.
I would agree, with one caveat... Don't be a doctor. It takes WAY too much debt to get though medical school and wages for doctors are going to be in sharp decline.
An RN is a good choice. You can get a 4 year degree in nursing without going too far into debt. If you are a good student, get your RN then work on getting licensed as a physicians assistant. If you are not that great of a student, then there are a whole list of "technician" positions, like running the MRI and ultrasound machines which don't ta
Re: (Score:2)
Testing 123
Wow, that was quite a load of tests.
We just saw the last one, though.
Re:Over 190 comments in this thread so far (Score:5, Interesting)
Teachers are under attack. They get attacked for teaching actual science, they are loosing there only defense against parents who don't like what they teach, politician are attacking them and their careers.
With the bonus of forcing kids into specific tracks and not teaching to a child's level.
Also, the general make crap pay, have to spend their own money, and listen to parent who won't sit down with theor own kids blame teachers for their kids not learning.
And 40+ kids to a class, and an education system the spend less then half per child that it did in 1969(adjusting for inflation)
Sorry, I don't wish that on anyone.