The article comes out of the Australian press, but unless there's something truly unique about the Australian job market, it's almost certainly true elsewhere as well: a recent study shows more than half of young Australians are receiving college education to persue careers that will soon no longer exist. Thank robotics, industry consolidation, and the nature of the markets for the shrinking number of ways you will some day be able to earn a living.
There's a flip side to the debate, of course: there are certainly new things coming that haven't even been invented yet, that will provide job opportunities. But the trick is positioning yourself appropriately to take advantage of the new chances.
The not-for-profit group, which works with young Australians to create social change, says the national curriculum is stuck in the past and digital literacy, in particular, needs to be boosted. Foundation chief executive Jan Owen says young people are not prepared for a working life that could include five career changes and an average of 17 different jobs.
She says today's students will be affected by three key economic drivers: automation, globalisation and collaboration. "Many jobs and careers are disappearing because of automation," Ms Owen said. "The second driver is globalisation — a lot of different jobs that we're importing and exporting. And then thirdly collaboration which is all about this new sharing economy."
How does one future-proof his/her life and career?
(Score: 2) by kurenai.tsubasa on Friday August 28 2015, @10:49PM
Da, comrade! The only two possible ways to organize a society are a Marxist utopia or a system such that when your job gets automated, you need to take on a massive student debt even while working a service job (no more than 29 hours per week, not until you have seniority enough to go full time!), and if you can't find a job with your new robot technician degree, you'll either need to take on a 2nd job (which you'll get fired from in a month because of schedule conflicts with your other job) or, well, too bad! Can't pay the student loans back? Garnish his wages! Can't pay the rent now? Too damned bad, bub, no more address or phone number for you! What, do you want to live in a Marxist utopia? Just look at Russia for a fine example of a Marxist utopia!
Oh I can hear it now: “but in Germany…!” Well, buster, if Germany is so great, why don't you just get out of my hair and go there! “But how will I afford to get there?” Ain't my problem! I've got mine, screw you.
Well, we can see the obvious mistake our homeless friend here made. Before he was evicted, he should have bought a gun so that he could go on a shooting rampage and get 3 hots and a cot at one of those maximum security homeless shelters. I suppose if he can find the right contacts, he might still be able to join ISIL. If he can stick it out for a year or two, maybe a spot will open up in a halfway house or homeless shelter somewhere, but he'd better make sure he follows the rules and reads his Bible two hours every day and is never out before 7 AM or after 7 PM and goes to the right church (that other denomination? they're followers of satan!) otherwise we know he's just not really interested in being a born-again, reformed Randian bootstrapper and is just a lazy bum.
See? The just world theory is a scientifically proven fact, like quantum theory or the theory of relativity! Bad things only happen to bad people!
(Hmm, bleeding heart libertarianism [wikipedia.org] is apparently a thing. Count me in with the strong BHLs, tentatively at least.)