Dien Rice
January 2, 2015, 06:27 PM
I recently read that Bill Gates said... people don't realize how many jobs will be soon taken over by robots.
I have a friend who drives a forklift truck for a living. He's been doing it for decades. But lately, he's had trouble finding work...
But technology marches on. Driverless forklifts - that is, robot forklift trucks - are already around, and have already been taking people's jobs...
And it's just going to get worse.
Technology takes away opportunities, but it creates opportunities, too.
One thing I think technology can never replace is face-to-face, human interaction. There will always be "sales" jobs, and sales work, especially for "higher end" stuff. I think the same goes for copywriting skills - where you need to get into someone's head, to sell them something. It takes a human to really get inside the head of another human effectively.
I'm not saying sales can't be done "automatically." They can - for example, if you just want to sell the same identical widget, 10% cheaper than the next guy, that's easily automated. But real sales psychology, I think, can't be replaced by a "robot" !
I think the wisest thing to do in today's world is to be "multi-skilled"... I've made money various ways over the last decade (consulting, editing, writing, teaching, direct sales, buying and reselling for profit, applying marketing skills, copywriting skills, etc.). In a rapidly changing world, you don't want to be "changed" into obsolescence!
It's scary. But it need not be, if you're prepared!
Best wishes,
Dien
P.S. Here's the Bill Gates article... Bill Gates: People Don't Realise How Many Jobs Will Soon Be Replaced By Software Bots (http://www.businessinsider.com/bill-gates-bots-are-taking-away-jobs-2014-3)
I have a friend who drives a forklift truck for a living. He's been doing it for decades. But lately, he's had trouble finding work...
But technology marches on. Driverless forklifts - that is, robot forklift trucks - are already around, and have already been taking people's jobs...
And it's just going to get worse.
Technology takes away opportunities, but it creates opportunities, too.
One thing I think technology can never replace is face-to-face, human interaction. There will always be "sales" jobs, and sales work, especially for "higher end" stuff. I think the same goes for copywriting skills - where you need to get into someone's head, to sell them something. It takes a human to really get inside the head of another human effectively.
I'm not saying sales can't be done "automatically." They can - for example, if you just want to sell the same identical widget, 10% cheaper than the next guy, that's easily automated. But real sales psychology, I think, can't be replaced by a "robot" !
I think the wisest thing to do in today's world is to be "multi-skilled"... I've made money various ways over the last decade (consulting, editing, writing, teaching, direct sales, buying and reselling for profit, applying marketing skills, copywriting skills, etc.). In a rapidly changing world, you don't want to be "changed" into obsolescence!
It's scary. But it need not be, if you're prepared!
Best wishes,
Dien
P.S. Here's the Bill Gates article... Bill Gates: People Don't Realise How Many Jobs Will Soon Be Replaced By Software Bots (http://www.businessinsider.com/bill-gates-bots-are-taking-away-jobs-2014-3)
