THE FUTURE NATURE OF WORK

Some research predicts half of current jobs will disappear in 20 years and you can see now the effect this is going to have on the workforce.   As computers get smarter and able to do more work normally done by humans the humans will be forced off the job

The last 30 years jobs have disappeared by the 100,000's in the US and in lots of the rest of the world.  Good manufacturing jobs sent first to China and as their worker wage demands increase jobs started to move elsewhere.  Now those jobs are shifting to computer workers and seeking other countries to operate in.  Some are even moving back to the US for more reliable energy and better tax breaks.

Here's a look at job prospects down the road,as you can see at least half these jobs are administrator types almost all calling for a bachelors degree.  Leaving one wondering how these folks are going to learn the jobs they are supervising as the predictions that machines will be doing a lot of the work they will be supervising.  This causes me a lot of concern thinking you can learn everything there is know about a job by simply going to college.

Not many realize that computers are writing a  some of our news stories ,written by many different software programs most still under development.  Computers are leaning to write fiction stories, instruction manuals, analyze different inputs and write reports based on that info.

Too see the work force of tomorrow take a peak at the new car manufacturing plants, instead of a floor full of worker bees they are filled with computers of all shapes and sizes doing the work , with just a very few humans.  Some look at this as progress and in some ways it is, it does remove what lots think of as drudgery.  All the good paying white collar jobs we were promised did not last long , as soon as they invented machines to do all kinds of paperwork from bookkeeping to customer service those jobs left the US too.

An example of where we are headed can be shown by looking at the plans companies like Amazon have on the drawing boards.  They already have automated product choosing gear that brings the packages to the worker, next step is robots to replace the human part of this transaction.  Drones enter the picture here too, they are testing a drone delivery system and if successful their goes those good UPS jobs.

With more and more unable to find any kind of work what will all those people do.  How will they get the necessities  of life?  Even today those unemployed run out of benefits quickly and those in power want to limit all social welfare programs.  A look at most inner cities of the day will give you a look at the future for many.  Places like Baltimore that for years have been a wasteland with few jobs and lots of crime.  As many more join the unemployed you can imagine what will happen.

There has to be a way to find work, hopefully it could be meaningful work, but that's probably asking for more than can be delivered.  Work of any kind would be better than nothing.

Of course there are answers out there.  With trillions of dollars of infrastructure repair waiting in the wings for money to do them and no will of politicians to do the work.  If the US would just get off the making war routine lots of money could be freed up to do the work that is necessary.

 All of this can be fixed but the countries focus has to be on the people not on corporate profits.