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Truly an inspiring man. Jobs for the uneducated are disappearing and saying "well lets just educate everyone" is not enough. I'm racking my brain trying to com

Truly an inspiring man. Jobs for the uneducated are disappearing and saying "well lets just educate everyone" is not enough. I'm racking my brain trying to come up with ways that tech can solve that problem but it seems like an upward battle (e.g. Uber makes anyone a cab driver, but in a few years, will fire all those people when automated cabs hit the road).

rchaud 11y ago
In my mind, this isn't a problem requiring a complicated tech-based solution, but one that requires a mindset change. Community colleges have long offered the sort of "job-ready" technical skills related to using machine tools, auto and home repair, electric, HVAC, aka the types of services that cannot be offshored. But at least in America, public consciousness is still fixated around this Cold War illusion of the American Dream that necessitates a 4-year college education. America seems to prize entrepreneurialism, only when it's the white-collar, Mark Zuckerberg variety because of the promise of fantastic wealth; people running their own businesses in plumbing, home repairs etc. don't get anywhere close to that level of respect. To some extent, technology-based solutions are already in play, with hundreds of thousands of people using online resources to learn web development and other skills. The vast majority however are learning these skills to simply keep up with the needs of their job or the job market, as with shorter average job stints these days, employers won't find it worth their while to provide or pay for that type of training.
rorykoehler 11y ago
It's not a tech problem, it's a social and political one. The first issue to deal with is to ask; what is the purpose of the job? If the purpose of the job is to provide a stable society then we can look at other solutions to providing a stable society too. The job does not necessarily have anything to do with the problem. It is only lifelong conditioning that would lead anyone to start from the premise that we must have jobs in order to solve the problem of maintaining social stability.

rchaud 11y ago

In my mind, this isn't a problem requiring a complicated tech-based solution, but one that requires a mindset change. Community colleges have long offered the sort of "job-ready" technical skills related to using machine tools, auto and home repair, electric, HVAC, aka the types of services that cannot be offshored. But at least in America, public consciousness is still fixated around this Cold War illusion of the American Dream that necessitates a 4-year college education. America seems to prize entrepreneurialism, only when it's the white-collar, Mark Zuckerberg variety because of the promise of fantastic wealth; people running their own businesses in plumbing, home repairs etc. don't get anywhere close to that level of respect. To some extent, technology-based solutions are already in play, with hundreds of thousands of people using online resources to learn web development and other skills. The vast majority however are learning these skills to simply keep up with the needs of their job or the job market, as with shorter average job stints these days, employers won't find it worth their while to provide or pay for that type of training.

rorykoehler 11y ago

It's not a tech problem, it's a social and political one. The first issue to deal with is to ask; what is the purpose of the job? If the purpose of the job is to provide a stable society then we can look at other solutions to providing a stable society too. The job does not necessarily have anything to do with the problem. It is only lifelong conditioning that would lead anyone to start from the premise that we must have jobs in order to solve the problem of maintaining social stability.