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I understand that progress is needed, and while I tend not to think of myself as a Luddite, this rekindles a thought I had about how automation/tech is replacin

I understand that progress is needed, and while I tend not to think of myself as a Luddite, this rekindles a thought I had about how automation/tech is replacing people. That question is since a lot of people have been replaced and a lot more people will be replaced, what low skilled jobs will be left for people in the near to long term? Teenagers at the very least have not yet even had the time to be in the job market to acquire advanced skills. Will advances like this completely solidify the new life stage called 'adultolescence" while at the same time change the experience of what we now call adolescence?

wccrawford 15y ago
This is the situation apprenticeships and education were made for. Loss of low-level jobs only worries those who are unwilling to learn a trade skill. In the old days, that wasn't a problem because you could apprentice to a master and end up with one. These days, we don't seem to do that any more. We expect colleges to teach newcomers instead. And not everyone can afford college. We have interns, but by law, interns can't produce real output or you'll get your pants sued off. This prevents internships from being apprenticeships, where someone could earn a bare living and a learn a tradeskill, then move on to earning a good living with that new skill.
kokey 15y ago
The industrial revolution keeps on destroying low skill jobs, for the benefit of everyone overall. There is always a group of people who lose these jobs initially but in the long term it's never been that big problem for society after about 200 years of doing this. However, it won't hurt to be more proactive in helping people get retrained and move into other kinds of jobs. There is even some opportunity in offering a path for people who lose their jobs in one industry to get trained to work in other industries which has demand. I think the people who suffer the most are those who insist on trying to hold onto a type of job that is disappearing, being the last group to lose their jobs and being behind others when it comes to retraining. I think it's the same as people who refuse to move away from a town when industry there is shutting down.

wccrawford 15y ago

This is the situation apprenticeships and education were made for. Loss of low-level jobs only worries those who are unwilling to learn a trade skill. In the old days, that wasn't a problem because you could apprentice to a master and end up with one. These days, we don't seem to do that any more. We expect colleges to teach newcomers instead. And not everyone can afford college. We have interns, but by law, interns can't produce real output or you'll get your pants sued off. This prevents internships from being apprenticeships, where someone could earn a bare living and a learn a tradeskill, then move on to earning a good living with that new skill.

kokey 15y ago

The industrial revolution keeps on destroying low skill jobs, for the benefit of everyone overall. There is always a group of people who lose these jobs initially but in the long term it's never been that big problem for society after about 200 years of doing this. However, it won't hurt to be more proactive in helping people get retrained and move into other kinds of jobs. There is even some opportunity in offering a path for people who lose their jobs in one industry to get trained to work in other industries which has demand. I think the people who suffer the most are those who insist on trying to hold onto a type of job that is disappearing, being the last group to lose their jobs and being behind others when it comes to retraining. I think it's the same as people who refuse to move away from a town when industry there is shutting down.