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Spoiler: this comment does not technically answer OP's question. Many of the answers in this thread talk about skills where AI seems unlikely to have any direc

Spoiler: this comment does not technically answer OP's question. Many of the answers in this thread talk about skills where AI seems unlikely to have any direct sort of impact at all (like plumbing). In my opinion, that could easily end up being technically correct but exactly wrong in spirit (assuming the ultimate goal is to have a good job). It's somewhat likely that AI-augmented or AI-enabled professions become so ludicrously profitable that any other profession becomes barely livable. Instead of trying to avoid AI it might make more sense to ride the wave. Dive right into some industry that's undergoing upheaval, work for AI-powered startups, learn about the technology, and meet the future head-on. I don't want to sound too "gung ho", I'm a software engineer who feels like my profession will be radically different in less than 10 years and I'm genuinely worried about staying relevant. But I think "staying relevant" is probably a better strategy than trying to get out of way.

Turing_Machine 3y ago
> It's somewhat likely that AI-augmented or AI-enabled professions become so ludicrously profitable that any other profession becomes barely livable. It doesn't matter how much money you make. When your sewer backs up, someone has to fix it, and that person is gonna charge what the market will bear. If the professions become ludicrously profitable, the trades are going to increase their rates accordingly.
- red-iron-pine 3y ago
  the electricians around Ashburn, VA who service data centers get paid more than most of my network engineers. their boss got paid more than I did as a manager, if I believe the scuttlebutt they told us. hard work, on site -- i'm sitting pretty at home typing this -- and no real upwards growth, but there's big money in NoVA data centers and the tradesmen's pay reflects that.
- ben_w 3y ago
  Lots of people think 13 is an unlucky number, so don't pick it on lotteries. But enough people know this fact to outnumber the superstitious, so it's actually one of the most chosen numbers. (Source: vague memory, as web searches give me "most drawn numbers" rather than "most popular numbers"). It's widely known that robots have bad vision and hand eye coordination, thus a common recommendation is to learn trade skills such as plumbing. I suspect that means there will be an over-supply of plumbers. Everyone needs food, too — much more critical to fix when it goes wrong than is sewage — but farming doesn't make you rich.

Turing_Machine 3y ago

> It's somewhat likely that AI-augmented or AI-enabled professions become so ludicrously profitable that any other profession becomes barely livable. It doesn't matter how much money you make. When your sewer backs up, someone has to fix it, and that person is gonna charge what the market will bear. If the professions become ludicrously profitable, the trades are going to increase their rates accordingly.

red-iron-pine 3y ago
the electricians around Ashburn, VA who service data centers get paid more than most of my network engineers. their boss got paid more than I did as a manager, if I believe the scuttlebutt they told us. hard work, on site -- i'm sitting pretty at home typing this -- and no real upwards growth, but there's big money in NoVA data centers and the tradesmen's pay reflects that.
ben_w 3y ago
Lots of people think 13 is an unlucky number, so don't pick it on lotteries. But enough people know this fact to outnumber the superstitious, so it's actually one of the most chosen numbers. (Source: vague memory, as web searches give me "most drawn numbers" rather than "most popular numbers"). It's widely known that robots have bad vision and hand eye coordination, thus a common recommendation is to learn trade skills such as plumbing. I suspect that means there will be an over-supply of plumbers. Everyone needs food, too — much more critical to fix when it goes wrong than is sewage — but farming doesn't make you rich.