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> Which is true, but it’s true as long as it’s not true. It also isn't true. The story of the last 50 years has been that technology, especially computer and c
by rayiner 6mo ago
> Which is true, but it’s true as long as it’s not true.
It also isn't true. The story of the last 50 years has been that technology, especially computer and communications technology, has facilitated the concentration of wealth. The skilled work got computerized, or outsourced to India or China. That left U.S. workers with service jobs where they have much lower impact on P&L and thus much less leverage.
In my field, we used to have legal secretaries and law librarians and highly experienced paralegals. They got paid pretty well and had pretty good job security because the people who brought in the revenue interacted with them daily and relied on them. Now, big firms have computerized a lot of that work and consolidated much of the rest into centralized off-site back-office locations. Those folks who got downsized never found comparable work. They didn't, and couldn't, go work for WestLaw to maintain the new electronic tools. The law firms also held on to many of them until retirement or offered them early retirement packages, and then simply never filled the positions. It used to be a pretty solid job for someone with an associates degree, and it simply doesn't exist anymore.
The only thing keeping the job market together is the explosion in healthcare workers. My Gen-Z brother and sister in law are both going into those fields. In a typical tertiary American city, the largest employers are the local hospital and perhaps a university or community college. Both of those get most of their revenue directly or indirectly from the government. It's not clear to me how that's sustainable.
- bilbo0s 6mo ago>It's not clear to me how that's sustainable If it makes you feel better, I'm pretty sure it isn't sustainable. (But I'm not an economist so take that with a block of salt.) I don't think anyone has the answers. It's just some of us are honest enough to concede we have no answers, while others promote an answer that aligns best with their belief system. "It'll all work out." "It's the immigrants/blacks/jews/whatever dragging us down." "Nothing's going to happen and we can all continue doing the work we always have." "Burn the rich." Etc etc. Not a lot of serious attempts out there at even getting a hand on the issues, let alone fixing the issues.
- braebo 6mo agoSocialism has been the answer since I was born in the 90s and the V shaped economy took hold. We have enough resources for everyone to have food, shelter, education, and healthcare without the need to extract value from their labor. All of these problems are self inflicted wounds. The solution is for humanity to stop stabbing itself and care for itself instead. The solution is to let go of greed and embrace our humanity.
- vips7L 6mo agoHealthcare really seems like the only safe direction anymore. They're needed and a human is still required to physically do it.
- upupupandaway 6mo agoMy wife is a nurse and keeps in touch with her school professors. They said that the number of people flooding into healthcare careers is more than most colleges can handle, and is starting to cause supply glut in some roles.
- vips7L 6mo agoIf I was younger it’s what I would do tbh. Engineering, CS, and anything else white collar has such a foggy future right now. No chance would I risk going into something that might have wages suppressed or mass lay offs within a decade. And honestly 3 twelve hour shifts doesn’t sound that bad compared to 5 days a week of corporate bullshit.