In the beginning of the 21st century, the internet started introducing us to the newest technological advancements of the world. However, even in those times, nobody would have thought that a software code could take away their job. Fast forward to 2017 and you find scores of people threatened by technology. The same technology that makes your smartphone an inseparable part of your life could also take away your bread and butter.
The World Economic Forum stated that 5 million jobs will be lost to technology by 2020. However, it is only the net figure. In reality, more than 7 million jobs will be lost and only 2 million new jobs will be created. These new jobs will be geared towards new technology and most people who lose their jobs will not fit into the new job profiles. This means that the impact of this changing job market would be felt far and wide.
What do people think?
Technology companies are excited that they can create robots, devices, and programs that could likely decrease the use of human resource in their organization. This will help them in saving costs without having to worry about providing sick leaves to their employees. Machines and programs can work 24×7 and would need a smaller workforce for maintenance.
Bidvine conducted a survey with 1,228 participants to understand the public perception of technology and job loss. They asked people about the likelihood of the extinction of different job profiles. They found that 5 jobs- taxi drivers, educators, cashiers, tube drivers and journalists, have received the maximum votes. Of these, taxi drivers received a staggeringly high vote share i.e. 36%. This is because driverless cars have become the latest obsession among many technology companies and car manufacturers.
The advent of fintech, online publications, citizen journalism and social media will drastically affect our jobs market with many people having to move away from careers they have followed for years. It is a common misconception that manual labor or less-skilled jobs will be removed first because of technology. It is wrong. Even the jobs of educators and journalists are not safe, even though they thrive mainly on human interactions and years of expertise.
We talked to the CEO of Bidvine, Sohrab Jhampani about this anomaly in the results. He said, “Technology is going to continue to play a leading role in pushing change forward, and just like the Industrial Revolution in the 18th century, we’re likely to see jobs change rapidly in order to keep up.”
He mentioned that local services like handymen, repairmen, plumbers, painters etc. are not going to be affected at such a large scale.
If you are driving a taxi for a living, you might have to rethink your job options. A side business or a pivot in the career at the right time could be helpful for you in the long run. Though the jobs are not running out immediately, they will eventually be lost. It will be wise to find other businesses or job opportunities and seek growth elsewhere before the technology epidemic steals your job.