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Historically, employers made the baccalaureate, and in some cases advanced degrees, the gateway to an interview. If you did not hold the sheepskin, you would not get in the door. But times have changed. Rapidly advancing technologies such as artificial intelligence, big data analytics, robotics and the advent of quantum computing have created an environment in which much of what is learned in college becomes outdated in a few short years.
Discussing the future of work is complicated because of its multifaceted nature. The way we work in the future will be affected by everything from policy and education to technology and the risks associated with innovation. Technology’s role in the workplace is particularly controversial, as many people are concerned about artificial intelligence (AI) and automation taking over jobs. A report from the Brookings Institution (via AP News ), for example, claimed that about 36 million Americans work in jobs with a high risk of becoming automated.
The robots are here. A new study shows that firms that adopt robots see large increases in productivity and displace less innovative firms. But there is a problem. Robots are different from other types of capital investments. They perform tasks without direct or constant human interaction. Thus, robots can replace humans in the production process. Some studies suggest that as much as 47% of total U.S. employment could be automated. The question is this good or bad for workers.
As the U.S. unemployment rate dips to the lowest it's been in a half-century, Americans seeking work can find opportunities in the booming health care and technology sectors in 2019. Those two areas were the leaders among the top 10 jobs over the past six months, according to a report released Thursday by job search company Monster.
In an increasingly digital jobs landscape, technology skills are critical to continued growth; however, the skills gap continues to rise. The U.S. does not have enough people ready to step in and fill these high-paying jobs. In my 20-plus years of recruitment, primarily in the IT space, this has been a common refrain. Despite ongoing changes in technology, a gap remains between the roles companies are trying to fill and the amount of available talent.
A college education is still considered a pathway to higher lifetime earnings and gainful employment for Americans. Nevertheless, two-thirds of employees report having regrets when it comes to their advanced degrees, according to a PayScale survey of 248,000 respondents this past spring that was released Tuesday.
Oxford Economics said greater use of robots will eliminate up to 20 million manufacturing jobs around the world in the next decade. Lots of service-oriented jobs largely immune from automation in the past could also be taken up by machines. Yet the rise of robots will create just as many -- if not more -- opportunities as it extinguishes, according to the report. Oxford contends the robot revolution will deliver a $5 trillion increase in global wealth that ends up creating millions of new jobs.
Robots are getting better at doing human jobs. That's probably good for the economy -- but there are some serious downsides, too. Machines are expected to displace about 20 million manufacturing jobs across the world over the next decade, according to a report released Wednesday by Oxford Economics, a global forecasting and quantitative analysis firm.
Faculty in the STEM fields are powerful forces in shaping engineering and computing education--the profession’s essential source of training and skills development. But even as the number of students pursuing science and engineering doctorates has increased dramatically, there has been a steep decline in candidates interested in pursuing academic careers.
The nation is suffused in enthusiastic talk about career and technical education. Policymakers ranging from President Trump to Joe Biden to Bernie Sanders have called for more schooling that can equip students for in-demand, middle-class jobs. Well, a lot of the discussion is driven by advocates, academics and elected officials. It seems useful to ask those with a track record of actually doing this work what they think.