The correct answer is that it’s impossible to know, but we can look at what we know to get an idea. One thing we know is that technological innovations are happening faster and faster. From the 1940’s to the 1980’s, computers went from objects so large they required an entire room to be housed to desktop computers such as the early Macintosh. By the 1990’s and 2000’s, the invention of operating systems and wide-spread use of the internet transformed computers. By the 2010’s, people were using iPads and accessing the internet from almost anywhere, wirelessly.
I highlight computers because they have changed the work world more than any other technology in the past few decades. Database software has reduced or eliminated the need for storage of physical files. Word processing and communications software has reduced the need for administrative assistants. Industry-specific technology such as bar code processing has made companies like Wal Mart wildly successful, leaving others behind.
Asking what will happen in the future is inexact, but interesting to think about. When thinking about careers and what you want to pursue, considering what might happen to that field, how technology might affect its future, can help you foresee opportunities and threats. For example, what if someone decided to open a small business selling beepers in 1997? It probably wouldn’t have worked out.
This is the first in a series of blog posts relating to technological changes and how they affect jobs. If you’re interested in this topic, I recommend this article by Nobel Laureate Paul Krugman. It was written in 1996 from the prospective of someone living in 2096 reporting on changes in the last century (1996-2096). In the 16 years since it was written, many of the points hold true to what has actually happened.
Landon J. Latham
Career Educator
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