What do jobs of the future look like? Is technology going to replace human workers? The unfortunate answer is yes. Robots and technology are taking over certain jobs and it’s time to take notice of this. You need to be looking at and thinking about how your job could change due to technology. How will you handle this and pivot to a new job when and if this happens to you?

According to CBS News, at least 10 million U.S. jobs are at risk of being replaced by technology and automation in the next decades as companies continue to utilize machines to perform tasks at a faster pace than humans.

Fast-casual cooks face the most immediate chance of losing their jobs as more patents are being filed to automate tasks like grilling burgers, brewing coffee, etc. Cleaners, movers and warehouse workers are also in danger of losing their jobs. Retail salespeople are at medium risk, with 4.6 million of these jobs at risk, but this is only because there is a much more immediate risk of jobs being eliminated due to the increase in online shopping.

Doctors, nurses, firefighters, etc are at a low risk simply because patient-facing jobs are highly difficult to automate and 1.8 million truck drivers are also at lower risk because fully autonomous vehicles are still in early stages of research and development. As in recent news, Uber’s self-driving car was involved in a fatal accident which is prolonging the process of implementing automated cars.

While blue collar jobs are the most at risk, white collar jobs such as jobs on Wall Street, software developers and media professionals are all coping with how technology is changing their jobs. Wall Street firms are implementing the plan to use some kind of artificial intelligence, although a lot of these artificial intelligence plans require humans still, which is why these jobs are not fully at risk.

A few facts via CNBC:

·      Tech is transforming nearly every job in every industry

·      Nearly 1 million Americans will see their jobs disappear entirely by 2026

How to Prepare

As robots and technology begin to take over certain jobs, it is important that you are prepared for this job-pocalypse. One of the best ways to brace yourself for this big change is to tweak your collaboration and creativity skills, as this is something that will continue to grow in importance in the future workplace. Workers in the future will have less focus on tasks that can be performed by technology, like data collection and processing, and more on the things that robots cannot do – like making strategic decisions, and communicating within companies.

The key to being successful in a technology-driven world is to work with technology, not against it. Fine tune your creativity and find ways to implement technology into your job. Don’t compete with it – use it to better your work and you won’t find yourself being replaced by a machine. The key is to partner with technology, not fear it!