Okay, so picking a career right now feels like trying to build a sandcastle during a windstorm. While that might sound so weird, everything is so unpredictable! Constantly, you’re hearing techbros talk about how AI is going to take over the world, CEOs are literally bragging about layoffs, no real attention to the giant climate issue it’s causing, well, that and the copyright issues too. Don’t forget about the whole financial aspect.
Sure, everyone knows a bubble will burst, but tech companies are doing anything and everything in their power to inflate it and ignore the burst. But getting back on track here, it’s so hard to find a job, it’s so hard to find a career, a good chunk of countries are in civil unrest, unrest in politics, the economy, the entertainment, just unrest everywhere. Alright, so not to doom and gloom here, it’s hard to pick a career where you know things will last.
Like those who went into something creative (or even not-so-creative), well, those jobs seem to slowly become obsolete. So yeah, there needs to be some future-proofing here, because it feels hard to go all into a career when you don’t even know if it will still be around in a couple of years.
Pick Skills That Move With You
So, the problem here is that a lot of people get stuck because they’ve got super-narrow skills. Like, very hyper-specific “this only works in this exact job at this exact company under these exact circumstances” skills. It’s not always the person at fault; sometimes it was just the employer that they worked for. But yeah, that’s usually the kind of thing that doesn’t survive layoffs or tech shifts. So, just keep in mind that portable skills are the ones that save you.
But what does that even mean, though? Well, it’s communication, problem solving, analysis, risk assessment, organization, teaching others, understanding people, well, these are just a few to name. But yeah, basically anything that helps you pivot from one role to another without feeling like you’re restarting your whole life.
Go For Careers That Get Stronger When Tech Evolves
Which might sound confusing because jobs that are heavy in tech are going to be replaced by tech, though, right? A lot of CEOs and techbros say that, there’s no denying that, but CEOs (and honestly techbros too), will say anything to look good and get those stocks and sales up. But yeah, the second AI improves, those fields start sweating. Those are not the careers you want. But for the career that’s stable, you want to be excited that AI and tech are improving.
So, a great example here would be cybersecurity; it might be the best example of them all. Yeah, think about it; every single time tech gets fancier, the problems get messier. Which is exactly why people choose things like an online Master of Cyber Security, because it’s one of those fields that expands every time the internet gets a little more unhinged. Plus, with AI, deepfakes, social engineering, all those things, this is only going to go up in value, just you wait.
Watch How Industries Handle Panic
While this might sound a bit silly, this is probably one of the best indicators if a career is unstable. If an industry completely melts down every time something changes, that’s a red flag. Which, sure, should sound extremely obvious at this point. So, it can be tech changes, political oriented changes, economic changes, you get the idea. Look at both major companies and small ones in industries to get an idea of the stability too.
Thanks for stopping by!
Magda
xoxo