Most people tend to focus on globalization as the primary
threat. Recent items in the press have noted that people are
specifically looking for jobs that can't be outsourced, while at
the same time manufacturing jobs continue to migrate to low wage
countries. While globalization and outsourcing are getting most
of the attention, the reality is that job automation probably
represents a bigger long term threat to most workers than
globalization. In addition, many people will be surprised to
learn that the threat from job automation is not going to be
limited to low skilled/low wage workers. While it is true that
robots and machines may someday take over many routine jobs in
supermarkets, warehouses and fast food restaurants, many people
who sit at desks using computers may be impacted even sooner.
The Best Future Jobs will be Jobs that are Protected from both
Automation and GlobalizationThe New York Times recently had a
story entitled Beware, Humans. The Era of Automation Software
Has Begun. Sophisticated softw