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Predicting the future of jobs

Posted at 5:39 PM, May 01, 2017
and last updated 2017-05-01 18:39:33-04

Growing up we are all asked as kids, what do you want to be when you grow up? Some said, a doctor, a teacher or even an astronaut. We decided to ask a group of 6 year olds the same question. Many of them gave similar answers. But, a recent study shows 6 out of every 10 kids will grow up to take a job that doesn’t even exist yet. You’re probably asking yourself, what are those jobs that don’t exist?

We wanted to know too, so we went to the man who knows best. His name is Thomas Frey and he is known as Google’s top futurist. Frey and his team gather and analyze data to better predict the future.

Frey says, jobs like an accountant will still be around in 10 to 20 years, but the tools we use to do that job will be vastly different.

Driverless cars are rapidly approaching and that means new jobs will be coming, but Frey says, that also means old jobs will be dwindling.

“We’re not going to have traffic cops, traffic cars, people writing insurance policies for cars or rental car industries.”

Frey assures us that there’s no such thing as a robot-apocalypse, but we should be ready for our old jobs to change. “One of the things we’ve learned is that entire jobs don’t go away, we’re automating tasks out of existence," says Frey.

He says the number one job of the future is that of a “hustler.” It’s all about adapting to whatever future technology and changes come our way.