Careers advice for children (not robots!!)

[NR22]

Hi, I just read this factsheet (99p - bit annoying, but some good info) its at
//www.runningontothespike.com

It's a bit scary....anyone else out there struggling with advising their children on what they should think about doing (that the robots won't be doing instead!!!?)

[MintChocAddict]

Have a look at //www.myworldofwork.co.uk and //www.digitalworld.net
Scottish websites but lots of good general info and free of charge!

[JustRichmal]

What jobs were your children thinking of doing that you are worried may not be there in the future?
They could always write articles on the internet and charge people to read them!

[2014newme]

Pub landlord and hairdressing are apparently the least likely to be automated so go for those. Plus you'll get free drinks and haircuts.

[user789653241]

Anything creative cannot be taken over by robots.

[corythatwas]

When I was a child in the 60s common wisdom had it that all jobs would have disappeared by the year 2000. And yet my SIL has still got her gardening and cleaning company, dd still serves coffee, db drives a ferry, dh until very recently spent a lot of time physically shovelling earth, and I still teach and write.

If I could give one piece of advice it would not be to try to second-guess exactly what the job market will look like in 30 years time, but to be flexible, develop an active learning style and just accept that you will probably have to change jobs several times during a lifetime.

[NR22]

Thanks - will do!

[NR22]

That's the problem....I don't know! Hard to give advice when it seems the world is about to be turned upside down - but I like the idea about the internet...maybe that's the answer

[JustRichmal]

Yes, and they don't need to be qualified, just opinionated.

They could always raise a zombie thread on mumsnet to publicise it., however that is against mumsnet rules!

[JG2989]

Hi

I work for a careers advice site called Success at School - I'm on here doing market research and came across this thread :) I'm very proud of the careers advice we put out and parents and schools tell us they like it: successatschool.org/

In the interests of balance, I can also recommend some of our competitors ;)

Prospects is very good and user friendly:
www.prospects.ac.uk/

There's some good content specifically for parents here:
www.allaboutschoolleavers.co.uk/parents

[CookieDoughKid]

anything creative cannot be taken over by robots

Google 'Aiva AI'

Aiva Technologies is one of the leading startups in the field of AI music composition. It was founded just last year in Luxembourg and London by Pierre Barreau, Denis Shtefan, Arnaud Decker, and Vincent Barreau.

They have created an AI called “Aiva” (Artificial Intelligence Virtual Artist) and taught it how to compose classical music – an emotional art which is usually considered to be a uniquely human quality. Aiva’s musical pieces are used as soundtracks for film directors, advertising agencies, and even game studios.

Here is a current job spec you can talk about in your schools:
www.aiva.ai/DeepLearningResearcher_form.pdf

[CookieDoughKid]

AI = artificial intelligence.

[Kazzyhoward]

All the trades are safe for the foreseeable future. We won't be seeing robots re-wiring your house, plumbing in a new ensuite, wallpapering your stairway, or re-plastering your ceiling any time soon!

Yes, of course, there'll be new technology in these areas, but that's more about the initial build (i.e. flatpack houses) rather than improvements/repairs to existing property.

[Kazzyhoward]

New technology changes the way things are done - it doesn't remove the work.

Take car repairs/servicing. Modern cars are fully computerised and diagnose their own faults. Car mechanics these days is more about replacing faulty communication cabling and replacing faulty circuit boards.

BUT, at the same time, fewer and fewer people do their own servicing and maintenance so instead of changing the oil themselves, fixing their own blown fuses, changing bulbs, etc., they take the car to the garage to have these (what used to be self doing simple jobs) done by the mechanic instead.

In my own profession, accountancy, things have changed out of all recognition due to computers, but the vast majority of businesses still use an accountant. We're still here, but we do out work in different ways today. Ever since I started in 1983, we've been told the accountancy profession will cease to exist due to everyone being able to do their own accounts and tax returns due to computerisation. In actual fact, if anything, as a profession, we're growing and busier than ever, quite simply because the IT bods have found it impossible to "automate" the entire tax/accountancy workflow, and some of the systems are so crap with data input being poor that accountants have to spend, if anything, more time rather than less!

[Ttbb]

The abilities of AI have been greatly over exaggerated. While it will make current roles more efficient cutting the number of supporting roles that are necessary it is unlikely that it will result in mass job losses or the disappearances of entire categories of jobs. It will also necessitate the creation of new roles in the tech and tech support industry.