this post was submitted on 24 Jan 2024
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I'm sure those 1,000 people will have no problem finding work... Once all the other places are done with their layoffs and AI has filled in the gaps, and... Welp, maybe i have to reconsider that first statement 😬
best advice for anyone looking for work these days is to learn a trade. I'm sure the drive for unimpeded profits will eventually crater even those types of jobs through AI and automation, just not as soon.
You know, I ignored my interest in programming for many years, instead opting for a trade, specifically aviation maintenance. I went to school for 2 years for it, passed tests, got licensed, got otj, got taxi quals, engine run certified, and a whole host of stuff.
I also broke my body doing it for $18, after years and years and years, I finally made $25 an hour, whoopie.
I worked around hazardous chemicals, dangerous equipment, high voltage electricity. I stood on concrete floors all day busting my knuckles.
I fell off a ladder and smashed my face on a keel beam, requiring I get stitches. I saw other people get much more hurt than that.
I did all of this with the constant pressure that if I fuck my job up, people are going die, and I will go to jail.
I went back to school, got a job as a software engineer at a midsize company that never is in the news and you have never heard of, and get to sit at home and make 3 times the salary. There are 10 other companies in the same block as mine that have 3-400 hundred person engineering teams, there are lots of jobs for developers outside of the silicon valley bubble, we mostly just hang out and do our thing.
Until trades start paying more, it's just not worth it. I'm sure someone will come in and say that they are a plumber and make $1000 an hour or something, but I can say, there were 500 people in the facility I worked at with the same qualifications as me making the same $18.
Hot damn, well that's certainly not what i was trying to advise but i wasn't very specific either. On top of that, I'm in a unique position having been born in a family that would go on to start their own repair biz. I've injured myself on the job no doubt. Made big dumb expensive mistakes, to boot. Never had to expose myself to some of the risks you mentioned though, and my pay is definitely higher than that--but only after having been at it for over 20 years between apprenticing and leveling-up to professional, whenever that happened. Being self-employed is absolutely amazing though, if anyone should be fortunate enough to get a chance like i did. Can't get laid off from your own job! But you're also on the hook for your own insurances, you have to establish a good rep and uphold it, keep a current inventory, juggle appointments daily, drive a lot, paperwork aplenty, etc etc etc, the headaches are plentiful... And I'm still not getting rich doing all this work, either so it's hard to really advocate that strongly for my occupation i guess.
I think my response was more directed at how so many companies are executing layoffs lately. Aren't a lot of these people programmers as well?
I'm betting AI will "fill the gaps" for a while until profits start to drop due to AI not being ready for primetime in most capacities. Then they'll start hiring back real people to fix the damage for a few years before trying it all over again.
If AI could do all the work of engineers, the engineers would be using it right now to do their job, while relaxing on the sofa and getting paid.
I'm sure some enterprise jobs could be automated though. Stuff like filling in excel sheets with the same things every day.
I've already seen this. If you know some programming and not a software person, you can probably automate a good chunk of your work
preferably a unionized trade, more staying power...