No one could have predicted 20 years ago that Social Media Manager would be a legitimate job title because the world wide web was only 5 years old at the time and social media was, at best, a dream in some visionary’s mind. The pace of innovation today has accelerated significantly, changing everything about the way we live and work along the way.
What role does advanced education play in a society where skills quickly become outdated? A big one. Precisely because technology has replaced a lot of low skill jobs, employers pay a premium for people with advanced skills. People who, for example, can help create autonomous vehicles or home bots like Alexa or the next medical breakthrough.
With the explosion of open source learning platforms like Cousera, Edx and MIT OpenCourseWare, one could argue that the need for a formal education is becoming obsolete but It really depends on both the area of expertise and how employers in that space ascribe credibility. For an indication of industries that might still require a degreed education, check out this study by Fortune Magazine where they examined 2000-plus work activities in every industry sector across the US economy to figure out which jobs are least likely to go to robots.
As you help your daughter navigate career choices over the next few years, be sure to dig deep on the intersection of her interests and our ever changing world.