The perceived instability of tech and corporate jobs due to AI is driving a re-evaluation of career security. Parents and Gen Z now see skilled trades as a viable path to entrepreneurship, believing a "trade entrepreneur" has more long-term security than a typical tech employee.
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The traditional concept of a safe, stable job is obsolete due to AI. Playing "prevent defense" by sticking to a safe role makes you vulnerable. The only true security comes from going on "offense"—proactively learning new skills, especially AI, and building your own opportunities.
The perception of a 'desirable career' is shifting from a mandatory four-year degree to one that simply provides a family-sustaining wage and personal enjoyment. As skilled trades now often pay better than entry-level knowledge jobs, the long-held stigma against them is eroding.
As AI automates jobs, widespread unemployment will compel individuals to start their own small businesses to survive. This shift marks a return to self-reliance and entrepreneurship driven by necessity rather than ambition, echoing a past economic structure.
Large companies will increasingly use AI to automate rote tasks and shrink payrolls. The safest career path is no longer a stable corporate job but rather becoming an "n of 1" expert who is irreplaceable or pursuing a high-risk entrepreneurial venture before the window of opportunity closes.
AI will primarily threaten purely cognitive jobs, but roles combining thought with physical dexterity—like master electricians or plumbers—will thrive. The AI-driven infrastructure boom is increasing demand and pushing their salaries above even those of some Silicon Valley engineers.
AI is rapidly automating knowledge work, making white-collar jobs precarious. In contrast, physical trades requiring dexterity and on-site problem-solving (e.g., plumbing, painting) are much harder to automate. This will increase the value and demand for skilled blue-collar professionals.
The traditional path to a four-year degree is becoming less secure as AI automates entry-level knowledge work. This trend increases the demand, stability, and compensation for skilled trades like plumbing and carpentry, which are resistant to automation.
Most AI applications are designed to make white-collar work more productive or redundant (e.g., data collation). However, the most pressing labor shortages in advanced economies like the U.S. are in blue-collar fields like welding and electrical work, where current AI has little impact and is not being focused.
AI lowers the barrier to building products, empowering students to pursue entrepreneurship over traditional jobs. They can leverage AI to create ventures without needing large engineering teams, reframing the "AI will take jobs" fear into an "AI will create entrepreneurs" opportunity.
Automation is hollowing out the labor market from both ends. Robots are replacing low-skill manufacturing jobs, while AI is automating high-skill knowledge work. For now, the most resilient jobs are skilled trades requiring high physical dexterity in unpredictable environments, like plumbing or electrical work.
