The future under AGI is likely to be so radically different—either a post-scarcity utopia or a catastrophic collapse—that optimizing personal wealth accumulation today is a wasted effort. The focus should be on short-term stability to maximize learning and adaptability for a world where current financial capital may be meaningless.

Instead of choosing a career based on its perceived "safety" from AI, individuals should pursue their passions to quickly become domain experts. AI tools augment this expertise, increasing the value of experienced professionals who can handle complex, nuanced situations that AI cannot.

Job security in the cognitive economy no longer depends on traditional skills but on the ability to leverage AI for multiplied output. Companies are already making hiring decisions based on this reality. Professionals must achieve deep, professional-level mastery of AI tools to remain valuable and employable.

Instead of predicting the exact arrival of AGI, focus your career planning on the period where your contributions will be most valuable. This shifts the focus from an abstract date to a practical, personal time horizon for action and skill-building, as advised by 80,000 Hours founder Ben Todd.

With frontier AI models doubling their autonomous task-handling capability every seven months, any specific tool or workflow will quickly become obsolete. The sustainable career advantage lies not in mastering one system, but in developing a habit of constant experimentation to adapt to the accelerating pace of change.

Hard skills like programming have a half-life of just 2.5-5 years. To future-proof your career, focus on developing transferable "durable skills" like agility, receiving feedback, and persuasion. This strategy makes you a versatile "general athlete" who can thrive in any future role.

Whether strong AI enhances or diminishes the value of your skills, the optimal response is to work harder. Either you capitalize on temporarily high wages before they fall, or you race to learn the new AI skills required to stay relevant. Both paths demand increased effort now.

To prepare for AI's career impact, Vanguard's chief economist advises using it as much as possible now. This not only increases your immediate productivity and value but also acts as an early warning system, revealing if your role is truly vulnerable to automation and giving you time to adapt.

Given the possibility of a rapid AI revolution, traditional long-term investments in human capital (e.g., a 40-year career path) may not pay off. Focusing on shorter payback periods and enjoying the present is a more rational strategy.