As the economy continues to grow in the wake of the COVID pandemic, rising inflation and rising costs are becoming the new normal across all employment sectors.
While American workers are enjoying an unemployment rate below 4% and a huge wage hike that has doubled from 3% to 6% in the past year, corporations are desperate to cut costs. As labor costs continue to rise, companies have more and more incentives to look for a cheaper solution.
While automation has slowly replaced manufacturing jobs for decades, white-collar workers are also no longer safe. As artificial intelligence continues to advance, jobs may become redundant, whether they are in a skilled or unskilled profession, or even a profession that requires years of education.
The next jobs may still be recruiting, but many of these traditional jobs may disappear sooner than people think.
1. Financial analysts
A financial analyst typically collects data and evaluates it to identify economic trends, business opportunities, and investment recommendations, and evaluates the results of certain business decisions.
Financial software is now available that can read and analyze data just like humans, and often in just seconds and minutes. AI will eventually help businesses make critical financial decisions without having to spend countless hours modeling data in Excel spreadsheets.
2. Administrative and executive secretaries
More than 1.6 million secretarial and administrative assistant jobs have been lost since 2000, a nearly 40 percent decline.
Why is this job shrinking so fast? Technology has played a big role because it has allowed bosses to take on more work. The files are now electronic and easily accessible. Corporate executives often book tickets and make appointments themselves. They can also dictate their notes using voice recognition software that types them out for them, leaving little to no work for administrative staff.
Companies also find it much more cost-effective to outsource any remaining responsibilities to overseas companies.
3. Insurance underwriters and claims adjusters
Underwriters at insurance companies help assess risk and how high the potential for loss or profit is. This work will fall victim to artificial intelligence as software is available that can parse and interpret all data including unstructured text, images, audio and video and calculate payouts based on that information. Of course, software can also run much faster than a human.
4. Dispatchers
Dispatchers work in a variety of industries such as emergency services, pest control, plumbing and HVAC. Dispatchers typically work in situations where fast or urgent assistance or service is required. They coordinate the dispatch of employees to locations where customers are waiting.
With technologies such as sharing apps being used by companies like Uber and Lyft, the dispatcher no longer needs to be an intermediary. The technology will show employees where the next job is and let everyone else know they are on their way.
5. Accountants
With affordable basic accounting software, people can easily manage their business without hiring an accountant to keep track of their finances. Some software can even download bank account information and fill out simple tax forms. As technology becomes more sophisticated, small business owners will be happy to save money and manage their finances on their own.
6. Postal employees
It’s not just that postmen have run out of work, people prefer to receive and pay bills online, and handwritten writing is dead. Other jobs such as clerks, sorters and machine tool operators are also losing their jobs to technology. As machines take over the functions of the entire postal service system, some roles in this sector will become redundant.
7. Financial advisors and stock traders
The investment industry has eliminated thousands of jobs, and algorithms have replaced humans. The floor of the New York Stock Exchange went from thousands of traders to several hundred a few decades ago.
As people take on more research roles, they also find they need less financial advisors and pay high management fees to make investment decisions that they can make on their own through low-cost brokerage accounts.
8. Travel agents
Many people explore destinations and book everything from flights to hotels and tours on their own. With a wealth of information and the ability to make price comparisons easily accessible, booking an appointment to meet with a travel agent to arrange a vacation is a thing of the past for many people.
9. Production, construction and general labor
The labor sector is constantly under threat of automation. Robots have already replaced many monotonous jobs such as assembly lines and packers. In construction, machines will soon take up laborious and dangerous work. Many predict jobs like masons, crane operators and bulldozer drivers will quickly lose their jobs to AI-driven machines.
10. Librarians
While librarians are knowledgeable and willing to help, the days of asking where resources are and digging through countless books are over. But their role is still important for children. Librarianship has already become a digital space and children need help navigating and finding online resources as it can be tiring.
Despite this, schools have been steadily reducing the number of librarian positions in the United States.
11. Sales and telemarketing
Since people are always online, the way to get consumers to buy products or services is no longer to call them or convince them in a conversation. Now sales have become more visible, and the best way to attract the attention of the consumer is targeted advertising.
Algorithms track the movements of users on the Internet when they visit various websites and purchase certain products. Technologies can understand user preferences and place ads on computers and phones to encourage consumers to make purchases directly from their screens.
12. Translators
The use of artificial intelligence for translation services is becoming more and more popular. There is already software that helps translate text and documents into the target language. Many people, especially students, have used Google Translate which is easy to use and provides fast response.
However, the technology in this area is not yet perfect. While there may be less demand for full-time translators, they are more likely to take on the role of reviewers of technology-assisted translations.
13. Mortgage Brokers
As interest rates rise, fewer people are buying homes, pushing some mortgage brokers out of the market. But another reason for job losses is, of course, technology. People, especially the younger generation, prefer to find solutions on the Internet. They can go to a mortgage broker online and get a quick offer, saving them time and having to meet someone in person to get the same information.
14. Bank tellers and branch representatives
The number of bank tellers available at bank branches is already much smaller than a few decades ago. With telephone, online banking, and ATMs, there is no dire need for tellers and other representatives to be physically present at banks.
Many predict that bank branches will continue to close. The position of bank teller will eventually become a thing of the past as technology will soon take over opening accounts and processing loans.
15. Restaurant workers
Jobs for servers and fast food workers will soon be on the cutting board. Many restaurants already using electronic menus and ordering systems no longer require so many servers to walk around and take orders.
Robots that flip burgers have already appeared on the horizon and are in test mode. Labor shortages, low wages and the need for fast service are forcing fast food businesses to look elsewhere. Because fast food is a simple and repetitive job, making hamburgers and frying french fries can easily be outsourced to machines that will do the job in half the time.
16. Sports referees
The sport, already using instant replays and goal line technology, is proving to be much more reliable than humans in judging games on the pitch. Referees can also be abused by angry fans and players, whether they decide correctly or not.
Referee vacancies are likely to disappear soon as the technology is better than the naked eye and unlikely to be challenged.
What employees can do to prepare
While the future of these jobs is bleak, workers can open doors to new opportunities by learning about the technologies that have replaced them. Some machines require qualified personnel to operate and repair. Plus, many jobs won’t disappear anytime soon, such as plumbers, teachers, and software engineers. But before moving on to the next profession, check the job market and make sure the robot doesn’t steal your job.
