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The Era of Self-Employment Has Dawned

The world of business is similar to the cycle of evolution: it has always been survival of the fittest.

By Andrea DawsonPublished 7 years ago 3 min read
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There were more than a few cataclysmic events that almost wiped out every living thing on the planet. Have you ever watched movies like Jurassic Park and wondered to yourself, How could mankind ever make this far if the dinosaurs hadn't been erased from the earth?

The world of business is similar to the cycle of evolution: it has always been survival of the fittest. Instead of super volcanoes or massive commits destroying companies and subsequently jobs, it is technology in its numerous forms.

At this moment, we are seeing technologies like Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning totally obliterating the job market. Unlike the manufacturing sector who saw robots take factory jobs, virtual robots are now leaving no job safe. Robots are even doing surgery on human patients now.

Start Thinking Like an Entrepreneur

All the way back in 2012, Harvard wrote an article about a Wharton MBA and GE alum named Ed Trevisan. He manages projects for Fortune 500 companies and advises executives concerning potential mergers, investment strategies, management changes and operational issues. He does all of this on a temporary basis as an independent contractor.

Trevisan is what is referred to these days as a super-temp, and these savvy business minded people belong to the “free-agent nation." We could go on and on about how this type of trend began, with some claiming that the Great Recession of 2008 that swept the globe was the catalyst. Even though that is most likely, there were actually a lot of reasons the workforce changed so drastically and continues to change.

As tedious jobs are replaced by machines and algorithms, it's looking as if only those with specialized skills will be able to make it the job market of the future. People are going to have dig deep within themselves and harness that inner entrepreneur. If one doesn't exist, they had better create one.

The Bleak Future of the Job Market

Oxford university economists Dr. Carl Frey and Dr. Michael Osborne predicted that around 40 percent of jobs now done by humans will be taken over by machines by 2050. It is being called the robot revolution.

Not all jobs can be done by a machine - they can't do jobs that require negotiation, creativity, or simply plain old human spunk. Having specific creative and communicative skill sets in the future will make you a highly valuable resource for organizations. Take content marketing: it's true there are machines that can create content. But when you compare that machine created content to content written by a human, you will see the difference.

Using machines to report on news, weather, or sporting events makes sense. The information provided is factual and to the point - no need for fancy, creative language style. Yet, not all content benefits the reader if it is done without that special human touch - that touch that connects to our emotions.

That is just one, very simple example out of many. The point is, it will be creative and emotional intelligence that will rule the job market of the future.

Preparing for the Future

I love this: "Left-side brainers, your time is up." How true that is! Industries don't need analytical thinkers anymore. Machines are taking over all of the analytical tasks. Look across the web and you'll find hundreds of articles covering how accounting jobs are threatened - one of the most analytical jobs out there. Even bankers are being threatened by decentralised ledgers such as Blockchain.

Michael O. Cooper wrote, "As fast-paced innovation surges to amazing new heights and procedural thinking wanes, the demand for creative thinking grows exponentially. What we find we need more of is a playful, creative, forward-thinking approach to business and technology. More than any other time in human history, the most effective work is being done by right-brainers and out-of-the-box thinkers."

Cooper continues to explain that for creatives to be ready for the new job market, they must develop leadership and managerial skills they may never thought was necessary before. This is because creatives are usually more emotionally intelligent, and this what is needed to work with people - working with people is the key here.

In 2017, more and more people are finding themselves either working from home as a remote employee, or they are working from anywhere as a freelancer or super-temp. All it takes is finding good NBN plans to keep the internet fired up, buying a great coffee machine, turning one of your rooms into an office, and you're all set to conquer the new “free-agent nation."

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About the Creator

Andrea Dawson

A fitness blogger and a personal trainer.

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