Are we being complacent about disappearing white collar jobs?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This has been reported on for years, its just finally hitting DC. You just didn't notice when it didn't affect your neighborhood as much.

This is one of the reasons why I don’t get the panic about declining birth rate. White collar jobs are declining, manufacturing jobs are declining, service jobs are also declining (look at your grocery store checkout!). Why should we have so many children when there won’t be jobs for them? The future is a smaller human population with more tech support.

+1

[Anonymous]

I am in my early 30s and I am so scared. Not sure what I will do if I literally can't get a job for most of my career.

[Anonymous]

I think it will affect the current generation more than future ones, just due to declining birth rates. Most of my friends only have one kid (my spouse and I do as well), many of them are childless. There will be fewer jobs but also fewer people.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am in my early 30s and I am so scared. Not sure what I will do if I literally can't get a job for most of my career.

I'm about to turn 40, DOGE is killing my field, and I feel the same. I don't even know what to advise my kids to study.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am in my early 30s and I am so scared. Not sure what I will do if I literally can't get a job for most of my career.

I'm about to turn 40, DOGE is killing my field, and I feel the same. I don't even know what to advise my kids to study.

This haunts meme. Which degrees are the new underwater basket weaving?

[Anonymous]

It's not just white collar jobs. Anyone earning a salary or wages is not viewed as human and can be discarded for any perceived inconvenience to a company. Tech is already talking about AI replacing 80% of employed people.

[Anonymous]

This is intentional (sped up what would have happened with AI anyway) - https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2025/04/trump-waging-war-professional-class/682409/

[Anonymous]

We will have to have UBI. If there is AI and robots, we can’t expect every human to work for money anymore.

[Anonymous]

Yes. Trump admin had specifically said they want us to work in factories.

All those government jobs were good jobs that they cut- lawyers, engineers, scientists.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We will have to have UBI. If there is AI and robots, we can’t expect every human to work for money anymore.

Agreed. But I feel like large swarms of people not working (even if being given UBI, health insurance, etc.) has other implications. What will people DO all day? Lots of people, myself included, sort of need the structure of a job.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes. Trump admin had specifically said they want us to work in factories.

All those government jobs were good jobs that they cut- lawyers, engineers, scientists.

No one who worked as a lawyer, engineer, or scientist is going to go work in a factory.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am in my early 30s and I am so scared. Not sure what I will do if I literally can't get a job for most of my career.

I'm about to turn 40, DOGE is killing my field, and I feel the same. I don't even know what to advise my kids to study.

Psychotherapy
Nursing
Creative Arts

A few other jobs wont be killed by AI

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes. Trump admin had specifically said they want us to work in factories.

All those government jobs were good jobs that they cut- lawyers, engineers, scientists.

No one who worked as a lawyer, engineer, or scientist is going to go work in a factory.

They have told us that they’re turning our work over to states to do. What? States don’t even have the personnel on staff or the money to want to do these things.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's not just white collar jobs. Anyone earning a salary or wages is not viewed as human and can be discarded for any perceived inconvenience to a company. Tech is already talking about AI replacing 80% of employed people.

Either we all don't work and enjoy the fruits of AI, or we all get fired and don't enjoy the fruits of AI, so we have to... do work for each other and enjoy the fruits of that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's not just white collar jobs. Anyone earning a salary or wages is not viewed as human and can be discarded for any perceived inconvenience to a company. Tech is already talking about AI replacing 80% of employed people.

They may fire 80% of employed people, but AI won't actually replace the things those people do. Every service and interaction will just get crappier due to bad AI chatbots, bad AI generated information, and endless loops where you can never talk to a person to sort it out. The efficiency will be theirs (in not paying salaries) not ours (in getting products and services anybody wants).