The technical revolution has been here. We have all heard of the blue-collar jobs being replaced by technology that can do those jobs more efficiently without the headaches of having to interact with the human work force. When the company replaces a man with a machine, they no longer pay wages, health insurance, benefits or worry about being sued for work place injuries or over employment issues. If you are in your 40s and 50s you heard about this growing up. It was one of the primary reasons your parents pushed you towards college. A college diploma was the key to job security and higher income. If you specialized, even better – you won’t be replaced by a machine.
The 80’s are over and in 2021 every industry is at risk of being replaced by AI. We have programs that drive cars that can replace truckers, AI that can fill prescriptions that can replace pharmacists, programs that can determine which defendants are more suitable to bail which can replace judges. NO ONE IS IMMUNE
This shift has been happening over the last few decades, and as the technology gets better it will happen faster and faster. When it happens in your industry it will be a shock to those that have not prepared themselves to diversify their talents and skills into something else. Now at the age of 40 or 50 you have to re-tool, and its a rude awakening that the education (that you just finished paying for or you are still paying for) is no longer enough. Your competition is young, tech savvy and world wide.
If you are that six-figure specialist (like I am) you are the most at risk for tech. You are narrowly good at one thing and not broadly ok at multiple things. The day tech can do your job better than you are obsolete. Meanwhile, you have a mortgage, kids in school wanting to go to college, and a lifestyle you can no longer afford. How do you redirect?
This exact issue is why I created Professional After 40. I am a plaintiff’s personal injury attorney by trade. I focus on auto and 18-wheeler wrecks and medical malpractice. These forms of practice are in jeopardy from the development of technology. Self driving cars and trucks will mean less human error and less collisions. The community will be safer in the long run due to less wrecks, but my primary source of income will become scarce and the competition to represent the injured in those collisions will be fierce. Additionally, it is likely that the laws will change. Immunity for collisions cause by self-driving vehicles is a definite possibility. Immunity means no litigation which will have a drastic impact on the need for legally trained professionals in this area.
Medical Malpractice is another practice area that is likely to see immense changes in the next few years. With the call for government run medicine, the potential for governmental immunity for doctors and hospitals that are negligent in their care of patients is a real possibility.
Many if you are thinking – yeah, but you’re a lawyer, you can just go start a different type of practice. There are hundreds of thousands of personal injury lawyers across the nation. If they all lost their means of income at one time and tried to re-gear towards another field those fields would be flooded over night. More and more lawyers that are younger, smarter, and more tech savvy come out of law school every day. We have to be prepared to transition our skills into other fields besides law.
How many of you have taken a hard look at your profession in the face of the advent of new technology and world-wide competition. How long will it be before your job is on the chopping block? What have you done to prepare yourself for a new future? Join us at ProAfter40.com and Professional After 40 on Facebook to face these challenges together. If you job is being threatened by technology, leave us a comment and tell us about it.
Professional After 40 
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