Is Now the Best Time for a Career Shift?

According to an unmudl.com article earlier this year, “the average person will switch careers 3-7 times over their working lives. 30% of the workforce will now change vocations or jobs every 12 months due to the ever-increasing variety of employment options.” This shows that the job market is ever-changing, providing new opportunities but also introducing greater risks of qualifications obsolescence. One critical disrupter is technology. A new technological advancement, Artificial Intelligence (AI), is having a monumental effect on everything and it includes the career field.  It has evolved from the automation of tasks using robotics to more sophisticated applications such as driverless cars. Initially, it disrupted many labor-intensive, repetitive roles, but now, recent technological advancements are increasingly impacting knowledge workers. 

Korn Ferry released an article stating that one in four people want to change their careers by the end of the year, but ChatGPT, a Generative Artificial Intelligence technology that emulates human creativity, may be standing in their way. In the banking industry, for instance, the war for tech talent has cooled off significantly, in part because AI can handle many of the software development and coding tasks engineers were being hired to do. A Forbes article also addressed the fear of AI taking over all marketing roles and how “lightning-fast emergence of natural language processing tools driven by artificial intelligence that seem almost humanlike when you chat with them.”   

nextSource’s take: At this point, AI does not yet have to capability to create an original thought or idea.  It is not capable of strategic decision-making. However, properly applied, it can be used to increase operational effectiveness and create new career opportunities. As we move forward, virtually all roles will require the mastery of technology. Consider your current career path, determining ways in which it may be re-imagined by the application of technology. Proactively build experience in the use of the technologies that will drive change. And build a roadmap for your career.