The Future Will Likely Eradicate This List Of Jobs That Somehow Still Exist Today
Redditors were called into action for their theories on which jobs won't exist in 10-20 years.
Some jobs hang on long after the world has stopped needing them, and that is exactly what this list is about. From old-school service roles to jobs that technology keeps pushing aside, people in the comments are naming the work they think is on borrowed time.
The conversation is full of nostalgia, frustration, and a little bit of humor, as users point out everything from newspaper routes to switchboard operators. A few even mention jobs they do themselves, which makes the whole thing feel a lot more personal.
Here are the jobs people think are headed for extinction, sooner rather than later.
1. What's this job called?
Hopefully, that job where a person stands in the men's room of a bar, squirting soap into your hands and handing you a paper towel, expecting a tip. I don’t hate the person who does that job, but I loathe the fact that it exists and that I’m forced to choose between wasting money, looking like a jerk and stiffing the person, or taking the loophole and not washing my hands.
Some jobs survive mostly out of habit.
2. Do they exist now?
Video store employees.
3. Actual newspapers in general.
It’s me again, just lonely here, thinking about the paperboy, wondering when he’s going to bring me some good news.
That one hit a nerve for anyone who remembers print deliveries.
4. Just like Myspace!
Any job related to Facebook.
5. Cold calling people for sales at all.
My current job may not exist in five years, so I am not sure that counts.I sell reference titles over the phone, specifically print reference titles. I suspect that with the current flow of technology, this company may only be around for another three to five years.
That uncertainty is doing a lot of work here.
6. Bahahaha the sticker slapper.
Ever watch “How It’s Made” and see this complicated machine literally piecing together and building some kind of intricate product? There are arms grabbing, lasers cutting, belts moving things, and just miracle after miracle of modern automation. Then there’s this person who moves the finished product into a box and slaps a label on it. And the viewer wonders why they need a person to do that menial step? That job doesn’t stand a chance.
It’s like Jason Biggs updating fans on whether “American Pie 5” will ever happen.
7. FOR REAL!
That person you have to wait a week for from the cable company just to plug in a box for an exorbitant fee.Edit: Everyone… tell me how much this bums you out…rubs nipples
8. Do you even know anyone that has a BlackBerry now?
BlackBerry tech support.
9. Will we all be couch potatoes?
I hope jobs in general won’t exist in 10-20 years. Wall-E.Edit: Oh my… what have I started.
The thread gets a little more dramatic from here.
10. This means Uber too.
Taxi drivers. Hopefully, in 20 years, autonomous cars will mean we can go to the pub, get drunk, and drive home safely. The computerized cars might have to be programmed to understand slurred words and mistyped commands, though!
11. I can name a list of other dying breed jobs.
Mine. I am a switchboard operator, a dying breed.
12. Why is this even a thing anyway?
Toll collectors.
13. This is scary.
Train engineers. My father is one and complains about the newer remote-controlled trains taking jobs every day.
14. Way less sketchy.
Weed dealers will become obsolete quite soon.Edit: Weed dealers, as we currently know them, will be obsolete. They’ll be forever more convenient and less sketchy.
15. This one breaks my heart into a million pieces.
I’m really sad to say this - but I hope that libraries are still operational in 10-20 years. Maybe bookstores too.I think that while everybody says, ‘No way, books will be around forever, blablabla,’ there is also the fact that libraries run on public funding, and there has been legislation that continuously cuts hours and shuts down libraries.
Some of these jobs feel more fragile than others.
Which one hit you the hardest?
Do you agree or disagree?
Let us know in the comments!
Still think your job could disappear next, check out the “robot” phone with an AI “super brain” racing the iPhone 7e.
