FUTURE SHOCK

Exploring the Employment Trends of the Future

I was at a recruiting conference in San Diego in early 2004. The keynote speaker, Alvin Toffler, is a "futurist." He wrote Future Shock in the 1980’s and makes a living out of following economic and demographic trends to predict the future.

Alvin said some things during his speech that really resonated. He said that there were three different "ages" or "revolutions" in how people earn their living. The first major change was the transition to an agricultural society. The second major change was moving from agricultural to cities (the industrial age). The third is the current change from industrial age to information age.

The Future is a dangerous place, but the present could be even worse

As we leave the industrial age behind, we are also saying goodbye the following industrial-age concepts:

  • Lifetime employment (or even long-term employment)
  • Pension plans (companies are no longer providing your retirement funds or medical expenses)
  • Retiree Medical (companies no longer providing this. You will have to provide for your own)
  • Social Security (clearly in trouble)

Clearly, the days of the company taking care of you from cradle to grave are over. Yet I see thousands of people every year clinging stubbornly to these concepts. The future will only take them kicking and screaming. Those people, I fear, will be left behind as penniless victims of change.

Why include this section in a job search site?

I’m providing this page on self-employment options for two reasons. First, I think this would be of interest to many of our readers here at Free Resume Help. Many have been laid off and are tired of being at the mercy of other people’s decisions.

Secondly, in the Information Age, more and more (and more and more) people will become self-employed or will work more flexibly from their homes. This is where much of the future big opportunity will lie. Alvin Toffler agreed that this would be a large trend. Those who are prepared for the future are much less likely to be victimized by it. Those who are willing to swim the waters of self-employment will have access to the best rewards.

Isn't Self-Employment Risky?

Noting the bullet trends above and the heartless layoffs, I would suggest that having all your eggs in the "employee" basket is the riskiest choice of all. It's those who are at least partially self-employed, those who have several sources of income, who will be positioned best to enjoy the benefits of the coming information age.

Conclusion

I hope the resources provided in the Self-Employment Ideas section are useful to you. As time goes on, I hope to expand this section into a much larger resource. Read through the links and see if there are any concepts that strike your fancy.

If you have any ideas that I should investigate for our readers, please e-mail me at DearJohn@free-resume-help.com

Opportunities of the Future:

Become an InfoPreneur! Create an income stream through your knowledge. You don’t have to be an expert, just passionate about something. In the information age, you can easily turn your hobby into a good side income without selling or shipping anything.

Developing your Financial Intelligence. This brief article will share some of the best resources I have found to become more financially stable. Discover how to escape the rat race by developing multiple sources of income. COMING SOON to Free-Resume-Help.com.