Technical Advances and Unemployment

Technical Advances and Unemployment

Unemployment is one of the most debatable topics in the United States. Everyone is trying to decide what cause unemployment and how to prevent it. A number of things affect unemployment. One of these includes new technological advances. Technology is rapidly changing every day. The increase in technology has led to many improvements in business organizations and society. It has also led to many changes in the job sector. Those that fail to adapt to the transformations may find it difficult to avoid falling behind.

Technological unemployment is unemployment caused by technological changes or new methods of production in a business or industry (Wikipedia). This applies to advances in medicine, education, transportation, and craftsmanship. . New technology brings new jobs, but it also brings unemployment to the people with the old jobs.

Technical professionals should become aware of the changes that will take place because of technological advances. These new tech advances will create improvement but it will also create competitive pressures that will force technical professionals to adapt to change. Advances in technology make it possible to share data more easily and collaborate across different organizations. This capability, along with business pressures to lower costs, can make outsourcing of some organizational components an attractive option for businesses. New technology will cause some companies to begin outsourcing which means that many jobs will be sent to companies specializing in certain areas or to companies overseas who are willing to be paid less to do the job. This also means that job security for some people will be affected because their jobs will be eliminated from the organization. Professional must stay up to date on these changes so they can prepare accordingly.

Another responsibility of a technical professional is to develop a personal strategy for handling technological change. You should assess your skills on a regular basis. In doing so you can keep up with your current skill level and determine what improvements you can make. A learning plan should also be developed in order to learn new skills that can help you keep up with new changes in your career field. Becoming a member of an organization or subscribing to publications can help you stay current on the changes that may be taking place in your career. This will help you to set your expectations about the organization and adapt to changes that may occur. A professional should always take steps to continue education to stay on top in their career.

Technology both eliminates jobs and creates jobs. Generally, it destroys lower wage, lower productivity jobs, while it creates jobs that are more productive, high-skill and better paid (OECD study). In order to adjust to this, a training program should be developed in organizations in order to help employees adapt to new technology. By doing so, this will cut the number of jobs lost. It should include instructional concepts and hands-on practice using the technology. The training should blend the concepts and how they will be used in organizations. Gibbs notes that "creeping featurism" in software programs result in rapid