“What Are You Doing?”
It’s hard to keep up much less get ahead when it feels technology is bounding forward seemingly overnight. That’s why I sleep with one eye open. LOL. A few years ago, you may have considered “networking” getting together with friends and co-workers on a Friday after a long workweek. Not anymore. MySpace and Facebook have permanently changed the way people socialize and interact with each other. Facebook alone has over 175 million users with 3 billion minutes spent on its site each day! Thanks to Twitter, a “tweet” is not just the sound a little bird makes…it’s knowing what Ashton and Demi are doing all day. When I was a girl (not THAT long ago) I would save my allowance so that I could buy the new Shaun Cassidy 45”, put it on the record player and practice my dance moves. Now, I can download “Hey Jeannie” to my Shuffle and be out the door for a quick run (hey, it could happen!) in seconds.
According to the YouTube presentation ”21st Century Learning Tools for the Classroom” by Howie DiBlasi. Seventy percent of U.S. four-year-olds have used a computer. It took radio 38 years to reach a market audience of 50 million; television: 13 years; computers: 4 years. What’s next? The number of Internet devices in 1984 was 1,000; in 1992 it was 1,000,000; in 2006: 600, 000,000. The first text message was sent in 1991; today, the number exceeds the population of the planet—daily. One out of eight couples married in the US in 2005 met on the internet.
These are just a few examples of how quickly we absorb new technology into our everyday lives. One day something is strange, foreign and new. The next day “podcast” is being added to the dictionary and we expect the water to automatically come on when we approach a sink to wash our hands.
The important question though is how do these quantum leaps affect your job outlook?
Consider this statistic from Karl Fish and Scott McLeod’s “Did You Know” presentation, “For students starting a four-year technical or college degree, this means that half of what they learn in their first year of study will be outdated by their third year of study.”
Like me, you may find that fact both exciting and a little disheartening for obvious reasons. Knowing which jobs have the greatest potential for growth and longevity, however, will help you make better decisions regarding your education and job training and decrease your chance of graduating with a degree that’s going to do little more for you than hang on your wall.
Trust me. Helping you find your “dream” career, even with the future evolving and changing so dramatically, is FAR more realistic than Shaun C. and I falling madly in love and getting married. (My dream at age 12. I’ll spare you the details.).
I think I’ll “shuffle” outside and enjoy this beautiful day!
Useful Link
Top 10 Ways to Prepare for the Future of Technology
by Amelia Gray
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
Finally, Over 100 of the World's Leading Career Experts have joined together to give you the complete collection of 101 insider secrets that show you how to instantly and positively enhance your career!
