Future of Jobs

Because of the rapid pace of change noted above, no one knows with certainty what jobs will look like in the next 10-25 years. Yuval Harari is one of the leading thinkers on the future of jobs.

To prepare my 9 year-old daughter for the future, I am teaching her cyber literacy, robotic process automation (RPA) and artificial intelligence (AI). I am also helping her build adaptability, resilience, self-confidence and teaming / people skills.

My daughter and I look at real life examples of how to solve problems using data and qualitative information. We talk about how the brain works and how she must learn how to learn at a faster rate using technology to assist her. My greatest challenge is getting my daughter to get her face out of her iPhone screen.

As a student pilot at Williams AFB in Arizona, I still recall one of the most important lessons instructor pilots drilled into us: GET YOUR HEAD OUT OF THE COCKPIT! It’s a common mistake to get fixated on all of the dials and gauges inside the cockpit and miss things that are happening outside of your plane. Learning this lesson of situational awareness saved my life one day. Because I had my head outside of the cockpit, we avoided a near mid-air collision.

Today, workers are facing a collision with the future. They are worried about overseas outsourcing, robots, artificial intelligence (AI) and automation taking their jobs  and further increasing income inequality. But there is a positive, alternate scenario playing out.

For a peek at a more optimistic future, consider Amazon’s approach: the company combines Lean Six Sigma fundamentals with AI, Robots, Data Science and Digital Transformation to disrupt industries and outpace their competitors. Google “Amazon lean six sigma jobs” and you will see the value of these skills. Workers with Lean Six Sigma and digitization skills can attract salaries ranging from $60,000 to over $100,000 in the USA.

Looking across all industries, Indeed.com and Glassdoor.com report ​that ​the average salary of a Green Belt Lean Six Sigma professional is $92,000 and Black Belt salaries range from $102,000 to $126,000 per year.