Why have computers killed or changed all the COOL jobs?

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K_Kelly
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01 Oct 2014, 1:01 am

Radio industry jobs-Because of music anytime, anywhere the radio industry is in trouble.
Movie theater projectionist-Digital killed film projection
A while Bunch of jobs were killed off or were forced to change.

Ugh. It's only going to get worse and i don't see the point anymore. I want the world to just END already! The future will suck unless a super far out there technology can somehow revive it all, very far fetched concept.

I wish we can all start a worldwide revolution against computers. They all betrayed us.



Skilpadde
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01 Oct 2014, 1:37 am

Car mechanic too. It used to be about mechanics, now it''s more about computer engineering.

Due to the physical papers being in decline, journalism is out as a career.

Even librarians are more about helping people get on computers today than it is about books.

And don't get me started on the wonderful job of lighthouse keeper. It'd be perfect for me. If all the lighthouses hadn't been automated by the early 1990's.


Yep, computers have ruined a lot of jobs...


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Naturalist
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01 Oct 2014, 6:27 am

I think it's more apparent with computers, because they are so versatile that they have become ubiquitous in almost every industry, but new technology has always displaced jobs associated with older technology. (Think what electric lights did for lamplighters!)

But I do think that the problematic aspect of computers for people here on WP is that computers do well the sort of things that WE do well--complex, repetitive, detailed tasks which involve focus rather than socializing. The result is that employers want their computers to do these tasks, while their human employees focus on their customer-service skills. So the difference with computer technology is not just that computers are replacing cool jobs, it's that computers are replacing people, and not all people indiscriminately, but people of particular neurological profiles and personality types. That's really disturbing to me.

If you are inclined to work on computers, great--and I have to say I am liking the challenge of teaching myself to code so I can stay competitive in museum and archaeology jobs--but I have to say that the tasks I prefer are always the manual ones, they are very gratifying; and I hate that instead of hiding away in the deep recesses of museum archives and storerooms, where specialists used to reside, I'll have to spend the bulk of my time on the computer or "interacting with the public" (horrors!). As a side note, I hate what computers have done to museums themselves, making them noisy, overstimulating places filled with competing interactive audio/video displays. (sigh)



BirdInFlight
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01 Oct 2014, 8:21 am

Oh Skilpadde -- I'd love to be a lighthouse keeper too! I've often thought that could have been my ideal calling.

I love the computer age but it's true, it has taken some jobs out of the picture, and ironically many of those now defunct jobs would have been perfect for people with autism or even just introverts.



MissDorkness
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01 Oct 2014, 12:48 pm

Naturalist wrote:
I think it's more apparent with computers, because they are so versatile that they have become ubiquitous in almost every industry, but new technology has always displaced jobs associated with older technology. (Think what electric lights did for lamplighters!)

But I do think that the problematic aspect of computers for people here on WP is that computers do well the sort of things that WE do well--complex, repetitive, detailed tasks which involve focus rather than socializing. The result is that employers want their computers to do these tasks, while their human employees focus on their customer-service skills. So the difference with computer technology is not just that computers are replacing cool jobs, it's that computers are replacing people, and not all people indiscriminately, but people of particular neurological profiles and personality types. That's really disturbing to me.

If you are inclined to work on computers, great--and I have to say I am liking the challenge of teaching myself to code so I can stay competitive in museum and archaeology jobs--but I have to say that the tasks I prefer are always the manual ones, they are very gratifying; and I hate that instead of hiding away in the deep recesses of museum archives and storerooms, where specialists used to reside, I'll have to spend the bulk of my time on the computer or "interacting with the public" (horrors!). As a side note, I hate what computers have done to museums themselves, making them noisy, overstimulating places filled with competing interactive audio/video displays. (sigh)


Well stated, and I completely agree.

Though I ended up excelling in computer-related jobs and the only thing I hated about my first career choice (accounting) was working the paper records (so much duplication of effort! So boring!).



MissDorkness
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01 Oct 2014, 12:52 pm

MissDorkness wrote:

Well stated, and I completely agree.

Though I ended up excelling in computer-related jobs and the only thing I hated about my first career choice (accounting) was working the paper records (so much duplication of effort! So boring!).


Oh, and I always liked writing, but, assumed Journalism would be a tough career to make a living at (WHEW, looking back now, lucky I chose how I did), BUT, it is still a viable source of freelance income. I write for a variety of technical publications; books, newsletters and magazines. But, of course, I wouldn't have the experience and connections to get these side gigs if I didn't have the engineering experience.

So, if you love a career that seems on the downward slope, maybe think about different ways to apply the passion. I know some guys who would've made great DJs on the radio, but, instead they've got a podcast about manufacturing (seriously, it's way more entertaining than it sounds :lol: ).



kraftiekortie
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01 Oct 2014, 9:43 pm

I once read a book called "On The Road" by Jack Kerouac. At one point in the story, the main character had a job as a fire-observer in a US National Park. How I have longed, since I read that book, to have that job! Endless solitude! Nature Abounding! Beautiful scents!

Oh well..... I guess I have to be satisfied with what I got!



Skilpadde
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01 Oct 2014, 11:02 pm

BirdInFlight wrote:
Oh Skilpadde -- I'd love to be a lighthouse keeper too! I've often thought that could have been my ideal calling.

I love the computer age but it's true, it has taken some jobs out of the picture, and ironically many of those now defunct jobs would have been perfect for people with autism or even just introverts.

Yeah, it was my dream when I was in my early teens and started thinking more seriously about a career. I loved the idea of the alone-time while doing something important to help boats and ships. I've always liked boats, so it was such a perfect combination.

Very true. A lot of jobs that would be perfect for us, and no doubt were held to large degree by aspies in the past, are now gone. The very tool that has improved our daily lives works against us in term of employment...

Another awesome job would be something I saw on a TV-show some years ago, where a young girl had a seasonal job on a remote part of a train track, working the railroad switch. In between those hours she could do what she wanted, without anyone bugging her. Sigh....


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MissDorkness
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02 Oct 2014, 12:19 pm

Skilpadde wrote:
BirdInFlight wrote:
Oh Skilpadde -- I'd love to be a lighthouse keeper too! I've often thought that could have been my ideal calling.

I love the computer age but it's true, it has taken some jobs out of the picture, and ironically many of those now defunct jobs would have been perfect for people with autism or even just introverts.

Yeah, it was my dream when I was in my early teens and started thinking more seriously about a career. I loved the idea of the alone-time while doing something important to help boats and ships. I've always liked boats, so it was such a perfect combination.

Very true. A lot of jobs that would be perfect for us, and no doubt were held to large degree by aspies in the past, are now gone. The very tool that has improved our daily lives works against us in term of employment...

Another awesome job would be something I saw on a TV-show some years ago, where a young girl had a seasonal job on a remote part of a train track, working the railroad switch. In between those hours she could do what she wanted, without anyone bugging her. Sigh....


Oh, yes, as a child I dreamed of being a Marine Biologist... out on a smallish boat for months doing feel research... then back to a quiet office to collate and write up data. (I have no idea if that's realistic to their work, but, that's what I thought.)


Oh, and to Kortie, going back to my journalism thing... two years ago I (through no fault of my own) ended up in a bar call Vesuvio on a press trip to San Francisco to cover a product launch. I was up late with the foreign press and they insisted upon going there because Jack Kerouac used to sit and write there.



SpirosD
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02 Oct 2014, 6:52 pm

K_Kelly wrote:
Movie theater projectionist-Digital killed film projection.

Like Quentin Tarantino said, movies today are "TV in public" and compares movie projection has like pushing play on your DVD player at home.
And he's right, today with Digital projection we lost the soul of films, no more burns on the top of the film print when reels are changing, no more scratches and dust on the print that gives that charm of seeing a movie in the cinema.
But on the other hand digital projection has it's merits, not on resolution because most projectors are 2K (some are 4K and film is around 8K), but no more worn off prints or sound jumps, no more film burning in the projector, and does makes the job of the projectionist easier, he just needs to push the power button in the morning, and everything is programmed for the day.

Skilpadde wrote:
Even librarians are more about helping people get on computers today than it is about books.
And don't get me started on the wonderful job of lighthouse keeper. It'd be perfect for me. If all the lighthouses hadn't been automated by the early 1990's.
Yep, computers have ruined a lot of jobs...

I wouldn't agree so much about librarians, nothing will ever replace a paper book, anyone who has tried reading off a tablet or a screen would tell you it's not the same and it get your eyes tired, and where is the fun of having you book collection on an Ipad or Kindle, the entire point is to expose you book collection (same for DVD's and BR's) in your living room.
Very sad for lighthouse keepers, today it's a computer that manages everything and technicians only show up a couple of hours once a year just for some software upload. It's sad because lighthouse keeper is a job I would have loved to do part time, being alone for 1 or 2 months twice a year would have been perfect for me, perfect to work on my writing, catch up on shows and take care of the light and not dealing with the world for a while.

But even if computers are great, they have changed the world, it's not just them, it's the entire world going digital for everything, in my domain of work, I've seen DOP (Director's of photography) who don't even know about shooting on film anymore or how to use a light meter, thanks to digital cameras, today filmmakers do use the good old magic tricks to created effects, like matte paintings, double exposition or optical effects (like older films like Star Wars, Blade Runner, Alien, Terminator 1), today they just throw a green screen and say "computers will do the rest".
Sad, sad, world :(


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Skilpadde
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03 Oct 2014, 2:01 am

SpirosD wrote:
I wouldn't agree so much about librarians, nothing will ever replace a paper book, anyone who has tried reading off a tablet or a screen would tell you it's not the same and it get your eyes tired, and where is the fun of having you book collection on an Ipad or Kindle, the entire point is to expose you book collection (same for DVD's and BR's) in your living room.

Personally I agree with what you're saying 100%. I do find reading screens much more tiresome than reading from books, and I want my collections to be physical, whether books, DVDs or video games. Much better and less vulnerable to glitches too. A little off topic but I would never want to have it all on one device. if it breaks, I'd be lost! When my computer broke down some months ago and went in for service I was very glad I had my books and DS and so on to keep me entertained.

But I do know people who insist they don't find it hard to harder/ more tiresome for their eyes to read from screens, and who prefer to just have things on their Kindle, Ipad etc.


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SpirosD
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03 Oct 2014, 1:01 pm

Skilpadde wrote:
SpirosD wrote:
I wouldn't agree so much about librarians, nothing will ever replace a paper book, anyone who has tried reading off a tablet or a screen would tell you it's not the same and it get your eyes tired, and where is the fun of having you book collection on an Ipad or Kindle, the entire point is to expose you book collection (same for DVD's and BR's) in your living room.

Personally I agree with what you're saying 100%. I do find reading screens much more tiresome than reading from books, and I want my collections to be physical, whether books, DVDs or video games. Much better and less vulnerable to glitches too. A little off topic but I would never want to have it all on one device. if it breaks, I'd be lost! When my computer broke down some months ago and went in for service I was very glad I had my books and DS and so on to keep me entertained.

But I do know people who insist they don't find it hard to harder/ more tiresome for their eyes to read from screens, and who prefer to just have things on their Kindle, Ipad etc.


I tried the Kindle, with the screen that is suppose to simulate real ink, and I still found it hard to read from it, but the worst are still Ipads and other regular tablets.

I have a simple technique to avoid Data lost, first I changed the Hard Drive from my PC laptop with a SDD drive, my Mac uses also a SDD drive, and my older laptop running on Linux is the only one still using a physical drive. And I also own Two large 2To external drives that I use to backup everything and a third external drive that contains a clone copy of my Windows and IOS and that I backup once a month, so that I never end up losing all my data, to much important works that I can't allow to lose.

I realised that the people who insist that they don't find it hard to real from a tablet and like to have all their stuff on their Ipads are often people who don't read books that much but mostly magazines or web sites and use their tablets for a lot more. Trust me, try reading The Stand for example on a tablet, it would be impossible.


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03 Oct 2014, 2:51 pm

SpirosD wrote:
I tried the Kindle, with the screen that is suppose to simulate real ink, and I still found it hard to read from it, but the worst are still Ipads and other regular tablets.

I realised that the people who insist that they don't find it hard to real from a tablet and like to have all their stuff on their Ipads are often people who don't read books that much but mostly magazines or web sites and use their tablets for a lot more. Trust me, try reading The Stand for example on a tablet, it would be impossible.


Over the past week, i've read two books front to back on my ipad. I DO prefer the screen of the kindle over the ipad, but, as I keep the lights off in my house, I've taken to using the ipad more because it is backlit and my old Kindle is not. Horrific trying to read outdoors, too much glare, the kindle wins there.

I am also halfway through my annual reading of the LOTR trilogy on the ipad.

So, while I agree I will never get rid of my own library nor stop using the one down the street, the convenience of the tablet (lighting and portability of a variety of books) means I use it for about 75% of my reading now.