Conventional wisdom would say go to college and get a white-collar job. But conventional wisdom doesn’t know everything.
Gen Z is faced with new education and career decisions
The year is 2023, just about to roll over to 2024, and you’re a young person trying to determine your education and career direction. You’ve got your whole life ahead of you—so what should you do with it?
Conventional wisdom would say go to college, complete your degree and get a white-collar job that will fund a comfortable lifestyle. But conventional wisdom doesn’t know everything, especially in a world changing as quickly as ours today.
Thanks to the advent of generative artificial intelligence, the skyrocketing cost of college and a rise in on-the-job training opportunities, the traditional college pathway is no longer the best option for every student. Young people should no longer be counseled to attend college as a one-size-fits-all pathway—especially if they don’t yet know what they want to do with their life.
White-collar worries
To further complicate the college question, the white-collar jobs that many college degrees lead to are less secure than ever with the explosion of generative AI. A new report by Pearson this week highlights this trend, speculating that somewhere around 30% of white-collar roles could be “easily replicated” by generative AI.
Blue-collar jobs are projected to be far less impacted with less than 1% of time spent on blue-collar tasks able to be performed by generative AI. This isn’t surprising, as it’s unlikely that you’ll ask AI to fix your roof, repair your car or any of the many other tasks robots can’t do. You still need a trained, skilled human for these kinds of jobs and that’s not going to change any time soon.
Unfortunately, the stigma around blue-collar work is still present and may be discouraging many members of Gen Z workers from entering these high-demand fields.
Challenging the stigmas
For too long there has been a dichotomy between white- and blue-collar work, with white-collar roles being more highly esteemed than that of their blue-collar counterparts. I believe this does all of us a disservice, but especially the young people who may be turned away from these careers by an outdated stigma. Why can’t we just honor work for being work, whatever color the collar?
All of us rely on workers in both white- and blue-collar roles every day. The items we buy, the services we use and the buildings in which we live and work are all available to us through a combination of these different types of work. It begs the question: why do we have such a hard defining line between white- and blue-collar work, anyways?
Blue-collar work is becoming increasingly complex and technologically advanced, while many white-collar functions can be done as well (or better) by generative AI. This is not to promote one over the other, but to note that all industries are becoming more rigorous in what they require from their human workforce.
Suddenly, the white- and blue-collar labels don’t mean as much as they used to. And that’s a good thing.
Crafting a personal competitive advantage
One thing that holds true for everyone in every field, white or blue, is that we all need a competitive advantage. Whether your goals are to achieve something grand, modest or laid back, you need a plan to get there and a way to stand out once you do. You need to develop a personal competitive advantage—and professional skills are the secret to do so.
Every worker needs strong critical thinking and problem-solving abilities. Every employer wants people who can communicate effectively, behave professionally and manage their time well. Organizational abilities, stress management, interpersonal skills and a host of other professional skills are essential for almost every role in every industry.
As technology advances, it’s likely that the technical skills you master early in your career will soon be obsolete. That’s why professional skills are so vital, because they don’t come with an expiration date. People who are consummate professionals in whatever work they do will always be in high demand.
Lifestyle over career
In the end, it is your lifestyle aspirations that should determine your choice of career. For Gen Z, almost every decision is based on how it will affect your lifestyle—where you want to live, how much money you want to make, if you want to have a family, how much free time and flexibility you want to have, et cetera.
These types of questions can help you hone your focus and begin planning for a successful future:
- What kind of lifestyle do I want to live?
- How much money do I need to make in order to support that lifestyle?
- What do I like to do?
- What do I do well?
- What kinds of careers play into both my strengths and lifestyle goals?
- What kind of education/training do I need to succeed in these careers?
- What competitive advantage will I need in order to stand out?
Asking yourself these kinds of questions is significantly more helpful than the blunt and intimidating “What do I want to be when I grow up?” Because the job you do is really just a piece of the bigger picture, which is ultimately the life you dream of living.
A final word
For the young person trying to make the best choices for their education and career pathway in the year 2024 and beyond, I would say this: don’t let a white- or blue-collar label determine your choice of career. Find what you like to do and do well, build on those abilities and explore the careers that would make the best use of your unique interests, talents and abilities. Society’s outdated stigmas and labels should have no bearing on your plans—because they’re your plans.
Consider the lifestyle you want to live, with all the factors and variables that would go into your ideal future, and research the types of careers that would make it possible. Then, make a plan to get there. College isn’t off the table; it may very well be the best route to reach your career destination. But nor is it the only pathway to a rewarding life and career.
Above all, hone the professional skills that make you highly employable and give you the personal competitive advantage we all need in the age of AI. The best education, career and life decisions are the ones you make for yourself, based on what you want out of your work and lifestyle.
