The Changing World of Work
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The time when people went to college in order to secure jobs within a narrowly defined, life-long career path has passed. The twenty-first century finds society adjusting to the uncertainty and instability of deep structural changes in the social and economic practices of work as well as its cultural meanings. The modern construct of “work” was defined by a set number of labor hours each day, a stable wage and salary, benefits such as insurance, pension, and paid vacation, as well as a fixed field of life-long careers that one could prepare for. This modern construct is now undergoing radical structural change. Some observers think the “gig economy” constitutes the new reality of work, while others forecast the “end of work” caused by automation. You are preparing to enter this highly unstable and uncertain world of work.
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New York City
Guidelines for Thinking about The World of Work
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It is important to make thinking about life after DePauw part of our education. To prompt your thinking and preparation, consider these key guiding points:
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Learn how to leverage instability, disruption, and uncertainty. Complexity thinking will help you.
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Times of great change are difficult as familiar ways of doing things are discarded, but they are also moments of opening that provide unprecedented opportunity for creativity and innovation.
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Preparing yourself for a set, life-long career is a mistake. Avoid designing yourself to be a career. Instead, prepare yourself for a life of multiple careers, mobility, and re-definition. Become an expert in transition.
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Predicting what fields are going to have jobs is nearly impossible at this historical moment. But, it is fairly easily to see where jobs are going to be automated. Your goal is to be prepared to enter the new job market that will emerge in the wake of automation. These are the jobs we do not see now.
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Pay attention to demographic trends (growth, aging, and urbanization) as these will drive the future economy.
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Demographic trends strongly point to an urban future. The city is where the 21st century action will be. There is strong potential for work in urban infomatics, urban design, urban planning, and public policy. However, each of these fields, as currently constituted, is highly vulnerable to automation.
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Have long-term vision knowing that your twenties is a time of change, instability, and continued self-discovery. Thinking long-term requires patience, discernment, intentionality, experience, and reflection.
New Songdo City, South Korea
Key skills you want to acquire, develop, master, and demonstrate:
Academic
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Reading, writing, quantitative, and verbal communication
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Critical thinking
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Problem Solving and predicament thinking
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Complexity thinking
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Evaluating and analyzing evidence
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Advancing interpretations and arguments
Metacognitive
Discernment: the ability to determine a path forward among many potential paths.
Intentionality: the ability to act with awareness toward a goal.
Experience: the ability to engage the world with discernment, intentionality, reflection, and positionality.
Reflection: the ability to think through one’s past, current, and future contexts with attention to development, goals, one’s position in society.
Positionality: the ability to understand how race, class, gender intersect in defining one’s place within a given context. Understanding how you fit into the relations of power in any given situation.
Life skills:
Time management, organization, review, listening, note taking, task assessment, strength and weakness evaluation, planning, information management strategies, and comprehensive monitoring.
Professional skills:
Interpersonal communication, collaboration , technological literacy, and career specific abilities.
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Being Present
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Throughout your educational career you learned the importance of excellent attendance. But, in college you learn that there is more to life than just showing up. While at DePauw you have the opportunity to find many ways to establish your presence as an engaged individual, someone desirable for any undertaking. Presence is how you show the world the skills you have mastered and those you are developing. Presence sends the message that you are not a passive by-stander in life, but rather a proactive agent ready to take on the world with many important things to contribute. Presence means you know how to "at the table" when the important issues are discussed, debated, and decided on. Here are some doable steps you can take to establish your presence:
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Create an individualized web page that shows the world the range of your professional, life, metacognitive, and academic skills.
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Start a blog that engages who you are as an intellectual and citizen.
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Create a pod-cast to highlight your communicative skills and ability to facilitate discussions about important issues.
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Produce a video that features your positionality and perspective.
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Create a resume, keep it updated, and have others critique it.
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Develop and practice your "elevator speech." Get good at it.
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Pay attention to how others practice presence, such as how speakers perform at events, what is good and bad facilitation, what is the right formula for being present in a room. Study what works, know why, and practice it for your style of presence.