Some of my theses and thoughts on the future of work

• We are not sure whether the stream of capital in society would still come mostly from the tech and financial services company. If that’s still the trend, there would still be a trend among graduates to enter these industries because this is where they can earn a good, stable amount of income and have good benefits. Brand name would still be a huge signaling factor. Brand names give leverage and the question is how much leverage is enough?
• “I will do social impact once I earn enough money” - The education system provides a chance for people to move up in society and for people from developing countries, they would love to seek education from a more developed one. The same system also puts a lot of graduates in debt, thus, they will need to find high-paying jobs fresh out of college to pay off debt (debt could also means repaying people/places who have helped invest in your education). Many of my friends are going into big corporations and big tech companies after grad and many do so due to financial reasons. One told me that she is afraid once she is in the space, it’s hard to break out of it due to the convenience that the job has brought. I think the future of work will still have these questions of tradeoffs and perhaps the narrative of pursuing passions once I have enough money will continue?
• The future of work is lifelong learning. People often stop learning once they leave schools. Companies try to develop a learning culture by having modules to complete but oftentimes their employees don’t have time to learn or do them quickly so that they can be done. Thus, the importance lies in being open to learn and believing that we can always learn more. Employees don’t need to complete modules to feel like they are learning. Employees should feel they are learning every day at work.
• The future of work is adopting mindsets that can help one succeed. My friend’s startup got into YC after he has consistently researched for several years and has been writing and sharing about his thoughts on technology and human intellectuals since high school. My co-founder consistently wrote his blog for three years before gaining the reputation he has today. My friends landed very good internships in big companies after they consistently learned to code and researched about the use of technology in solving different problems from climate to education to film. There is a pattern here. We often see what people are doing instead of how they have got there. Perhaps the future of work is consistently learn and do and it’s a matter of when someone will succeed. Could the future of work be going away from focusing on titles and towards encouraging people to consistently show up and do the work? The future of work could be anything. The type of jobs could be anything. How would we prepare for it?