How will new trends and technologies bring challenges to this young generation?

CEO of STARTBOARD ASEAN-Indian Startup Incubator

Have you ever been asked the question ”What do you want to be when you grow up?” You may have answers such as a professional athlete, singer, astronaut, president of the U.S.A, etc. Then time flies by and you realize that you are in a new generation, which is significantly different from what your parents had. A lot of jobs didn’t exist 10 years ago, for example, YouTubers, social media influencers, E-sport gamers, and so forth. The technology iterates frequently and leads to an alternative lifestyle. Meanwhile, it also brings challenges to this young generation.

According to the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in 2020, the meeting indicated several new trends and warnings for the career of the new generation. Having a sophisticated skill is no longer a golden ticket to ensure a good career. World Economic Forum forecasts that “As jobs are transformed by the technologies of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, we need to reskill over 1 billion people by 2030. In the next two years – by 2022 – 42% of core skills required to perform existing jobs are expected to change.” Is it scary? We must see our career path with a fresh perspective. The mindset we all need is developing not only high-tech skills, but also specialized interpersonal skills that are in high demand. No matter what generation you are in, it will be more important to have the ability of sales, negotiation, creativity, persuasion, and other people-to-people skills.

The new technologies may decrease the demand for repetitive, machine-like jobs, but it also free up people to find other people-oriented careers which are hardly replaced by the machine. Governments and leading corporates know the trend and the transformation. What is their plan? They encourage innovation and entrepreneurship.

Entrepreneurship is not a new concept, but it is a panacea for every industrial transformation. Entrepreneurs are always seizing the chance to create new technologies when people are complaining, which the technology later take over their jobs. They find a problem and use alternative solution. The government offers incentives and tax reductions for entrepreneurs to support their business. As a result, entrepreneurs and their innovation provide new job opportunities and pushes people to develop new skills. The leading companies encourage innovation and provide resources for startups, then the corporates strategically partner with budding startups or acquire them.

So, the very first question is: “What industry you will dive into?”For those you do not know the career path or the business segments you want to enter, there is a nascent trend–lazy economy and 5G technology.

First, as you might expect, the lazy economy is characterized by timesaving, labor-saving, hyper-convenient products, and services that meet the needs of the customers. There are two major parts of the lazy economy: F&B service and timesaving service. They meet people’s diversified and ever-increasing consumer demands.

Gradually, we are ushering in a new level of customer experience and it still has many opportunities for businesses in the lazy economy.

The scaling of the food delivery platform makes a tremendous demand for delivery workers and drivers. This means more people will engage in this or related industry. People can work for this flexible and task-oriented part-time job, instead of committing to work for a full-time position. According to Statista, the Projected Revenue of Food Delivery Services booms 92% since 2017 and its projected revenue forecast will thrive in the coming two years. Building on that, there are more and more related F&B services that are still developing and changing our consumer behaviors like ingredient-and-recipe meal kit service, personal chef platform, and so forth.

Besides F&B service providers, diligent entrepreneurs provide new timesaving services to free people from their chores, such as elderly home care, errands, delivery, housekeeping, etc.

Second, the fifth generation of the network is an often-heard word this year. It is not merely a faster internet, but it changes every aspect of life. Just like your old Nokia cellphone compared to the latest version of the iPhone. 5G wireless technology is meant to deliver higher multi-Gbps peak data speeds with  low latency. It has higher performance, is more reliable, and will improve efficiency for better user experiences.

Here are some examples of how national-wide 5G can change our life and create opportunities for the next generation.

Healthcare

5G network makes a faster data transaction. The medical workers can receive real-time global medical info to support the diagnosis and hold virtual meetings to provide the first-hand info to their patience.

Entertainment

The high-speed internet brings immersive experiences and allows performers to have interactions with their audience with ultra-low latency. The entertainment industry will be the first field to apply new devices, features, technologies stimulating smart manufacturing, smart life, etc.

Big data management

New technologies generate massive amount of data. Analytic tools, cybersecurity, and data management are critical issues for startups. Gold mines are no longer underground; the gold in the cyber era will be stored in the database.

By turning data into information, it can help people and artificial intelligence make rational decisions, reduce potential risk, and efficiently iterate new technologies.

There is significant change in our traditional career and the way to run a business; therefore, the new mindset is helping us prepare for the upcoming transformation.

Shift in workforce

Of course, the shift in the workforce will transform from a repetitive task to more creative jobs. Slashies is defined as–a group of people who have had multiple “slashes” in their titles and multiple career skills. People don’t need to commit to only one job, but they can have diversified career opportunities. For the young generation, they are born this way; nevertheless, for the X or Y generation, it would be a harsh question “who you are without your primary job title? “

Legal compliance 

The law and regulation have always fallen behind when technology takes a huge leap.

Right or wrong has a grey area until the law has been fixed. The 5G would make a convenient communication channel, but what if it makes unreasonable work hours and work-life imbalance? Regarding personal privacy, how could we avoid the monopoly of searching engines and platforms to exploit our data and personal information for their profit, but still enjoy their services?

Unavoidably, the technology will widely influence the business and people’s career; however, entrepreneurs are a bunch of people that overcome obstacles and provide this world with various solutions by integrating resources. For all of us, we need to hustle and have the mentality to absorb new knowledge and skills. Whenever your computer shows the notification to inform you of the recent version of IOS or windows, it is also a chance to remind yourself how long you have ever update yourself to become a better person. It is not telling you to compete with the 24-7 working machine, it is a mindset to keep us awaken from our laziness. Don’t stay in your comfort zone for too long, such as having a steady job, traditional thinking method and out-of-date knowledge. This generation is one of the best eras for entrepreneurs to start their business and workers to pursue their ideal career. All thanks to the available information and accessible courses online for pretty much whatever you would like to learn. Indeed, there are challenges which no generation has experience before; however, entrepreneurs and the young generation are ushering a new era of work and the diversity of business.

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