In a world where human jobs are frequently being taken over by machines, the one place where job security is assured is for the people who make, control, and improve the machines. Whether we like it or not, the future is already being mapped out, and it’s grim news for the unskilled labor sector.
Many postal services around the world have stopped delivering mail, now requiring mail recipients to pick up their mail from the post office themselves. Supermarkets and even some department stores have slashed the number of cashiers they employ as automated checkouts have been introduced. Wood and metal product fabricators are being replaced by automated systems. The list goes on and on.
The “safe” jobs are those which require high intellectual output and a high level of skill, creative jobs, sporting careers, emergency services, and some military occupations. Of these, the only ones that won’t be subject to intense levels of competition are those in the first two categories. Learning programming, if it’s done properly, covers both. Junior Coders is a good starting point for Canadian kids wanting to learn programming.
In learning programming, kids acquire skills that are useful in a whole range of skilled occupations, including science, engineering, entertainment production, and of course computing. Among the more important skills are included:
These are all important and highly transferable skills. Additionally they are skills that are not going to become obsolete, and which lead to some of the highest paying careers. Programmers are also able to operate as freelance entrepreneurs and run their own programming businesses. For all these reasons, it is not only good for kids to learn programming, it’s very good.