Jobs You May Not See Anymore

As technolgy advances, many jobs are obsolete. Machines have replaced humans in many industries, and jobs shipped overseas have accounted for many lost jobs as well. Here is a list of some jobs that are obsolete, or becomming obsolete. Lector-a lector is a man who would read the newspaper to workers in cigar factories. This began in Cuba, but could be found later in America as well. Elevator operator-remember going to a fancy department store and having the elevator operator announce what clothing or furniture would be found on each floor? That was so much fun, but today elevators are almost all automatic. (I have a great memory of visiting my grandparents in New York as a child, and going in the elevator and cuddling up to all the ladies with fur coats on). Copy boy- really an errand boy, is an obsolete job in publishing, as are many other jobs in the industry. Pinsetter- Manual pinsetting at bowling was what we all knew in the 40's and 50's. Now everything is automated. River driver-these were loggers who would float cut logs down river to the sawmills. No more. Ice man- in the days before refrigeration, icemen were needed. They've been obsolete for years. Lamplighter-before electricity, men would get up on tall ladders and light the street lamps, 200-300 per hour. That too, has been automated for years. Milkman- in 1963 30% of milk and dairy products were delivered by the milkman, now it is less than .5%. Switchboard operators and typist pools are also gone for good. Supermarket checkers are not yet obsolete, but they're on their way. About half of their jobs have been eliminated. Postal workers-many jobs have been eliminated due to automated sorting. Repairmen-specificially for cameras and watches, their numbers have dwindled. Watches are so cheap, most people just throw them away. It's cheaper to buy a new one than to repair the old. This goes for many small household electric appliances as well. Drilling machine operators- their number will be decreased by 26% in the next 5 years, due to a combination of shipping jobs overseas and new technology. We often hear businesses talk about retraining workers because of new technology, and you can see why this is so important. So many jobs that used to require a human, no longer do. I recently took a tour of the Celestial Seasonings plant in Boulder, Colorado. Almost everything is done by machine. There were just a handfull of people overseeing a huge operation. Machines can actually do these jobs better than people, so people must be retrained. Lots of new industries and opportunities, but education is required to retrain our workforce for the next generation.