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Robots are coming for our jobs — here are 15 they're already taking over
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Thanks in
part to automated mail-sorting systems, postal workers may be out
of a job in the not-so-distant future.
By 2024, the US Bureau of Labor
Statistics projects a 28% decline in postal-service jobs,
totaling around 136,000 fewer positions than in 2014.
Mail carriers and processors aren't the only ones whose jobs are
disappearing thanks to robots.
Automation technologies that conduct physical, intellectual,
or customer service tasks are already affecting a variety of
fields, most notably metal and plastic machine workers.
As
Business Insider previously reported, information technology
research and advisory firm Gartner predicts that one-third of
jobs will be replaced by software, robots, and smart machines by
2025. And Ray Kurzweil, director of engineering at Google, takes
that prediction a step further with his prediction that by 2029
robots will have reached human levels of intelligence and be
capable of taking over purely intellectual tasks.
While what the experts are calling "The Second Machine Age"
strikes fear into the hearts of many workers, some argue that
this increase in computing prowess will simply
eliminate old jobs and introduce new ones, resulting in a
net-zero effect - or even an increase in jobs. And
these new jobs may be safer and more interesting.
15. Metal and plastic cutting, punching, and press machine
setters, operators, and tenders
They set up, operate, or tend machines to saw, cut, shear, slit,
punch, crimp, notch, bend, or straighten metal or plastic
material.
Median annual pay: $31,280
Number of people who held this job in the US in
2014: 192,200
Predicted number of people who will hold this job in
2024: 152,700
Projected decline: 20.6%
Why it's declining:
According to the BLS, one of the most important factors
influencing employment of metal and plastic machine workers is
the high adoption of labor-saving machinery like computer
numerically controlled machine tools and robots to improve
quality and lower production costs.
14. Metal and plastic model makers
They set up and operate machines like lathes, milling and
engraving machines, and jig borers to make working models of
metal or plastic objects.
Median annual pay: $45,980
Number of people who held this job in the US in
2014: 6,200
Predicted number of people who will hold this job in
2024: 4,900
Projected decline: 21.5%
Why it's declining:
According to the BLS, one of the most important factors
influencing employment of metal and plastic machine workers is
the high adoption of labor-saving machinery like computer
numerically controlled machine tools and robots to improve
quality and lower production costs.
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13. Metal and plastic forging machine setters, operators, and
tenders
They set up, operate, or tend forging machines to taper, shape,
or form metal or plastic parts.
Median annual pay: $35,070
Number of people who held this job in the US in
2014: 21,600
Predicted number of people who will hold this job in
2024: 17,000
Projected decline: 21.5%
Why it's declining:
According to the BLS, one of the most important factors
influencing employment of metal and plastic machine workers is
the high adoption of labor-saving machinery like computer
numerically controlled machine tools and robots to improve
quality and lower production costs.
12. Metal and plastic grinding, lapping, polishing, and buffing
machine tool setters, operators, and tenders
They set up, operate, or tend grinding and related tools that
remove excess material or burrs from surfaces; sharpen edges or
corners; or buff, hone, or polish metal or plastic work pieces.
Median annual pay: $32,840
Number of people who held this job in the US in
2014: 71,400
Predicted number of people who will hold this job in
2024: 55,800
Projected decline: 21.9%
Why it's declining:
According to the BLS, one of the most important factors
influencing employment of metal and plastic machine workers is
the high adoption of labor-saving machinery like computer
numerically controlled machine tools and robots to improve
quality and lower production costs.
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11. Metal and plastic pattern-makers
They lay out, machine, fit, and assemble castings and parts to
metal or plastic foundry patterns, core boxes, or match plates.
Median annual pay: $40,960
Number of people who held this job in the US in
2014: 3,800
Predicted number of people who will hold this job in
2024: 2,900
Projected decline: 23.4%
Why it's declining:
According to the BLS, one of the most important factors
influencing employment of metal and plastic machine workers is
the high adoption of labor-saving machinery like computer
numerically controlled machine tools and robots to improve
quality and lower production costs.
10. Metal and plastic extruding and drawing machine setters,
operators, and tenders
They set up, operate, or tend machines to extrude or draw
thermoplastic or metal materials into tubes, rods, hoses, wire,
bars, or structural shapes.
Median annual pay: $33,120
Number of people who held this job in the US in
2014: 73,400
Predicted number of people who will hold this job in
2024: 55,500
Projected decline: 24.4%
Why it's declining:
According to the BLS, one of the most important factors
influencing employment of metal and plastic machine workers is
the high adoption of labor-saving machinery like computer
numerically controlled machine tools and robots to improve
quality and lower production costs.
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9. Metal and plastic molding, core-making, and casting machine
setters, operators, and tenders
They set up, operate, or tend metal or plastic molding, casting,
or core-making machines to mold or cast metal or thermoplastic
parts or products.
Median annual pay: $29,340
Number of people who held this job in the US in
2014: 129,500
Predicted number of people who will hold this job in
2024: 97,200
Projected decline: 25%
Why it's declining:
According to the BLS, one of the most important factors
influencing employment of metal and plastic machine workers is
the high adoption of labor-saving machinery like computer
numerically controlled machine tools and robots to improve
quality and lower production costs.
8. Postmasters and mail superintendents
They plan, direct, or coordinate operational, administrative,
management, and supportive services of a US post office, or
coordinate activities of workers engaged in postal and related
work in an assigned post office.
Median annual pay: $70,640
Number of people who held this job in the US in
2014: 17,300
Predicted number of people who will hold this job in
2024: 12,800
Projected decline: 26.2%
Why it's declining:
The BLS's projected loss of postal worker jobs is due to more
reliance on email and online bill-pay services and to
technological advances that allow for automatic mail sorting.
Fewer postal workers also means less need for supervisory roles.
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7. Postal-service clerks
They perform any combination of tasks in a post office, such as
receive letters and parcels; sell postage and revenue stamps,
postal cards, and stamped envelopes; fill out and sell money
orders; place mail in pigeonholes of a mail rack or in bags; and
examine mail for correct postage.
Median annual pay: $56,790
Number of people who held this job in the US in
2014: 69,600
Predicted number of people who will hold this job in
2024: 51,300
Projected decline: 26.2%
Why it's declining:
The BLS attributes the decline in first-class mail volume to
increasing use of automated bill pay.
6. Postal-service mail carriers
They sort mail for delivery and deliver mail on an established
route by vehicle or on foot.
Median annual pay: $58,280
Number of people who held this job in the US in
2014: 297,400
Predicted number of people who will hold this job in
2024: 219,400
Projected decline: 26.2%
Why it's declining:
According to the BLS, the US Postal Service is moving to
automated "delivery point sequencing" systems that sort letter
mail directly. This "reduces the amount of time that carriers
spend sorting, allowing them to spend more time on the streets
delivering mail," thereby increasing the size of their routes and
reducing the need to hire more carriers.
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5. Metal pourers and casters
They operate hand-controlled mechanisms to pour and regulate the
flow of molten metal into molds to produce castings or ingots.
Median annual pay: $33,850
Number of people who held this job in the US in
2014: 9,800
Predicted number of people who will hold this job in
2024: 7,200
Projected decline: 26.6%
Why it's declining:
According to the BLS, one of the most important factors
influencing employment of metal and plastic machine workers is
the high adoption of labor-saving machinery like computer
numerically controlled machine tools and robots to improve
quality and lower production costs.
4. Foundry mold and core makers
They make or form wax or sand cores or molds used in the
production of metal castings in foundries.
Median annual pay: $32,680
Number of people who held this job in the US in
2014: 12,000
Predicted number of people who will hold this job in
2024: 8,700
Projected decline: 27.7%
Why it's declining:
According to the BLS, one of the most important factors
influencing employment of metal and plastic machine workers is
the high adoption of labor-saving machinery like computer
numerically controlled machine tools and robots to improve
quality and lower production costs.
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3. Switchboard operators, including answering service
They operate telephone business-systems equipment or switchboards
to relay incoming, outgoing, and interoffice calls. May supply
information to callers and record messages.
Median annual pay: $27,440
Number of people who held this job in the US in
2014: 112,400
Predicted number of people who will hold this job in
2024: 75,400
2. Postal-service mail sorters, processors, and
processing-machine operators
They prepare incoming and outgoing mail for distribution. They
also examine, sort, and route mail; load, operate, and
occasionally adjust and repair mail processing, sorting, and
canceling machinery; keep records of shipments, pouches, and
sacks; and perform other duties related to mail handling within
the postal service.
Median annual pay: $56,740
Number of people who held this job in the US in
2014: 117,600
Predicted number of people who will hold this job in
2024: 78,000
Projected decline: 33.7%
Why it's declining: The
BLS projects the US Postal Service will need fewer workers to
sort mail thanks to new mail-sorting technology that can read
text and automatically sort, forward, and process mail and the
increased use of online bill-pay services and email.
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1. Telephone operators
They provide information by accessing alphabetical, geographical,
or other directories. They assist customers with special billing
requests, such as charges to a third party and credits or refunds
for incorrectly dialed numbers or bad connections. May handle
emergency calls and assist children or people with physical
disabilities to make telephone calls.
Median annual pay: $35,880
Number of people who held this job in the US in
2014: 13,100
Predicted number of people who will hold this job in
2024: 7,500
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