While Cubert and his family take a short break in the Desert Southwest, his capable friends have stepped in with some great guest posts. Today I’m happy to hand the mic to my Minneapolis buddy Adam from Crispy Cabbage. He’s a talented writer and illustrator, and today he’s tackling: Let the Robots Have Our Crappy Jobs. Enjoy — robots taking our jobs?! Take it away, Adam…
So you want out of your cubicle, huh? Want to be your own boss? Maybe you’re just curious what life looks like beyond those gray walls. If you’re reading this on Abandoned Cubicle, there’s a good chance you’re on a work computer during the day. Good news: your cubicle kind of wants to quit you too. Lots of the jobs we grew up with after the industrial age would prefer not to have us human “meat puppets” around anymore. See what I did with that ’90s pop-culture nod, Cubert? Gen-X represent.
I’ve said it before: work is changing. AI is getting powerful fast, and it could start taking over parts of even our most respected professions — engineers, doctors, accountants. Most of the work we know may eventually be handled by rows of servers and helpful (or sarcastic) voice assistants.
Don’t panic. Our creativity and ability to adapt will carry us. And yes, at some point someone will mention blockchain — so I will too. This is a financial independence site, so if you’re here, you’ve already taken some steps to prepare for a more “jobless” future.
I love talking about this not to be fatalistic, but to reassure people that it will be okay. Even if you aren’t far along the FI path, even if you still need that biweekly paycheck, it’s going to be okay. I don’t know exactly how things will play out, but I’m convinced there will be plenty of ways to earn a living. If you’re preparing now with FI principles, you’ll be in a great position to find work you actually enjoy.
That sounds a bit cliché, and it probably won’t comfort the data analyst who just got replaced by a line of code. But history shows a pattern: when technology removes certain jobs, new—often different—jobs tend to appear. Telephone switchboard operators evolved into other roles. Not always a smooth change, but things shifted.
Vox has a great video called “Why The Rise of Robots Won’t Mean The End Of Work” that lays this out clearly. Economists point out we’ve worried about tech stealing jobs for ages. Each time machines replace some roles, new opportunities arise from the increased productivity tech brings. Joss Fong from Vox sums it up: “Tons of jobs have died, but work persists.” It’s easy to see jobs being replaced; it’s harder to imagine what comes next.
Yes, tech creates direct jobs for people who design and maintain it. But it also spawns unpredictable, spin-off roles born from higher productivity. For the most part, technology has raised productivity and standards of living—ignoring the usual email distractions and copier errors.
Some futurists disagree. Martin Ford, author of Rise of the Robots, warns this time could be different: imagine a kind of electricity that automates routine work across the board. That’s worrying. I agree that routine work is disappearing—and honestly, I’m fine with that. Let machines handle the dull, repetitive tasks.
More importantly, technology is now empowering individuals like never before. If society doesn’t mess this up, we could be at the start of a great era for small entrepreneurs. No Wharton MBA? No problem. Maybe you become a mom-blogger selling edible unicorn-themed sweets. No Silicon Valley backing? Raise $55,000 on Kickstarter for potato salad—yes, that happened. Can’t get a big producer for your quirky TV idea? Do it yourself.
Not every new thing is world-changing, but many doors are opening even as salary jobs close. I think there’s a little entrepreneur in most of us. Tech is knocking down barriers to starting small businesses, creating, and selling.
Of course, not everything is websites and snacks. There are many ways to make money and contribute that don’t involve blogging or food products. I’m just skimming the surface of what’s possible when people’s creativity is boosted by new tools.
Now, a reality check: what about skilled trades? What about the welder who’s spent years learning a craft only to be replaced by a robotic arm? Good question. Maybe opportunities for traditional trades won’t vanish so easily. Maybe manufacturing changes form and returns to small-scale, less soul-crushing setups.
Enter blockchain and companies trying to reconnect small factories with tech demand. I’m skeptical about crypto hype, but the underlying blockchain tech might reshape things we’re just beginning to see. I read about a company trying to use blockchain to revive small factories in the U.S. It sounded like a fancier Craigslist, but the idea is meaningful: connect Big Tech with underused machine shops across the country to quickly produce parts at lower cost.
Whether that particular company succeeds isn’t the point. The key idea is this: combining blockchain and industrial equipment could create a new job market that blends skilled trades with gig-style, on-demand work. That’s a real-time example of tech taking jobs and then giving new kinds of work back. Assembly-line jobs might return, but in a different, smaller-scale way—not huge sweatshops, but local, flexible production.
Imagine manufacturing that happens in garages and small shops—people making small batches of customized parts, 3D-printing components, and welding pieces together, all coordinated online and picked up by drones. It’s less George Jetson and more local-maker-meets-modern-tech.
Of course, moving into these new roles isn’t automatic. There are gaps to cross: skills, geography, and time. You may need new skills, you might need to move, and you’ll need time to adjust. The good news? Tech is already helping with the first two. Many jobs can be done remotely; the internet, blockchain, and self-driving vehicles shrink the geography problem. Software and augmented reality can make learning new skills easier. Maybe one day even “smart” solutions will help speed training.
The hard part is the time gap. People need time to adapt and find work that fits them. That’s where the financial lessons from Abandoned Cubicle and the FI community matter most. Be frugal. Widen the gap between what you earn and what you spend. Decide what’s truly important and spend on that. Use the extra margin to build savings. That cushion lets you survive the shock of losing regular pay and gives you room to explore new paths—or, once you have enough saved, to work on your passions for the joy of it.
We need to rethink what it means to make a living. Stop fearing the cubicle’s demise. Embrace the robot revolution. Let machines handle the crappy routine tasks, and open your eyes to the wide range of new opportunities that could make life better and more satisfying.