Technology vs. employment, how to retain best employees, and creating an intentional career

Technology and employment have a history together.

Well, we made it to June. The sun is shining, the pools, lakes, and oceans are calling, and… you’re probably reading this while you’re at work.

So thanks for being here! Let’s make it worthwhile!

We’ve got some interesting discussions ahead today, whether you are an individual or leader. Things that we can learn from looking back, and perhaps some speculations as we look forward to the future.

But in any case, it’s always up to you to keep learning, adapting, and being your best!

Let’s jump in!

In today’s newsletter:

• How technology growth influences employment opportunities

• How leaders and companies can keep top talent

• The power of intentionality in your life and career

• Hot jobs

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MUST-READ

Does technology help or hurt employment? Here’s what MIT says

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology has recently done a series of articles examining new job creation in the U.S. since 1940. The two parts can be read here and here.

It’s interesting to think about the irony.

Engineers create tools and machines that make life easier, more convenient, automated, and so on.

And then, sometimes, those tools and machines can do things faster and more cheaply than humans could.

I’m not going to go into the details of the different stages of Industrial Revolution at this point, but we all know things are changing with the increase in AI and more automation.

But one of the things the MIT study looked at is “Automation vs. Augmentation.”

Automation is taking a machine that does something for a worker.

Augmentation is a technology that that increases what people can do or increases productivity.

And overall, there has been more automation than augmentation in the last 40 years than there was from 1940-1980.

And what about AI? Will it help or hurt employment?

Well, they still don’t know. These things are hard to forecast. It also takes time for new technologies to be widely adopted for all their uses.

So hold on, stay current, and perhaps lean into your more human skills that are less likely for AI to take away from you!

TRENDING ARTICLES

• Embracing Conflict: The Power of Healthy Disagreements in Teams

• Becoming mission-oriented and how to measure our lives

• Is Skills-First Hiring Set To Be The Future?

CAREER TIPS

How Engineering Teams Can Keep Their Best People

It happens all too often...

You have a star member of your team who has become a lynchpin to success and your projections of success and innovation.

They are helping to grow others around them. They are raising the quality and speed of work. They get excited about challenges and how they can overcome them.

Then, another company swoops in and offers them a huge pay increase or growth opportunity and they are gone. Just like that.

Now you have to rebuild.

What can you do? Here are a few ideas:

Ask Them What Matters Most

For those team members that you REALLY do not want to lose, you want to make sure you understand what they really value about their work life.

Is it pay? Is it time off? Is it growth opportunities?

Do whatever you can in your power to craft their work in a way that they get excited about. I recognize that you can't change everything and give them everything that they want, but it's important that they see you are working to help them grow.

Enhance Your Culture

Often it is the environment that they work in that makes or breaks success.

How is your company/team culture? Do people feel supported? Do they have the resources they need to be successful? Do they feel connected to each other or isolated and alone?

Consider the team and culture together to protect unity and productivity, and keep people wanting to stay because they love the environment.

Get Creative

I get it, resources are limited. You can't promise or deliver the world.

With limited resources, you need to get creative about how you build an effective team.

But make no mistake, strong relationships are powerful. Anything you can do to help forge and cultivate relationships in your team, that will make it harder for someone to want to leave and start all over.

So if you’re a leader and want to keep your best people (or if you’re one of those people and looking for reasons to stay), do something! Don’t just wait for others to take action, because it likely won’t be an action you’ll be happy about!

 HOT JOBS OF THE WEEK

> Senior Software Engineer - Autonomy at Roke Manor Research Limited (Apply)

> Principal Software Engineer, Platform at Credit Acceptance (Apply)

> EMSO Systems Interface Engineer at MAXISIQ, Inc. (Apply)

> Senior Software Engineer at OCLC (Apply)

Nikola Tesla, born on July 10, 1856, in Smiljan, Croatia (then part of the Austrian Empire), was a brilliant and enigmatic inventor, engineer, and futurist. He immigrated to the United States in the late 19th century and quickly gained recognition for his innovative work in electrical engineering. Tesla's contributions include the development of alternating current (AC) electrical systems, numerous inventions related to electricity and magnetism, and pioneering work in wireless communication. Despite his incredible accomplishments, he faced financial challenges and spent his later years in relative obscurity, but his legacy as one of history's greatest inventors endures, with his name associated with countless technological advancements and the Tesla electric car company bearing his name in the 21st century.

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📚 BOOK RECOMMENDATION

The Intentional Engineer: A Guide to a Purpose-Driven Life and Career For Engineers and Technical Professionals by Jeff Perry

Perhaps this is a bit self-serving to recommend this book, but this is an interesting time of year. So many engineering students have recently graduated from school and are starting their careers in the workforce or making other big life decisions.

I honestly don’t know of a better book that can help them chart a course forward with intention.

So get the book for a graduate you know, or just get it for yourself. You’ll be glad you did!

You can also find more information at www.theintentionalengineer.com