300 Million Jobs Will Vanish by 2030
Your Job Is Probably on the List
Productivity Tech X
November 15, 2025
In partnership with
Perplexity Comet Browser
300 million jobs. Gone by 2030.
Your job is probably on the list. So is your backup plan.
But here's what's worse: Everything you've been told about surviving the AI apocalypse (learn to code, become an influencer, monetize your data) is a comforting lie designed to keep you from panicking while the exits disappear.
I've spent two years investigating what's really happening behind closed boardroom doors. What I found will terrify you. But it might also save you.
This Isn't the Future. This Is Now.
Last month, IBM announced it would stop hiring for 7,800 roles. Not laying off. Just never filling them. Because AI already does those jobs.
Google's legal department? Cut by 30%. AI now reviews contracts faster than their $400/hour lawyers.
Accounting firms are ghosting their newest hires. Why train someone for 3 years when AI can close books in 3 minutes?
This isn't the future. That was Q4 2024.
And we're not even at the acceleration point yet.
Right now, career coaches and LinkedIn influencers are selling you three escape routes:
Learn to code
Build your personal brand
Monetize your data
I'm about to show you why all three are traps. Why the people selling these solutions know they won't work. And why they're selling them anyway.
The Big Lie: "Just Learn to Code"
The tech industry just laid off 260,000 people. Senior developers with 10 years experience are applying to 400 jobs and getting ghosted.
Why? Because AI now writes 80% of new code at Google.
But sure. Spend $15,000 on a coding bootcamp. Learn skills that'll be obsolete before you finish the course. That's what the bootcamp industry wants. They'll be bankrupt by 2027, but they need your tuition check NOW.
The Second Lie: "Become an Influencer"
Let's do math that influencer gurus won't:
→ 50 million people trying to be influencers
→ 0.01% make a living wage
→ That's 5,000 people total
→ You have better odds becoming an NFL player
The attention economy isn't opportunity. It's a lottery ticket disguised as a career path.
And here's what nobody mentions: As more people flood into influencing, the amount of attention per person shrinks. It's musical chairs, and someone just removed 49,995,000 chairs.
The Third Lie: "Monetize Your Data"
Your personal data is worth $300 per year. Total. To everyone. Combined.
That's less than $1 a day.
Can you live on $1 a day? Then stop calling data "the new oil."
Who's Profiting From the Lie?
Who's selling you false hope?
Tech CEOs who testify to Congress that "AI will create more jobs than it destroys" while their internal memos show 40% workforce reductions planned by 2028.
Career coaches monetizing your panic with $2,000 courses on "AI-proof skills." Skills they've never used to earn a dollar outside of teaching.
Politicians promising "retraining programs." The same programs that failed coal miners, auto workers, and travel agents.
They're not stupid. They know this won't work.
But they have 5 to 10 years before the collapse becomes undeniable. Their job is to keep you hopeful (and quiet) until then.
Your job? Survive what's coming.
What "Post-Labor Economics" Actually Means
Post-labor economics means this: The end of "work for wages" as the way most humans survive.
Think of it like Monopoly. For 200 years, everyone starts with nothing, rolls dice, buys properties, collects rent. Some win, most lose, but everyone plays.
Now imagine someone brings a robot that plays perfectly, never sleeps and owns half the board before the game starts.
You can't out-play it. You can't out-hustle it. You can only change the rules of the game.
The Timeline:
→ 2025 to 2027: The "quiet displacement" (hiring freezes, not mass layoffs)
→ 2028 to 2030: The "oh shit" moment (30% unemployment in white-collar sectors)
→ 2031 to 2035: The "breaking point" (political crisis, social unrest, system failure)
→ 2036 to 2040: The "restructuring" (new economic model or collapse)
You have 3 to 5 years before the middle class job market becomes a luxury goods market. Only for the elite who can afford to employ humans for prestige.
The numbers don't lie:
→ 73% of data entry jobs: automated by 2027
→ 65% of customer service: already AI
→ 40% of legal research: replaced this year
→ 35% of accounting roles: gone by 2029
→ 28% of journalism: written by AI now
→ 22% of HR recruiting: algorithmic
And the new jobs?
"AI prompt engineer" peaked in 2023. Already declining.
"AI ethicist" has 300 openings. Globally.
"Robot maintenance" requires 4-year engineering degrees for 50,000 positions.
We're not creating ladder rungs. We're pulling up the ladder.
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The Uncomfortable Truth
Here's what I need you to understand:
You cannot individually solve a systemic problem.
No side hustle will replace your salary when 100 million people are competing for gig work.
No skill is "AI-proof" when AI learns faster than humans.
No amount of personal optimization will matter when the game board itself is being dismantled.
This terrifies people. So they buy courses. Start podcasts. Learn day trading. Anything to feel in control.
But here's the truth that might actually save you:
The solution isn't individual. It's collective. And it's already being built.
What Actually Works (The Secret Path)
While career coaches sell you classes, the people who study these transitions are preparing differently.
Universal Basic Income. But Not How You Think.
Alaska has paid every resident $1,000 to $2,000 per year since 1982. From oil revenues.
Finland, Kenya and 12 other regions are testing UBI right now.
Early data: poverty down, mental health up, people still work.
But here's what the rich know: UBI isn't charity.
It's infrastructure for a post-labor economy. Like roads and schools, but for survival.
Sam Altman (OpenAI CEO) is funding UBI research.
Why? Because he knows what's coming. And he knows angry, desperate people are bad for business.
The Real Solution: Economic Restructuring
This isn't about handouts. It's about changing how wealth flows:
→ Tax the automation (robots pay "wages" into social fund)
→ Sovereign wealth funds (like Alaska, but for AI profits)
→ Cooperative ownership (workers own the AI that replaces them)
→ Reduced work weeks (30 hours becomes "full time")
Countries already testing this: Norway, Denmark, Scotland, New Zealand.
Countries ignoring this: Take a guess.
So What Actually Works? The 5 Survival Strategies That Matter
After researching about economists, futurists and people who've survived major economic transitions, I found five strategies that actually protect you. Not theory. Real actions. Starting today.
Strategy 1: Master the "Last Mile" Skills AI Can't Touch
AI can diagnose your disease. It can't hold your hand while you cry.
AI can design your house. It can't install the plumbing when it breaks at 2am.
AI can write a legal brief. It can't read the jury's faces and adjust strategy mid-trial (maybe not now).
The pattern? AI dominates remote, scalable, repeatable work. It fails at physical (for now), local and deeply human work.
Your action plan:
→ Healthcare hands-on roles: Physical therapy, nursing, elderly care, mental health counseling. These jobs will explode as populations age. AI can assist, but humans must touch.
→ Skilled trades: Electricians, plumbers, HVAC, solar panel installers. You cannot automate a emergency pipe burst at 3am. Average salary: $65,000. No college debt. High demand until 2040+.
→ Hyper-local services: Home repair, landscaping, personal training, pet care, child care. Rich people will still have money. They'll spend it on services requiring physical presence and trust.
→ Human-essential creativity: Therapists, mediators, clergy, coaches, teachers (real ones, not online courses). AI can give information. It can't give human’s wisdom born from living.
The key: Pick skills that require your physical body, your local knowledge (which people is not bringing online), or your human emotional intelligence.
Start this week: Apprentice with a tradesperson on weekends. Take a course at community college. Get certified in crisis counseling. These aren't "backup plans." They're lifeboats.
Strategy 2: Build Your "Survival Network" Now
When the Great Depression hit, people who survived weren't the richest. They were the ones embedded in strong communities.
Your LinkedIn network won't feed you. Your neighbors will.
Your action plan:
→ Know 20 neighbors by name within 6 months. Not Facebook friends. People who'd lend you eggs at 9pm.
→ Join or create a skill-sharing group. You fix cars, Sarah does taxes, Miguel grows vegetables, Jennifer cuts hair. Barter economy activates when cash economy fails.
→ Find your "mutual aid network." Google "[your city] mutual aid." These groups help members with food, housing, childcare and job leads. Join before you need them.
→ Invest in "social capital." Host dinners. Help people move. Babysit for free. Show up to community meetings. When systems collapse, people remember who showed up.
Real example: During COVID lockdowns, my neighbor traded plumbing repairs for my graphic design work. No money exchanged. Both of us stayed afloat. That relationship started with borrowing a ladder in 2019.
Start this week: Knock on 3 neighbors' doors. Introduce yourself. Offer one specific way you could help them. "I'm handy with computers if you ever need help." "I make extra lasagna on Sundays if you want some."
Strategy 3: Cut Your "Survival Number" in Half
Most people think they need $75,000 a year to live. That's because they have $75,000 in expenses.
What if you only needed $35,000?
Suddenly you can survive on part-time work. Gig jobs. A small business. A combination of trades and bartering.
Your action plan:
→ Housing: This is 30 to 40% of most budgets. Can you house-hack? (Rent out a room, move to a cheaper area, buy a duplex and rent half.) Can you co-house with family or friends?
→ Transportation: Can you live car-free or with one car instead of two? That's $9,000+ per year saved.
→ Subscriptions and creep: Track every expense for 30 days. You'll find $300 to $800 in monthly subscriptions and habits you don't value.
→ Food costs: Meal planning and cooking cuts food costs by 50 to 60%. A $15 restaurant meal costs $3 to make at home.
The goal isn't misery. It's freedom. When you need less, you're less vulnerable.
Real example: My friend Mark went from $72,000/year expenses to $38,000. Same city. Still happy. How? Moved to a smaller place, bikes to work, cooks 80% of meals, cancelled unused subscriptions. When his company downsized, he was fine on contract work. His colleagues panicked.
Start this week: Calculate your actual "survival number." Food + housing + utilities + insurance + minimum debt payments. Everything else is optional. Now you know what you're defending.
Strategy 4: Create "Enough" Income From Multiple Small Sources
One $75,000 job is fragile. Five $15,000 income streams are antifragile.
When one disappears, you're at 80% capacity, not unemployed.
Your action plan:
→ Stack 3 to 5 income sources. Part-time job + freelance skill + small online income + local service + teaching/tutoring.
→ Make them different types. One that pays high but unstable (freelancing). One that pays low but steady (part-time job). One that's active income (you trade time). One that's semi-passive (digital products, rental income).
→ Start before you need them. The best time to build income stream #2 is when income stream #1 is healthy.
Start this week: Pick ONE skill you already have. Offer it locally (Nextdoor, community boards, Facebook groups). Charge 50% less than professionals. You're not replacing your job. You're building a parallel income stream.
Strategy 5: Prepare for the Political Fight of Your Life
Here's the truth nobody wants to say: Individual preparation might get YOU through. It won't save society.
If 100 million people lose their jobs, we either restructure the economy or we get chaos.
You want to survive AND thrive? You need the system to change.
Your action plan:
→ Vote like your job depends on it. Because it does. Research which candidates support UBI trials, automation taxes, reduced work weeks and healthcare not tied to employment.
→ Contact your representatives. Monthly. "I'm a constituent. I want you to support [specific UBI bill/automation policy]. Here's why." They track contact frequency. Squeaky wheels get policy grease.
→ Join or donate to advocacy groups. Economic Security Project, UBI advocacy groups, progressive unions. They're fighting for systemic solutions while you're building personal resilience.
→ Spread the word. Share articles like this. Talk to friends. Break the stigma around admitting we need systemic help. The more people who understand post-labor economics, the faster we can build political will.
Why this matters: Alaska's Permanent Fund (their UBI system) exists because citizens demanded it. Norway's sovereign wealth fund exists because citizens demanded it. Change is possible. But only if we make noise.
The Real Fight: Thriving, Not Just Surviving
Here's what nobody tells you: The goal isn't just survival. It's building a life you actually want to live.
Post-labor economics could be dystopian (mass unemployment, poverty, chaos) or utopian (universal basic income, shorter work weeks, time for art and family and rest).
The difference? Whether we fight for systemic change while building personal resilience.
Imagine: You work 25 hours a week at meaningful work you chose. You have healthcare regardless of employment. You have time for hobbies, friends, learning, creating. You're not rich, but you're secure and fulfilled.
That's possible. But only if we demand it.
You Have Less Time Than You Think
The 2030 deadline isn't when job losses happen. It's when they become undeniable.
The displacement starts now. This year. 2025.
So here's your choice:
Spend the next 3 years hoping your job survives.
Or spend them building skills, community, multiple income streams, lower expenses and political pressure for systemic change.
One path leaves you vulnerable and alone.
The other gives you a fighting chance to not just survive, but thrive.
The robots are coming for our jobs. Let's make sure we've built something better by the time they arrive.
What are YOU doing to prepare?
That’s all for today, folks!
I hope you enjoyed this issue and we can't wait to bring you even more exciting content soon. Look out for our next email.
Kira
Productivity Tech X.
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