From the course: Career Advice from Some of the Biggest Names in Business

Bill Gates and Thamara Jean: Advice for those just entering the workforce

From the course: Career Advice from Some of the Biggest Names in Business

Bill Gates and Thamara Jean: Advice for those just entering the workforce

(relaxed electronic music) - Thamara, how do your peers think? Or how do you or your peers think about this? McKinsey had a report recently that said by 2030, about a third of people in advanced economies will have to totally change occupations, that it's not a question of jobs disappearing, but a question of jobs just fundamentally changing. Are you ready for that? Do you think your peers are ready for it? How do you guys think about it? - I think we have the benefit of having grown up in a generation where we were introduced to a lot of change and technology all at once, so I think we're a lot less hesitant to adapt to changes in technology, which I think will only work to our benefit in the long run. Whether it's socially or professionally, I think we are a lot less resistant to those changes, and a lot more adept at adapting with those changes when they come. I know people who got into college and wanted to be physics majors, and there's a traditional way to learn that. But nowadays, physics majors have to code a lot, so they take computer science courses, they learn how to code to get their results about what they're looking at in space, and they host hack days and things like that. So I think every field is adjusting, and I think our generation apt to adjust along with it. - I'd love to hear, do you have any advice for, what would you tell Thamara if she pursues, leaves the school realm and enters the professional realm, what kind of advice would you give her on how she should think about guiding her career? - Well certainly, there will be more data to take of these questions of social science and education, and sort of say, what pathways are working and what pathways aren't working. And so, getting interested in data and how we can find patterns in data, it's not necessarily to be a computer scientist or anything, but the social sciences will be way more data-driven. I don't think there's any risk that this idea of looking at outcomes and helping things be more just. There are going to be plenty of jobs, the world will be richer, hopefully, in many countries. At most times, that extra resource will be applied towards these issues of equity that have been so entrenched and so difficult. So I don't think any robot's going to be doing any of the things that she aspires to do. My overall view of AI is that it's 90% good, and if government takes advantage of the new opportunities, it's 95% good. (soft electronic music)

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