Vanishing Jobs
The job market is always changing, but these days, it certainly feels like it's happening faster than ever. From changing consumer habits to the rise of Artificial Intelligence, many jobs that are here today will be gone tomorrow—and by "tomorrow," we mean within the next five years.
Jobs like....
Tax Preparers
With the proliferation of better and better tax software, more and more of us have already started doing our own taxes (something that was super time consuming and rather intimidating just 10-15 years ago). And the truth is that many tax preparers are just using the same personal tax software you can use at home.
Bank Tellers
We all use tellers less than we used to, and if you're under a certain age, there's a chance you've never actually spoken to one (or even made it past the ATM machines at the entrance of your bank).
Warehouse Stockers
It's not exactly the robot uprising science-fiction warned us about—but the machines, equipped with sensors and advanced technology, are able sort, place, and manage inventory (and do it with fewer errors and breakage than us humans).
The idea of a fully-automated warehouse in the near future really doesn't sound that far-fetched.
Card Dealers
Yup, there are AI card dealers out there that are cheaper than human dealers and are less prone to both errors and theft. Once they get the fun banter down, human dealers better really watch out.
Watch Repair
Unless we're talking about smart watch repair. Unfortunately, these days old school timepieces are becoming more and more the realm of high-end buyers and collectors. And with each subsequent generation, the wearing of non-smart watches goes down.
And with that in mind...
Cable TV Installer
Cord-cutting has been a thing for a decade now but it has really picked up steam in the last five years or so. How many millennials and Gen Zers do you know that have cable television? As less and less folks sign up for cable, there will obviously be less and less need for people to install it.
Cashiers
Remember when self-checkout stations were new and super cool? Compare that to now when they are pretty much ubiquitous—to the fact that it's odd when you go into a store that doesn't have any.
Travel Agents
Just like many of us prefer to use the self-checkout systems at stores, we also prefer to just buy our own airplane tickets and book our own hotel rooms (especially the younger generations who grew up with the technology). As the baby boomer generation gets smaller, so too does the travel agent business.
Legal Secretaries
These jobs probably won't fully go away for a while, but the ability of AI-powered tools to do legal research and document automation in law firms has already led to many firms rethinking how many legal secretaries and paralegals they need.
Meter Readers
Many of us have had the utility meters at our houses replaced with smart ones over the last 5-10 years and that is just going to keep happening. Smart readers send accurate info right to the utility company—completely eliminating the need for an actual person to go around reading them.
Taxi Drivers
Taxi drivers were afraid that ride-sharing services like Uber were going to destroy their businesses, and they look to have been correct.
Uber Drivers
Okay, so this one is more than five years away—but it's just a matter of time before self-driving cars are actually a legit thing. When that happens, they will do to Uber drivers what Uber drivers are currently doing to taxi drivers.
Parking Enforcement Workers
Smart parking systems use technology, cameras, and sensors to monitor the parking availability in areas and can provide up to date info on spaces as well as any cars that have overstayed their welcome. They aren't super prevalent yet, but it's only a matter of time.
Fast Food Workers
The proliferation of automated kiosks at fast food locations has already lowered the number of employees needed in the restaurant at any given time. Next up are the robot chefs and the folks in the kitchen.
Tennis Lines People
As of 2025, all events on the ATP tour will use Electronic Line Calling (ELC), and the WTA is probably heading that direction soon. The French Open is the only major that still uses human line judges.
Baseball Umpires
Robot umpires are in the trial phase in baseball, but by 2030, it is very likely that some current umpire jobs in the MLB will be done by robots.
Telemarketers
Before you get too excited: this doesn't mean you'll stop getting telemarketing calls—it just means you'll be getting them from AI automated systems and not real people.
Translators
Yes, a few years ago, Google translate was mediocre at best. But have you used it lately? It is much better. And that's just the basic consumer app.
Librarians
This isn't the time to mourn the fact that younger people aren't reading as much as they used to. But even for those of us that do read on the regular—how many of us are actually visiting libraries? As libraries lose their importance, so too do the number of jobs needed within them. Who still knows what the Dewey Decimal System is?
Proofreaders
If you wrote anything using AI a few years ago, you probably spent as much time proofreading and correcting as you would've had you just written the thing yourself. Well, that was then. Today, much improved AI-driven language platforms and software like Grammarly are slowly (actually, not so slowly) making human proofreaders obsolete.
Toll Booth Operators
Not only are there fewer toll roads than there used to be, how often do you actually deal with a real life toll booth operator at one of them? E-ZPass and automated toll collection systems are much more the norm (and will only get more normal).
Textile Workers
Machines can cut and sew, and they can do it more precisely than humans. They also don't need lunch breaks or sleep.
Farm Workers
Self-driving tractors, smart irrigation systems, crop monitoring drones...more and more tech and AI are taking over much of the manual labor that farming used to require.
Train Engineers
Automation advances mean fewer engineers are already needed to keep trains running safely—and there's no reason to think this trend won't continue.
Mail Sorters
The last couple decades have hit the postal service harder than many others. With the proliferation of email and digital communication, the amount of snail mail being sent has drastically declined. Now, much of the mail that is being sent is being sorted by advanced sorting machines that are faster and more accurate than real people.
Data Entry
Anyone who's done data entry knows that after a while, you kind of feel like a mindless computer. So, it's only a matter of time before actual mindless computers, software, and AI take it over.
Gas Station Attendant
Unless you're in New Jersey, where it is illegal for drivers to pump their own gas, being a gas station attendant is a job that is going away forever (and has already gone in many places).
You Might Also Like:
Every Generation's Worst Money Habits & How To Break Them
