Shift Happens

Hubby and I spent several hours this afternoon in management training. One of the interesting parts of the presentation was a video called "Shift Happens." It's about how life changes. The world changes. Our prospective employees aren't like they used to be. Things "shift."

You can find it on YouTube. There are so many versions of it, you can pick any one and get the general idea. Without spoiling too much of the contents...

Among other things, it talks about how quickly technology changes now compared to how many years, decades, centuries it previously took for advancements. On the job front, sitting in a room where Jim and I had the least tenure with just 5 years at the company, it noted that students today will end up having 10-14 jobs... by the time they are 38! Kids Carter's age are being prepared for jobs that don't even exist yet and for technologies that don't yet exist.

As I explained this to Carter, people just started using the Internet in 1995. When he was born a few years later, things like iPods and text messages and blogs (there's one born every minute) didn't even exist. His jaw dropped. I told him I can't even imagine how far things will advance before he graduates from high school!

I think it's starting already. Tonight, for example, I was unable to help him with his math assignment. That's humbling for someone who was once a top student, I tell ya. When it came to his writing assignment, though, I was all over it! Now we're in my comfort zone. Judging from what I learned today, though, that won't last long.

Shift happens.