To survive, you must learn new knowledge yourself.

“The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn.”

Why do I say “survive”? Look at the changes in the labor market.

2.7 million Vietnamese garment workers, more than 1 million leather and footwear workers, nearly 1 million electronics assembly workers, will lose all their jobs in less than 10 years. And that has started right now. Because a robot to replace people in factories now costs about 250 thousand USD, but in the next 5-10 years it will only cost 30,000 USD. At that time, 24/7/365 days a year production in factories without electricity will be completely feasible. If you are an investor, a manufacturer, do you think you will choose workers or robots? Where in the world can you find a labor cost that is cheap enough and can compete with robots in terms of labor productivity?

Tens of thousands of girls sitting at each bank as tellers, most of them university graduates, will also lose their jobs in the next 10 years. Because now banks are starting to use live banking systems. When Generation Z grows up, they will no longer go to the bank to do transactions but will do transactions on internet banking. Tens of thousands of credit officers who evaluate credit will also lose their jobs, because the AI (artificial intelligence) evaluation system based on big data will be much more accurate and honest.

Most doctors now do general diagnosis. But AI diagnosis is now better than doctors with less than 10 years of experience. IBMWATSON Health's system has gathered the knowledge of more than 5,000 of the world's best oncologists + millions of case studies. Based on that data, machines have the ability to diagnose cancer extremely accurately. Currently, the cost of that system is still too expensive, but it will be cheap very quickly. At that time, people only need really good doctors to perform surgery, not doctors to examine patients. Many doctors will lose their jobs.

If you are thinking of becoming a teacher, you should worry. Tomorrow, this generation will want to learn face-to-face from the best in the world. And it is not difficult. Because online classrooms are growing and becoming more popular. Language barriers are no longer a barrier. Language differences can also be supported by AI. Teaching is no longer a safe haven.

The same goes for lawyers. Lawyers cannot be replaced by machines to litigate in court, negotiate, and bargain. But if it is to cross-reference laws, analyze the impact, and give advice to clients, in the next 5 years, AI will do it better than humans with the unlimited big data it collects. Many lawyers will lose their jobs.

In an age where jobs that are trendy today may completely disappear in the future, the ability to self-study and continuous learning is of utmost importance.

In the past, a doctor studied for 6 years, and after graduating, that knowledge was enough for them to use for 10 years. Now, there is no way for a doctor to have the knowledge to work for the next 10-15 years. Because medical knowledge, new treatment regimens, new drugs change every day. The generation of One-time learning is over. Now is the era of Lifelong learning. Peter Schwartz - who was an advisor to two Singapore Prime Ministers - said that, for him, the most important skill to survive in this era is the ability to self-study. Even though he is over 60 years old, he still participates in online courses and updates his knowledge in many different ways to avoid falling behind. He often quotes a quote by Alvin Toffler that he really likes: "The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn."

But don’t think that reading a book every now and then, attending a seminar every now and then, or meeting a guru (a leading expert) in a certain field is considered learning. Those things only give you initial ideas. To learn it, to understand it, you have to spend time studying, to ensure 3 things: Providing you with a theoretical basis: Why? What to do? How to do?

I have about 1000 hours of flying per year, 2000 hours of working with partners. Not to mention eating and entertaining guests. But every day, I spend 1-2 hours studying by myself. I participate in online courses with strict output testing requirements. Every day, if I do not pass the course exercises, I cannot advance to the next level, cannot finish my course and am fined for it.

I am 51 years old this year. Even if I have achieved some success in the eyes of some people, I can still fall behind quickly in the next year or two, if I do not update my own new versions every day. What about you, Generation Z?

Until now, we have relied too much on the role of schools in teaching knowledge. But the role of schools in this era will not be to teach knowledge to students anymore, but to teach them self-study skills. 6 years ago, Minister of Education Pham Vu Luan once said: "Teaching has changed. We need to focus on personal development. Before, we said teaching a class of 40 students. Now we have to say teaching 40 students in a class" - many people did not understand this saying so they mocked him. But that saying is actually very accurate. The Vietnamese education system for more than 1000 years - a one-way education, teachers lecture - students listen, teachers read - students copy, has come to an end and must definitely end. Education now must be student-centered. It is not allowed to generalize or level, because each child is a separate individual, with separate personalities, abilities, with separate strengths - weaknesses and separate knowledge acquisition abilities. A general program for that many children is the fastest way to destroy an individual. Education now is to orient students with skills so that they can learn what is best for them and find the best path for themselves, to survive in this era.

Can you, Generation Z – the generation that has to compete by being different – survive? The answer depends on your own preparation and readiness!

- Chairman of FPT Telecom Hoang Nam Tien shared -

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According to: Young Intellectuals