How will AI affect the rest of your career; photo by DC Studio

Worried AI will wreck your career? Make these moves

ByMaurie Backman

If you’re 50 or older, you’ve probably seen some changes in the workplace since you first started your career. Back in the day, most of your meetings probably took place in a conference room. These days, you may be holding the majority of your meetings on Zoom. It’s easy to make the argument that technology has made our working lives easier. And that extends to AI. AI now makes it possible for workers to streamline and automate various tasks, saving them time and their employers money.

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But that doesn’t mean you’re comfortable with the idea of outsourcing tasks to a machine. Worse yet, you may be worried that AI will wreck what’s left of your career — either by taking over your job or putting you in a position where it’s a struggle to keep up with technology.

If you’re in your 60s and are a couple of years away from retirement, you may be able to hang in there long enough to close out your career without a disruption. If you’re in your early 50s and still want to work another 15 years, you can’t just take the attitude that AI is a fad that will gradually fade. AmeriSpeak’s recent AI Adoption Report finds that 15% of Americans with jobs use AI in the workplace at least once a day. And Gallup reports that the percentage of workers using AI in their jobs frequently has nearly doubled from 11% in 2023 to 19% earlier this year.

At the same time, a Reuters/Ipsos poll shows that 71% of Americans are worried about AI causing permanent job loss. If you’re nervous that AI will ruin the rest of your career, here are some next steps.

Get on board with AI to a reasonable degree

If you decide you’re absolutely not going to use AI, you might end up out of a job or getting demoted. AI is worming its way into workflows across a range of industries — like it or not. If you see it being used increasingly in your workplace, refusing to adapt won’t do you much good. Instead, tell yourself this is yet another change you’re going to force yourself to get used to.

Ease in slowly

You don’t have to jump for joy over AI or start incorporating it into the majority of your tasks. Instead, ease in slowly. Learn to use a couple of AI tools in a low-stakes situation — for example, an ongoing task, as opposed to a huge report with a pending deadline.

Ask for help

If you’re baffled by AI, don’t assume you have to power your way through those challenges. Talk to people at work, or even outside your place of work, who are comfortable with AI and can give you some pointers. You may find that it’s easier to learn than you’d think.

Have faith in your skills

AI can do a lot of things. It can create content and analyze data, to name a couple. But AI can’t think critically the way people can. It also can’t replace 20 or 30 years of the industry knowledge you’ve accumulated. So rather than get intimidated by AI, think of it as your personal assistant of sorts. And recognize that ultimately, it’s your skills and expertise that are going to keep you employed.

Lean into tasks AI can’t take over

You may not love the fact that AI is becoming more prevalent in your workplace. If that’s the case, try to position yourself to take over more tasks AI can’t do. Those could include overseeing new projects, spearheading presentations, and mentoring new employees.

Speak up if AI is getting it wrong

There may be pressure on you to use AI in certain capacities. If it’s causing more harm than good, speak up about it. If your manager is pushing you to use AI to create weekly reports and errors keep arising, make that known.

Emphasize your willingness to learn

Older workers face discrimination in the workplace, regardless of AI. But if you come across as AI-resistant, you risk getting pushed out of your role, or even out of your industry. Instead, make it clear that you’re willing to give AI a try and offer feedback on its usefulness based on your years of experience. Coming across as collaborative in the context of AI should only help your case.

Have a backup plan

You don’t want to assume that AI will render you unemployable in the coming years. And if you adapt well, that’s something you may not have to worry about.

But it’s always good to have a backup plan. Figure out ways you might be able to pivot to a late-stage career path that’s less AI-heavy. And assess your savings to see how you’re doing on building that retirement nest egg. If you’re hoping for another 10 years of earnings at your current salary, but you’re not super confident you’ll get there due to AI, now’s the time to boost your savings rate and figure out ways to lightly downsize your lifestyle. There’s no need to do anything drastic if you’re still gainfully employed. But it wouldn’t hurt to trim spending modestly and sock extra funds away in that IRA or 401(k), just in case.  An equally important thing is to arm yourself with six months of living expenses in cash in case something does go awry at your job – whether it relates to AI or the generally wonky economy we’re in.

Don’t assume the worst

A lot of people are feeling unsettled as AI in the workplace becomes more commonplace. Having an adaptive attitude is key at a time when many companies are embracing technology. It’s also good to think about ways you bring unique value to your employer as an experienced human. If you leverage your skills strategically, you may find that you’re able to keep working as long as you want to without AI getting in the way.

Maurie Backman has been writing about personal finance and retirement planning for more than a decade. She’s produced thousands of articles on topics that include investing, Social Security, Medicare, and the U.S. economy. She also covers retail industry news, mortgages, and real estate. Her work has been featured on sites that include The Motley Fool, Kiplinger, U.S. News & World Report, and The Street. Maurie studied creative writing and finance at Binghamton University. She’s thrilled to have combined both fields into a career she loves.

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Maurie Backman has been writing about personal finance and retirement planning for more than a decade. She's produced thousands of articles on topics that include investing, Social Security, Medicare, and the U.S. economy. She also covers retail industry news, mortgages, and real estate. Her work has been featured on sites that include The Motley Fool, Kiplinger, U.S. News & World Report, and The Street. Maurie studied creative writing and finance at Binghamton University. She's thrilled to have combined both fields into a career she loves.

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