Three Simple Ways You Can Fend Off Unemployment

How can we make college more affordable for Americans? originally appeared on Quora - the knowledge sharing network where compelling questions are answered by people with unique insights.

Answer by Mary Daly, SVP & Economist at Federal Reserve Bank San Francisco, on Quora.

What are some ways of blunting the threat of technological unemployment? Better education, more education, and lifelong education (the idea that we can one and done ourselves with a degree is over).

But maybe this is the wrong question to ask. Rather than trying to stop progress, it's about preparing yourself to take advantage of it. This means:

1. Building a diverse skill set. Learn everything you can at every job you have. I'm super curious; I like to learn about what others are doing, even if I'm not going to do it today, because I might do it tomorrow.
2. Being comfortable with being uncomfortable. Change is hard because failure is possible. I try to remind myself that most innovators fail, but at least they're trying. If you're never trying, you can never succeed.
3. Being prepared to reinvent yourself. I'm a micro economist working in a macro institution. So I've spent my twenty year career reinventing myself. But that reinvention has made me a better thinker and more resilient. As a result, I'm also less afraid of change in my future.

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