# What event would make your profession obsolete? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 15, 2013, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-event-would-make-your-profession-obsolete/658450 "2013-05-15T21:16:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2013, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-event-would-make-your-profession-obsolete/658450/61 "2013-05-16T20:05:38Z")
> [@cmyk](#): > > > [@Stranger On A Train](#): > > > > Actually, it is more fun to figure out the poster’s occupation from the answer. > > > > If someone actually figures out how to build a working space elevator, it would doubtless put a kink in my work. > > > > Stranger > > You’re a 3-stage rocket booster?! No, he’s a porn star who specializes in elevator-sex fetsihes and is the only one in his field with the stamina for a 12,000 storey scene. ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2013, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-event-would-make-your-profession-obsolete/658450/62 "2013-05-16T20:08:35Z")
> [@The Great Sun Jester](#): > > No, he’s a porn star who specializes in elevator-sex fetsihes and is the only one in his field with the stamina for a 12,000 storey scene. Ooookay. Makes much more sense. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2013, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-event-would-make-your-profession-obsolete/658450/63 "2013-05-16T21:34:43Z")
> [@cmyk](#): > > You’re a 3-stage rocket booster?! No, but I do try to make them not fall over prematurely. > [@The Great Sun Jester](#): > > No, he’s a porn star who specializes in elevator-sex fetsihes and is the only one in his field with the stamina for a 12,000 storey scene. I like your story better, but I don’t think I could repeat it with a straight face. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![drewtwo99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@drewtwo99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewtwo99)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2013, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-event-would-make-your-profession-obsolete/658450/64 "2013-05-16T22:19:34Z")
If for some reason oil was suddenly not valuable at all anymore, so perhaps the discovery or invention of an abundant alternative energy source that is economically implemented quickly, would end my current job of seismic data analysis. Even a gradual change from reliance on oil might end my job as I’m not strictly speaking one of the most necessary people to keep around. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Girlfriend](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.girlfriend/32/193_2.png) [@Dr.Girlfriend](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Girlfriend)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2013, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-event-would-make-your-profession-obsolete/658450/65 "2013-05-17T00:56:09Z")
I work for a life insurance company. If we ever figure out that immortality thing I might be in trouble. ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2013, 7:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-event-would-make-your-profession-obsolete/658450/66 "2013-05-17T07:12:30Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > No, but I do try to make them not fall over prematurely. > > I like your story better, but I don’t think I could repeat it with a straight face. > > Stranger Either way, I think you won the Coolest Job Here Award™. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2013, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-event-would-make-your-profession-obsolete/658450/67 "2013-05-17T17:46:27Z")
All plants die. I wouldn’t be alive for to long after to miss the job. ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2013, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-event-would-make-your-profession-obsolete/658450/68 "2013-05-17T18:11:22Z")
I work in material testing, mostly for the automobile industry. Basically, it would take a major economic collapse that causes all the major automakers to go out of business. Then again, business would probably pick up again once World War III began… ---
**Author:** ![pendgwen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3da27b/32.png) [@pendgwen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pendgwen)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2013, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-event-would-make-your-profession-obsolete/658450/69 "2013-05-17T18:57:05Z")
I’m an emergency medicine doctor. The complete elimination of humans would make my job obsolete. ---
**Author:** ![Animastryfe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8797f3/32.png) [@Animastryfe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Animastryfe)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2013, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-event-would-make-your-profession-obsolete/658450/70 "2013-05-18T02:32:34Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > Actually, it is more fun to figure out the poster’s occupation from the answer. > > If someone actually figures out how to build a working space elevator, it would doubtless put a kink in my work. > > Stranger Rocket/aerospace engineer? I have been trying to figure out your profession for a while now. > [@drewtwo99](#): > > If for some reason oil was suddenly not valuable at all anymore, so perhaps the discovery or invention of an abundant alternative energy source that is economically implemented quickly, would end my current job of seismic data analysis. > > Even a gradual change from reliance on oil might end my job as I’m not strictly speaking one of the most necessary people to keep around. Apart from energy, oil is used for manufacturing many things, correct? ---
**Author:** ![littlespeedysuperbike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/53a042/32.png) [@littlespeedysuperbike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/littlespeedysuperbike)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2013, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-event-would-make-your-profession-obsolete/658450/71 "2013-05-18T02:41:55Z")
A car’s just a machine that transports a few tires, a few people, and some cargo from place to place. An airplane’s just a machine that transports a couple wings, a few people, and some cargo from place to place. If we didn’t need to move tires, wings, people, and cargo from place to place, I think I’d have to change my area of professional interest and ability. If people and businesses decided that “lowest first cost” mattered even more than it already does and that “running costs”, “durability”, and “vehicle dynamics” mattered a lot less, then I don’t think I’d have as much work - though it might be interesting to try to knock the part count down… ---
**Author:** ![vix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/a88e4f/32.png) [@vix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vix)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2013, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-event-would-make-your-profession-obsolete/658450/72 "2013-05-18T03:02:08Z")
> [@Tom\_Scud](#): > > An end to written communication. Same here. I’m in marketing/communications. At the moment, I’m doing social media marketing. If the internet went away, I could fall back on print. ---
**Author:** ![computergeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e56c9b/32.png) [@computergeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/computergeek)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2013, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-event-would-make-your-profession-obsolete/658450/73 "2013-05-18T22:12:03Z")
I’m a software developer. I write code and gather requirements from users. If an EMP or natural event took out all electrical stuff or at least computers, I wouldn’t be able to do my job If artificial intelligence got to the point of being able to do its own programming and be able to answer requests from users, I would be out of a job I can see the first possibly happening in my lifetime, but the second is going to take awhile and I’ll be retired in a few years anyway, so I’m not worried about the latter. If something like either of the above does happen, hopefully I can transfer my thinking skills over to something else. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2013, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-event-would-make-your-profession-obsolete/658450/74 "2013-05-18T23:01:45Z")
Statistician here. Going in one direction, true AI would kill my profession. In the other, the collapse of Western civilization would do the same, regardless of how it came about. The potential demise of my racket doesn’t keep me up nights. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Doggo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/87869e/32.png) [@Doggo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doggo)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2013, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-event-would-make-your-profession-obsolete/658450/75 "2013-05-19T19:19:46Z")
> [@Cub\_Mistress](#): > > I’m a nurse. Only the end of the world will make me obsolete. I too used to be a nurse. If the world as we know it ends, I will still have a skill in demand. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2013, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-event-would-make-your-profession-obsolete/658450/76 "2013-05-19T20:01:01Z")
I’m retired but I guess an attractive job offer would make that obsolete. Before I retired I worked in a prison. So if somebody invented a cure for crime I would have been out of work. ---
**Author:** ![epbrown01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ba0ec/32.png) [@epbrown01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/epbrown01)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2013, 11:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-event-would-make-your-profession-obsolete/658450/77 "2013-05-20T11:37:05Z")
> [@Lakai](#): > > I’m an attorney. If anything were to happen to cause civil society to collapse, I would be completely useless. It took a while, but 9/11 was the catalyst for eliminating my department/profession. The technology had existed since the early 80s but 9/11 (specifically the grounding of air traffic at the time) is what drove the banking industry to adopt it. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Slant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c57346/32.png) [@Mr.Slant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Slant)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2013, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-event-would-make-your-profession-obsolete/658450/78 "2013-05-20T11:41:10Z")
This fascinates me. WTF department was that? ---
**Author:** ![epbrown01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ba0ec/32.png) [@epbrown01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/epbrown01)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2013, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-event-would-make-your-profession-obsolete/658450/79 "2013-05-20T12:40:11Z")
> [@Mr.Slant](#): > > This fascinates me. > WTF department was that? Check processing. Banks always used large equipment to sort checks by routing number (those funny-looking digital numbers along the bottom called MICR). You sort it by bank or area of country or whatever, then bag them up and fly/truck/mail them back to the bank of origin. There were whole airlines that did nothing but fly checks, couriers that ran them from bank to bank, check clearing houses, and it was a large part of what the Federal Reserve did. This rigamarole is why it took days for a check to clear. We had people to received the checks, sort/process the checks, and ship the checks. In 1980, IBM released equipment that would take a digital image of the check, front and back, and said “Hey, why not just send an image directly to the bank of origin, make it a point to point process?” People predicted the end of check proc then, but nobody wanted to shell out the money for the equipment, and the tech languished. On 9/11, nationwide check processing was ground to a halt by the lack of air traffic. It was seen as a huge vulnerability in the financial industry, and check imaging was re-visited. First everyone converted our equipment to digital capture instead of sorting, but within 5 years they were using desktop scanners in the branches and at businesses, and now people can do it on their smartphones. Our dept. used to receive/process/ship about 12m checks a day using over 100 employees. Now, one person scans what few actual checks they get in about 15 minutes with a desktop scanner. An entire dept. turned into an afterthought. ---
**Author:** ![MissTake](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misstake/32/3189_2.png) [@MissTake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MissTake)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2013, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-event-would-make-your-profession-obsolete/658450/80 "2013-05-20T12:50:27Z")
To eliminate my job, all parents would need to remain together until their child(ren) emancipate. I’m not worried. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-event-would-make-your-profession-obsolete/658450.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-event-would-make-your-profession-obsolete/658450.md?page=5)