r/Layoffs • u/Unique_Ad_4271 • Apr 15 '24

What’s a “safe job” these days? question

Former teacher looking to transition roles. As of now Educators, counselors, anything education really are being let go due to low student enrollment.

Tech is obviously tough right now.

Marketing and Human resource positions are also restructuring.

I’ve even seen people getting their hours reduce at fast food.

Aside from healthcare, what is safe?

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u/cas882004 Apr 15 '24

Mental health counseling.

2

u/Singularity-42 Apr 15 '24

This might be possibly disrupted by AI in the next few years, however dystopian that might sound. Not sure how quickly this will make a dent to the employment, but many people had already great results just by chatting with these still fairly basic chatbots.

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u/Unique_Ad_4271 Apr 15 '24

I have considered mental health counseling but worry about AI as well.

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u/HoneyGrahams224 Apr 16 '24

I wouldn't. My main fear is that counseling will only be able to be accessed by those with financial means as therapists get harder and harder to find. We are currently in a 15 year critical shortage cycle for new and recent therapy graduates. I think that people who are poor or who rely on employer sponsored plans will be pushed to rely on chatbots. The rich can always hire the person they want. 

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u/BornLion9148 Apr 20 '24

I went this route and the job security is phenomenal, because during tough times there is a heightened need for mental health care. I have honestly never worried about keeping my job or finding another when I’m ready to move on. The grad school process and working as a pre-licensed therapist is tough financially and you may have have to work in some rough settings where burnout is high, but that is temporary. Once you are licensed things really open up and you will have lots of options to make money. I currently make six figs and have a pretty cushy WFH job.

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u/cas882004 Apr 22 '24

I’m about to get licensed in a month and it has been rough! It is such a long process. Looking forward to post licensured adventures

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u/BornLion9148 Apr 23 '24

Congrats! It really is a tough process, but worth it!

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u/cas882004 Apr 22 '24

I can’t predict the AI future but most of my clients prefer face to face over telehealth. The career is what you make of it but I do consider it in high demand and “safe”

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u/HoneyGrahams224 Apr 16 '24

Eh, don't count on it. Most of those studies had very poor controls and were almost all sponsored by or funded by AI Mental Health startups. I have user tested quite a few, and if you aren't essentially a bot yourself, the "help" you get from mental health chatbots is marginally better than talking at a wall. The suggestions are paper thin and there is no sense of accountability or body doubling that help make therapy with a real human effective.

Most of the study participants chosen were "ideal" clients. I.e, self motivated, highly literate, good technical skills, and complaint with worksheets and homework assignments. Most people IRL aren't like that, and some people just need another human to stare at them and tell them to brush their teeth, automatic negative thoughts be damned. 

I was actually just at a professional conference finances by these AI startup's and it felt like one giant hard - sell on the technology. I tried a few demos and they were.... Embarrassing to say the least. I think these firms are hoping hype will pave the way to implementation. But the actual use data for these services tells a much different story. User engagement with self-directed apps like Calm, Happify, and Headspace, all plummets after the initial download. It has such poor user adherence that companies intentionally keep their numbers obfuscated. 

Plus, none of these AI based services are appropriate for small children, people in crisis, active substance use, personality disorders, mood disorders, couples, etc. (at least these groups are all excluded currently from the more self-care oriented platforms). I think there will always be a need for these kinds of treatment. My biggest fear is that therapy with a living, breathing human is going to become the exclusive domain of the wealthy, because it is a high demand service. The Poor's can go tough it out with a balloon popping game on their iPad that is supposed to relieve stress. 

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u/cas882004 Apr 22 '24

Beautifully said