Factory assembly line workers will be obsolete everywhere on the planet because automation will be so good it will be too expensive to hire humans (even in a third world sweat shop).
Diamond miners will be obsolete because diamond presses will make diamonds that look better than natural and guarantee they aren’t conflict diamonds.
Gas station attendants will be obsolete because cars will no longer run on fossil fuels.

Are there still gas station attendants anywhere? I can’t think of the last time I saw someone pumping gas for a customer. I would feel so … odd if someone pumped my gas. Then again, I feel strange when a bellhop carries my luggage to my room at a hotel, and unless I have too much to carry on my own, ask them to let me get it myself.

The job of newspaper deliveryman may become obsolete since more people seem to be using the web as their primary source of both local and national news. I’ve lived in my current neighborhood for over 25 years now and back in ’80s and ’90s almost everyone on my block got their newspaper delivered. Now, I don’t know anyone who receives the paper.

Obsolete jobs? How about virtually any American-based jobs with a living wage and health insurance? I guess I shouldn’t be so pessimistic. I don’t even have to drive out of state to buy good wine!

Rod – it is illegal to pump your own gas in NJ – self service stations are also illegal. I truly hate having to pump my own gas when I go to other states – and usually pay more for the gas than we do here in NJ.
When I was in high school I had a part time job with the phone company as an information operator. Made 4 bucks an hour – seriously good money – minimum wage was 1.25 at the time. They still had huge rooms with dozens of rows of switchboards for long distance and overseas calls. The supervisors really did wear roller skates to cover the distances. This one place employed 1500 people – mostly women – with great union wages. All gone now with automation and the breakup of MaBell. And there were facilities like that all over the state – plus the old Western Electric plants which made all the phones. All gone. A real tragedy.
My prediction for a future occupation – blacksmith. Seriously – there is already a surprising number of people who are learning artisan blacksmithing – if peak oil gets us – that will be a very very handy skill.

Here in northern Maine, we do still have gas station attendants. Funny thing is the software engineering jobs such as my own are being relocated to Georgia. Hmmm. Well, they can’t outsource the job of being our brother’s keeper. The way things are going it looks like there’s some growth potential there.

Rod, if your fantasy about visiting New Jersey to purchase wine were true, you might have noticed that nobody is allowed to pump their own gas over there. Pennsylvania isn’t the only state with crazy laws.

Phila – it actually isn’t a crazy law – the law was passed to assure that jobs for unskilled people, people who were recent immigrants and teens would be preserved. Gas costs less in NJ so the cost savings that allegedly occur with self service were not an issue here so they could afford to save those sorts of jobs.

Re: Re-emergence of Milkmen
Rod, maybe your next fantasy will be “Wine Guys” who deliver so you don’t have to do your imaginary schlepp to Jersey…

Rod, besides NJ as Cecelia pointed out, you can’t pump your own gas in Oregon. Also, some towns in Massachusetts don’t allow you to pump your own gas.
Isn’t this federal system of sovereign nations cool?!

Re: Gas station attendants will be obsolete because cars will no longer run on fossil fuels.
Except in NJ and OR (where self-serve gas pumps are illegal) you have to search hard to find a gas station attendant nowadays. Full serve stations still have mechnaics of course, and C-store gas stations have a cashier to ring up junk food purchases. But except when visiting the two afore-mentioned states I haven’t have anyone pump my gas since I was in college.

Evidently journalism has a limited lifespan or why would Rod nove to Templeton in Philly?
BTW, I think this is a very ominous scenario. Ben Franklin, pray for us.

‘the law was passed to assure that jobs for unskilled people”
nuh-unh!
but what is even funnier is watching folks from new jersey when they are forced to pump gas themselves. Saw this happen one time headed south from Philly. stopped in Delaware to fill up and there were three NJ-ites (pure white sweats, ball caps anchored low on the head) makes standing in front of gas pump. I had a difficult time stifling a full out guffaw laugh as I approached and asked in my best Texas accent “may hep you?” the ‘gold’ necklaces jangled as they turned around and said shu-ah in their best jersey shore tone. I said “let me guess, you’re from New Jersey” to which in unison they said “how did you know” ah stereotypes aren’t they fun
as to obsolete jobs.
Fighter pilot – more and more UAVs are being used to replace the piloted fighter plane
Meter reader – now they just drive down the street a collect the data via wireless connection. soon the same data will be sent via small tranmitters
paperboy/girl – slowly disappearing as the ODT papers are slowly disappearring
Sackers – still found in some groceries but on the whole they have disappeared.
diskjockey – with the arrival of mp3s and ipods we are our own DJs
jobs that will disappear are those that are replaced by a newer technology. The iceman was replaced by the refrigerator, the telegraph operator by the radio/telephone/email
can the skill be replaced by machine?

My mother, of blessed memory, was until the end of her life (10 years ago) a travel agent. She loved it, and it was great for me and everyone in our family because she always knew how to find the best travel and lodging deals. Now, with Priceline/Travelocity/Hotwire etc. anybody can access great deals and plan their travels sitting in front of their PCs. Is there a need for travel agents anymore? I wonder what my mother would be doing today, and if she could have remained in the travel industry in any sort of way.

Brett R- Yes, travel agents are a dying business. It’s another devil’s bargain we have made. Save a few bucks, get less service. Do it yourself, book your own flights, carry your own bags, sit in some kiddy seat on a packed airliner. Meh

in 50 years? that’s easy!
robotics engineers – without cheap energy, there will be no production of advanced technology.
diamond miners – with the brutal struggle for the basics of life, no one will care about shiny little stones.
auto mechanics – without cheap energy, mass production of cars will cease.
bankers – with no more banks, guess what?
stock brokers – with no more stock exchanges, guess what?
financial advisers – when no one has any savings or investments, guess what?
retirement planners – when the short era of “Retirement” soon ends.
insurance salesman – again, no savings etc, guess what?
wedding planners – again, with the brutal struggle to survive, deluxe weddings will make no sense.
casino workers – again, brutal struggle to survive means the end of the gambling “industry”.
mayor of Las Vegas – see above.
mayor of any city in the SW USA – no cheap energy means no AC, not enough water etc, guess what?
NASCAR racer – no cars, no money, guess what?
pro athletes – average person struggles to survive with little money etc.
actor – see above.
pilots – see above.
vacation bookers – see above.
hotel workers – see above.
Olympic committee member – Russia 2014 will be a disaster and the end of Winter Olympics
coal miners – with little decent grade coal left, guess what?
nuclear scientists – with all decent uranium mines depleted, guess what?
petroleum engineers – all good sources of cheap oil gone, guess what?
hmmmm…
I know there must be more.

The Town of Huntington on Long Island also requires station attendants to pump gas. At least, that’s the way it was until I left nine years ago.

Re: diskjockey – with the arrival of mp3s and ipods we are our own DJs
DJs will survive in nightclubs. I don’t foresee an era when everyone uis dancing to their own music.

“Yes, travel agents are a dying business. It’s another devil’s bargain we have made. Save a few bucks, get less service.”
What you mean ‘we,’ Kimosabe? I would have happily stuck with travel agents, if they hadn’t told me to get lost (in one case literally – the agent told me they would no longer book individual tickets). The other agent I used to use decided she would only book flights on one airline.
Probably both of them are now kvetching about how their disloyal customers let them down.

I’m grateful to have once of the few jobs that’s expressly mentioned in the Constitution. The government can’t put people with a modest or no income in prison without paying someone like me. Plus, the Constitution gives defendants the right to face-to-face confrontation in the locality where the crime allegedly happened, so it’s pretty much impossible to outsource this job abroad.

Is there such a thing as an obsolete job? I guess there’s no such thing, its just that others are no longer in demand, because high technology related jobs are now saturating the world. That’s maybe the reason why outsourcing adviser are really in demand now a days.