Reskill or Die: Why your future depends on it

Okay…die may be a bit dramatic but hear me out. I have been running scared most of my professional career. Call it the desire to climb the mythical corporate ladder (ambition), trying to make up for not attending some Ivy League school (ego), or feeling that since I am in tech, I should be the next superstar startup CEO (confused). But the more I have had time to think about it, I am simply running to stay relevant, find purpose, and leave the world a little better than how I found it.

About four years ago, I had a #HitRefresh moment when I discovered the gig economy and began adopting a gig mindset to my work and personal life. The gig economy, in simple terms, is the hiring of freelancers and independent contractors to fulfill short-term project needs. With increasing global access to the Internet, coupled with apps that provide freelancers with opportunities to find gig-based work (think Upwork and Fancy Hands), the gig economy is flourishing. According to a study on The Rise and Nature of Alternative Work Arrangements in the United States, in the past ten years, workers in “alternative work arrangements” accounted for all net employment growth in the U.S. economy. By 2033, tech innovation could convert 30% of today’s full-time occupations into “on-demand” work.

When I discovered the gig economy, I was running. I had goals at work and at home that were important to me, but the reality was that there weren’t enough hours in the day for me to tackle everything. Finding a way to get help with some of what was on my plate was transformative, and I realized that I was making my life harder than it needed to be. I began to adopt what I call the “gig mindset.” I was thinking about every personal and professional project differently, looking for places where freelancers could help me not have to run quite so hard to keep up.

By embracing the gig mindset, I was learning new approaches to tackling what was on my plate, which, in turn, enabled me to learn new skills that are helping me work toward larger personal and professional goals. More importantly, I started to meet people from around the world and learn from them. They became my new network and mentors. People talk about “reskilling” as the thing you do when you’re laid off and need new employment, but instead, I found myself reskilling on the job. I had found my path forward.

Sea change: The gig economy is not going away

Reskilling might not seem like everyone’s path forward, but the reality is that the gig economy is not going away, and side work is proving to be a gainful, stable, and broadly-adopted means of career development. In fact, having visible side work can even help establish you as a leader within your current organization. With that in mind, what can we learn from it? What trends should we be aware of? Here are the top three trends that I’ve discovered that, when understood, can help you plan for the opportunity and risks ahead.

Employment: Work will be global and taskified

Some of my colleagues in Microsoft Research wrote an article for the LA Times entitled, “Your job is about to get taskified.” In it, they talk about the concept of crowdwork or online piecework—rather than hiring employees, companies can now set up tasks to be performed at a given rate, and users of the platform perform these tasks.

In fact, researchers believe that 30% of US jobs could be taskified within 20 years. By making tasks available to a global workforce, companies are leveling the playing field for global employment.

Thomas L. Friedman writes about this concept in his book The World is Flat. He talks about how outsourcing and offshoring changed the face of manufacturing in the US, throwing developing countries into direct and immediate competition. The gig economy is changing the face of modern employment in this same way, leveling the playing field for digital workers on a global scale.

Education: Your degree has a five-year shelf life

Once upon a time, getting a bachelor’s degree was enough to ensure a long career. This old economy ran off a fixed mindset. The fixed mindset equation was to get good grades, get a good degree, then climb your way up the corporate ladder through a specialized skill.

In times of certainty this fixed model proved fruitful. But in this new economy, uncertainty has replaced the security of the corporate ladder and opened the door of opportunity for those who can learn and relearn consistently.

Today, the skills you have at graduation are outdated within five years. Both white- and blue-collar workers see their skill sets becoming obsolete unless they constantly work to stay relevant through peer-to-peer learning, earning certifications, and developing talent ecosystems.

“The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, relearn and unlearn.” --Alvin Toffler

Professional development: Freelancers are constantly reskilling

The uncertainty of the current economy has opened the door of opportunity for those who can learn and relearn consistently, and freelancers are doing just that.

In fact, according to “Freelancing in America: 2017,” freelancers are growing at a rate three times faster than the overall US workforce growth, and the reason appears to be because they are frequently reskilling: “55 percent of freelancers participated in skill-related education in the last six months versus only 30 percent of non-freelancers.”

We often talk about lifelong learners and the growth mindset. The gig economy is putting this into practice at an accelerating rate and on a global scale. This means that these skills are critical if you want to future-proof yourself in a fast-moving and ever-changing landscape. Every time you use a freelancer to help you with a project, you will learn something new, and this new-found capacity will change you and keep you relevant.

Hard things are hard

President Obama had a plaque on his desk that read, “Hard things are hard.” He talked about tackling hard things in a world that expects instant gratification. I use this in my talks and with my team to remind me that learning new things, reskilling, and operating out of my comfort zone is extremely challenging but necessary if I want to stay relevant. 

Unlocking the possibility that is offered by working with freelancers is a journey that must be learned one step at a time. And like most journeys, there are significant challenges. The truth is that making this change can be really hard. It was hard to identify areas where I needed help, it was hard to start writing out my expectations for projects, and it was hard (at first) to find the right freelancers.

It all became easier over time. With every project, I learned something new that made the next project easier. With every interaction with every freelancer in my new network, I learned more about what people are capable of and how to digitally collaborate. It became easier to see what was a good fit for freelancers, and work through the changes that I needed to make in my environment to unlock even more opportunity.

When you learn to reskill by participating in the gig economy, you rethink what is possible. Everyone has projects that they will get to “when they have time” and this mindset might actually help them get done. I suggest that you dream big, but start small. The first time you venture into Upwork, Fiverr, or Fancy Hands, think about a $10 or $20 project.

You don’t have to start big…just be sure to start!

  Paul Estes is a passionate advocate for the gig economy, also known as the “Freelance/Sharing/On-demand economy.” In this new way of working, individuals and organizations contract with independent workers for short-term projects and services. Some estimates predict that by 2020, over 40% of the workforce will be engaged in alternative work arrangements, and the implications for our future are profound. Paul is on a mission to show how individuals and companies can take advantage of gig workers to grow themselves and increase their productivity. He leads a cross-disciplinary team at Microsoft that is enabling gig work company-wide, he shares his story as a speaker and panelist at conferences, and he is an active member of the Enterprise Advisory Board for Upwork.