Reader Bob works in personal finance – just one of the sectors thought to be at risk from the rise of AI technology. Our Jobs Guru James Innes is here with some advice
Question:
Dear James,
I’m a personal financial adviser. I have a wealth (no pun intended) of experience and think I’m pretty good at what I do. But I’m increasingly worried about the impact of AI on our sector.
I’m 45, so I’m still a way off retirement, but I’m concerned AI will be pushing me out of a job. Do I need to think about how I might be able to change career path before I’m on the scrapheap?
Bob, London
Answer:
Yes, Bob, personal financial advisers are amongst the roles slated to be most at risk from the rapid rise of AI. Writers like me are also apparently under threat. But even roles like web developers, market research analysts – and models! The list goes on and on.
You could consider a career change to one of the roles believed to be ‘safe’ from AI – and become an embalmer maybe. Or a massage therapist. Perhaps a maxillofacial surgeon. Even a plasterer.
But, personally, I wouldn’t panic just yet!
Often cited is the example of radiologists. Back in 2016, one of the godfathers of AI, Geoffrey Hinton, said that radiologists would basically become extinct because of AI. He was very wrong, though! Nearly a decade later, demand for radiologists is at an all-time high. There are a number of reasons for this but the biggest is quite simply that when technology reduces the cost of the supply of a resource, demand for that resource increases. This is known as the Jevons Paradox. (Google it!)
In relation to your role as a personal financial advisor, what this means is that you will spend less time on each client and be paid less for each client, but you should find that your services become accessible to many more people than before. Win-win!
Top Tip:
AI is changing all of our lives – including our working lives. But don’t panic! Go with the flow and we could just find it’s not the end of civilisation as we know it!
Spotlight On: Generative AI chatbots
Generative AI chatbots?! It’s just a fancy term for ChatGPT, Copilot, Gemini, Claude, etc.
My advice is to be very careful if you’re using them when writing either your CV or your cover letter. You need to bear in mind that more and more recruiters are using AI-based software to filter out CVs and cover letters where use of AI is detected.
For a while in 2023 and 2024, job-hunters could get away with having their CVs and cover letters entirely written by AI – but this is definitely not recommended now. Yes, you can make some use of these tools when you start writing up your CV – but use them to support your own efforts, rather than replace them.
Our Jobs Guru, James Innes, is a best-selling careers author and founder of the world’s leading group of professional CV and resume writers .
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