If you work in an office, your job probably didn’t exist 100 years ago. Yep, six out of every 10 jobs didn’t exist back in 1940!
Sure, there are the obvious ones like data infrastructure or email operations, but even jobs like conference planners and nail techs didn’t exist on record until the 1990s and 2000s!
Tech has created many new opportunities and closed the door on others. I found some wild jobs tech replaced — plus new titles on the rise. Want to win your next trivia night? Keep reading — this story’s chock full of fun facts.
Dead in the past 100+ years
Town crier: Before Apple News, town criers screamed headlines around town to keep everyone in the know. Sometimes, they’d “post” news on the door of a tavern — yep, that’s where the term “post” comes from!
📰 What killed it? The printing press. Credit to German goldsmith Johannes Gutenberg in 1436!
Knocker-upper: No, it’s not what you think. In the 1800s, if you wanted to wake up on time, you used to hire a knocker-upper to bang on your door.
⏰ What killed it? The first adjustable alarm clock, patented by French inventor Antoine Redier in 1847.
Toad doctor: A couple hundred years ago, if you had a headache or skin problem, you’d probably call the toad doctor. Well, not on the phone … maybe from your horse? Back in the day, we thought toads and leeches had healing properties.
💉 What killed it? Penicillin. Dr. Alexander Fleming discovered the bacteria-munching mold in 1928.
In the past 50 years
Human computer: NASA used to rely on super-smart humans to do the math for successful launches. The 2016 movie “Hidden Figures” was based on an elite group of black women mathematicians like Katherine Johnson, who did trajectory analysis by hand and paved the way for the moon landing.
💻 What killed it? The IBM 7090 was one of the first computers in NASA’s control room in 1960.
Punch card operator: If you’re old enough to remember paper punch cards, it’s time for a night serum. Punch card operators were used to store business data on punch cards to manage accounting, payroll and more. Fun fact: Chads, the colored dots of punched-out cards, were a common confetti substitute in the ‘50s!
🧮 What killed it? Texas Instrument’s Cal-Tech, the first hand-held calculator, in 1967.
VHS match-maker: Video dating services exploded in the 1980s. Just send a recording of yourself answering a few standard prompts and voila! Get matched with other single hopefuls looking for love.
💔 What killed it? Online dating. Match dot com hit the scene in 1995.
What about the next 50 years?
Don’t let the big bad AI takeover scare you. These were three of the hottest job titles in 2023:
- AI ethicist: AI companies keep pushing boundaries, and someone’s gotta reign them in. An AI ethicist addresses ethical considerations and system biases to keep things from going full-“Terminator.”
- Remote work facilitator: During the pandemic, tons of workforces went 100% remote and never looked back. Remote work facilitators manage tech stacks and collaboration tools for remote teams to keep company culture on point.
- Cybersecurity analyst: Cybercrooks get smarter by the day. Cybersecurity analysts study their moves to stay one step ahead, protect organizations and develop new security measures.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: The best job security? Critical thinking and good people skills.