--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: there’s never been a worse time to be a…" description: "\"“there’s never been a worse time to be a worker with only ‘ordinary’ skills and abilities to offer, because computers, robots, and other digital techno..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/43c/erik-brynjolfsson-9007_technology_there-s-never-been-a-worse-time-to-be-a_2003903.jpg" --- # there’s never been a worse time to be a worker with only… ![“there’s never been a worse time to be a worker with only ‘ordinary’ skills and abilities to offer, because computers, robots, and other digital technologies are acquiring these skills and abilities at an extraordinary rate.” quote by Erik Brynjolfsson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/43c/erik-brynjolfsson-9007_technology_there-s-never-been-a-worse-time-to-be-a_2003903.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/43c/erik-brynjolfsson-9007_technology_there-s-never-been-a-worse-time-to-be-a_2003903.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/43c/erik-brynjolfsson-9007_technology_there-s-never-been-a-worse-time-to-be-a_2003903.jpg) > ““there’s never been a worse time to be a worker with only ‘ordinary’ skills and abilities to offer, because computers, robots, and other digital technologies are acquiring these skills and abilities at an extraordinary rate.”” [Erik Brynjolfsson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-brynjolfsson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Automation is rapidly replacing routine human abilities, making ordinary skills less valuable in the job market. **In simple terms:** Tech is outpacing basic human skills. Key Takeaway Upgrade skills or specialize. Themes technology automation employment skill development Mood concerned optimistic Type advisory analytical When to use this quote - career planning - education - training programs - job search - entrepreneurship Key Concepts digital transformation human capital future of work Questions to Reflect On - How can you future‑proof your career? - What skills will remain uniquely human? A Different Perspective Not all jobs are equally threatened; some roles still need human judgment. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Abilities Extraordinary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abilities-extraordinary-2937286/) [Acquiring Skills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/acquiring-skills-1120585/) [Extraordinary Rate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/extraordinary-rate-3541307/) [Ordinary Skills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ordinary-skills-3541306/) [Robots](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/robots/) [Technology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/technology/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [“there’s never been a better time to be a worker with special skills or the right education, because these people can use technology to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-brynjolfsson/there-s-never-been-a-better-time-to-be-a-worker-with-special-skills/) [Erik Brynjolfsson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-brynjolfsson/) > [“If you convert your time into acquiring skills, you will be skillful”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/if-you-convert-your-time-into-acquiring-skills-you-will-be-skillful/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [Some people can work amid chaos or conversations, and some can't - and while there's no doubt an element of brain wiring to it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-hax/some-people-can-work-amid-chaos-or-conversations-and-some-can-t-and/) [Carolyn Hax](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-hax/) > [There are some things you can give another person, and some things you cannot give him, except as he is willing to reach out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-l-evans/there-are-some-things-you-can-give-another-person-and-some-things-you/) [Richard L. 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We even used some structural learning, such as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marvin-minsky/we-wanted-to-solve-robot-problems-and-needed-some-vision-action/) [Marvin Minsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marvin-minsky/) > [“Robots do not celebrate anything. Celebration is an expression of joy, which cannot be mechanized.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ravindra-shukla/robots-do-not-celebrate-anything-celebration-is-an-expression-of-joy/) [Ravindra Shukla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ravindra-shukla/) > [Economists argue about the relative impact of immigrants versus robots on wage stagnation - voters don't care much. They blame immigrants. It's easier to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katty-kay/economists-argue-about-the-relative-impact-of-immigrants-versus/) [Katty Kay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katty-kay/) > [It's going to be fun watching this robot start malfunctioning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-haye/it-s-going-to-be-fun-watching-this-robot-start-malfunctioning/) [David Haye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-haye/) > [So we and our elaborately evolving computers may meet each other halfway. Someday a human being, named perhaps Fred White, may shoot a robot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-k-dick/so-we-and-our-elaborately-evolving-computers-may-meet-each-other/) [Philip K. Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-k-dick/) > [I don't know if robots have personalities, but I think maybe we are special robots that are maybe human after all. We try to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-manuel-de-homem-christo/i-don-t-know-if-robots-have-personalities-but-i-think-maybe-we-are/) [Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-manuel-de-homem-christo/) > [Those of us of a certain age grew up expecting that by now we would have Rosie the Robot from 'The Jetsons' in our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juan-enriquez/those-of-us-of-a-certain-age-grew-up-expecting-that-by-now-we-would/) [Juan Enriquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juan-enriquez/) > [When we built Roomba, we explicitly designed it to not have a face. We didn't want to think it was cute; we wanted people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-angle/when-we-built-roomba-we-explicitly-designed-it-to-not-have-a-face-we/) [Colin Angle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-angle/) > [A South Korean inventor has finally created the robot that mankind has been waiting for. Scientists who have been worried about the robot apocalypse…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-pesca/a-south-korean-inventor-has-finally-created-the-robot-that-mankind/) [Mike Pesca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-pesca/) ## More by Erik Brynjolfsson > [“The greatest shortcoming of the human race is our inability to understand the exponential function.” —Albert A. Bartlett”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-brynjolfsson/the-greatest-shortcoming-of-the-human-race-is-our-inability-to/) [Erik Brynjolfsson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-brynjolfsson/) > [“But analog photography peaked in 2000.2”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-brynjolfsson/but-analog-photography-peaked-in-2000-2/) [Erik Brynjolfsson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-brynjolfsson/) > [“originated at the California research institute SRI International and was purchased by Apple in 2010, listened to what iPhone users were saying to it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-brynjolfsson/originated-at-the-california-research-institute-sri-international-and/) [Erik Brynjolfsson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-brynjolfsson/) > [“Montessori classrooms emphasize self-directed learning, hands-on engagement with a wide variety of materials (including plants and animals), and a largely unstructured school day. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-brynjolfsson/montessori-classrooms-emphasize-self-directed-learning-hands-on/) [Erik Brynjolfsson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-brynjolfsson/) > [“In fact, the ratio of CEO pay to average worker pay has increased from 70 in 1990 to 300 in 2005, and much of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-brynjolfsson/in-fact-the-ratio-of-ceo-pay-to-average-worker-pay-has-increased-from/) [Erik Brynjolfsson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-brynjolfsson/) > [“there’s never been a better time to be a worker with special skills or the right education, because these people can use technology to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-brynjolfsson/there-s-never-been-a-better-time-to-be-a-worker-with-special-skills/) [Erik Brynjolfsson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-brynjolfsson/) > [“Work saves a man from three great evils: boredom, vice, and need.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-brynjolfsson/work-saves-a-man-from-three-great-evils-boredom-vice-and-need/) [Erik Brynjolfsson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-brynjolfsson/) > [“Kodak made its founder, George Eastman, a rich man, but it also provided middle-class jobs for generations of people and created a substantial share…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-brynjolfsson/kodak-made-its-founder-george-eastman-a-rich-man-but-it-also-provided/) [Erik Brynjolfsson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-brynjolfsson/) > [Knowing how to keep someone motivated and how to keep a connection are skills humans have learned and evolved over hundreds of thousands of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-brynjolfsson/knowing-how-to-keep-someone-motivated-and-how-to-keep-a-connection/) [Erik Brynjolfsson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-brynjolfsson/) > [“The many years that we all spend in schools learning skills like reading, writing, and arithmetic—as well as the additional learning that happens on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-brynjolfsson/the-many-years-that-we-all-spend-in-schools-learning-skills-like/) [Erik Brynjolfsson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-brynjolfsson/) > [Computers get better, faster than anything else ever. A child's PlayStation today is more powerful than a military supercomputer from 1996. But our brains…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-brynjolfsson/computers-get-better-faster-than-anything-else-ever-a-child-s/) [Erik Brynjolfsson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-brynjolfsson/) > [“Steven Pinker puts it, “The main lesson of thirty-five years of AI research is that the hard problems are easy and the easy problems…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-brynjolfsson/steven-pinker-puts-it-the-main-lesson-of-thirty-five-years-of-ai/) [Erik Brynjolfsson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-brynjolfsson/) > [“And the data on everything from air quality to commodity prices to levels of violence show improvement over time.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-brynjolfsson/and-the-data-on-everything-from-air-quality-to-commodity-prices-to/) [Erik Brynjolfsson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-brynjolfsson/) > [“the message the labor market is clearly sending is that it’s much easier to create value with highly educated workers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-brynjolfsson/the-message-the-labor-market-is-clearly-sending-is-that-it-s-much/) [Erik Brynjolfsson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-brynjolfsson/) > [Technology has always been destroying jobs, and it has always been creating jobs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-brynjolfsson/technology-has-always-been-destroying-jobs-and-it-has-always-been/) [Erik Brynjolfsson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-brynjolfsson/) [Explore all 75 Erik Brynjolfsson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-brynjolfsson/) ## More Robots quotes > [A South Korean inventor has finally created the robot that mankind has been waiting for. Scientists who have been worried about the robot apocalypse…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-pesca/a-south-korean-inventor-has-finally-created-the-robot-that-mankind/) [Mike Pesca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-pesca/) > [When we built Roomba, we explicitly designed it to not have a face. We didn't want to think it was cute; we wanted people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-angle/when-we-built-roomba-we-explicitly-designed-it-to-not-have-a-face-we/) [Colin Angle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-angle/) > [Those of us of a certain age grew up expecting that by now we would have Rosie the Robot from 'The Jetsons' in our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juan-enriquez/those-of-us-of-a-certain-age-grew-up-expecting-that-by-now-we-would/) [Juan Enriquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juan-enriquez/) > [The other one I did was 'I, Robot.' I take apart Isaac Asimov's Robots world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cory-doctorow/the-other-one-i-did-was-i-robot-i-take-apart-isaac-asimov-s-robots/) [Cory Doctorow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cory-doctorow/) > [I don't know if robots have personalities, but I think maybe we are special robots that are maybe human after all. We try to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-manuel-de-homem-christo/i-don-t-know-if-robots-have-personalities-but-i-think-maybe-we-are/) [Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-manuel-de-homem-christo/) > [..I find it incredible impossible not to cry when I hear Stevie Nicks's "Landslide," especially the lyric: "I've been afraid of changing, because I've…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mindy-kaling/i-find-it-incredible-impossible-not-to-cry-when-i-hear-stevie-nicks-s/) [Mindy Kaling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mindy-kaling/) > [So we and our elaborately evolving computers may meet each other halfway. Someday a human being, named perhaps Fred White, may shoot a robot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-k-dick/so-we-and-our-elaborately-evolving-computers-may-meet-each-other/) [Philip K. Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-k-dick/) > [It's like when we get the transformer movies. It was all a bunch of smaller robot pieces and then you're on set, and you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-nicotero/it-s-like-when-we-get-the-transformer-movies-it-was-all-a-bunch-of/) [Gregory Nicotero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-nicotero/) > [It's going to be fun watching this robot start malfunctioning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-haye/it-s-going-to-be-fun-watching-this-robot-start-malfunctioning/) [David Haye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-haye/) > [The great mystery is why robots come off so well in science-fiction films when the human characters are often so astoundingly wooden.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-podhoretz/the-great-mystery-is-why-robots-come-off-so-well-in-science-fiction/) [John Podhoretz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-podhoretz/) > [I believe one day nano-robots will play an important role in medicine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-angle/i-believe-one-day-nano-robots-will-play-an-important-role-in-medicine/) [Colin Angle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-angle/) > [ \[On President Bush's plan to get to Mars in 10 years\] Stupid. Robots would do a better job and be much cheaper because you… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hawking/on-president-bush-s-plan-to-get-to-mars-in-10-years-stupid-robots/) [Stephen Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hawking/) > [I have been in situations where actors are treated like robots: say the lines, say it like this, we don't have time for conversations.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nia-long/i-have-been-in-situations-where-actors-are-treated-like-robots-say/) [Nia Long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nia-long/) > [Economists argue about the relative impact of immigrants versus robots on wage stagnation - voters don't care much. They blame immigrants. It's easier to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katty-kay/economists-argue-about-the-relative-impact-of-immigrants-versus/) [Katty Kay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katty-kay/) > [The tales of our exploits will survive as long as the human voice itself,' he said. 'And even after that, when the robots recall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/the-tales-of-our-exploits-will-survive-as-long-as-the-human-voice/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) [Browse all 702 Robots quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/robots/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“there’s never been a worse time to be a worker with only ‘ordinary’ skills and abilities to offer, because computers, robots, and other digital technologies are acquiring these skills and abilities at an extraordinary rate.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Erik Brynjolfsson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-brynjolfsson/there-s-never-been-a-worse-time-to-be-a-worker-with-only-ordinary/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Robots" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-brynjolfsson/there-s-never-been-a-worse-time-to-be-a-worker-with-only-ordinary/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/43c/erik-brynjolfsson-9007_technology_there-s-never-been-a-worse-time-to-be-a_2003903.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/43c/erik-brynjolfsson-9007_technology_there-s-never-been-a-worse-time-to-be-a_2003903.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/43c/erik-brynjolfsson-9007_technology_there-s-never-been-a-worse-time-to-be-a_2003903.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“there’s never been a worse time to be a worker with only ‘ordinary’ skills and abilities to offer, because…” — Erik Brynjolfsson", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Erik Brynjolfsson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-brynjolfsson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“there’s never been a worse time...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-brynjolfsson/there-s-never-been-a-worse-time-to-be-a-worker-with-only-ordinary/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-brynjolfsson/there-s-never-been-a-worse-time-to-be-a-worker-with-only-ordinary/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```