--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If you and your skills are a complement…" description: "\"If you and your skills are a complement to the computer, your wage and labor market prospects are likely to be cheery. If your skills do not complement..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a1/tyler-cowen-4396_address_if-you-and-your-skills-are-a-complement_220273.png" --- # If you and your skills are a complement to the computer… ![“If you and your skills are a complement to the computer, your wage and labor market prospects are likely to be cheery. If your skills do not complement the computer, you may want to address that mismatch. Ever more people are starting to fall on one side of the divide or the other. That's why…” quote by Tyler Cowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a1/tyler-cowen-4396_address_if-you-and-your-skills-are-a-complement_220273.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a1/tyler-cowen-4396_address_if-you-and-your-skills-are-a-complement_220273.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a1/tyler-cowen-4396_address_if-you-and-your-skills-are-a-complement_220273.png) > “If you and your skills are a complement to the computer, your wage and labor market prospects are likely to be cheery. If your skills do not complement the computer, you may want to address that mismatch. Ever more people are starting to fall on one side of the divide or the other. That's why 'average is over.'” [Tyler Cowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tyler-cowen/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. When human skills complement computers, job prospects improve; when they don’t, workers must adapt or risk obsolescence. **In simple terms:** Match skills to tech or risk being left behind. Key Takeaway Upgrade or pivot your skill set. Themes technology labor market skill mismatch future of work Mood concerned optimistic Type analytical prescriptive When to use this quote - career planning - education - training programs - industry transitions - policy design Key Concepts human‑computer complementarity economic inequality Questions to Reflect On - What skills can you develop to complement automation? - How can societies support rapid reskilling? A Different Perspective If the economy shifts faster than individuals can retrain, many may suffer unemployment. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Computer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/computer/) [Computers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/computers/) [Investing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/investing/) [Labor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/labor/) [Market](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/market/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Skills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/skills/) [Wage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wage/) ## Related quotes > [So much were employers of wage-labor unenthusiastic about proletarianization that, in addition to fostering the gender age division of labor, they also encouraged, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-wallerstein/so-much-were-employers-of-wage-labor-unenthusiastic-about/) [Immanuel Wallerstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-wallerstein/) > [“In the glossaries of cant or theives' talk we are given a veritable dramatis personae of the land rovers, all those who rejected wage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rediker-marcus-peter-linebaugh/in-the-glossaries-of-cant-or-theives-talk-we-are-given-a-veritable/) Rediker Marcus Peter Linebaugh > [“We also understand, therefore, that wages and private property are identical. 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