Retooling

Whenever there is a recession or a technological change, job losses as well as job creation is an inevitability. The choices for those who are affected are either to stick it out in their chosen field or to retool or retrain themselves in another field, which hopefully will land them new employment . See related article here. Either choice is difficult to make as both choices involve sacrificing time and money.

Sticking it out might mean running but not hiding from a shrinking field or profession. In manufacturing, though the world cannot go without it, I envision jobs in this field to be broken down into bits and pieces of simple procedures that soon anyone can do it. Ergo, manufacturing jobs will soon be very automated and/or given to those who sell labor the cheapest. Depending on the industry, a manufacturing company can afford to pay premium labor, but it wouldn't be long before jobs would be shifted to cheaper labor.

Retraining oneself in another field is also a big gamble, though it would be the better choice in the long term. As long as one can afford to retrain, I think one should go for it. Of course, this is easier said than done. It's one thing if one is already laid off and then forced to retrain himself. It's another when one is still on his job but thinks his future is not that bright and is contemplating whether to quit then retrain himself.