The End of Jobs: Money, Meaning and Freedom Without the 9-to-5

According to a 2015 report from Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers based on data from the US Census Bureau, from 1948–2000, jobs grew 1.7× faster than population. Since 2000, the population has grown 2.4× faster than jobs.3

Credentialism emerged as the path to invest in knowledge over the course of the twentieth century. It was a social script, a clear path that many of us have followed: go to school, get good grades and extracurriculars, go to college, get a degree, apply for jobs.

Everyone has access to the sum total of human knowledge and resources at their fingertips, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. Getting closer. The punchline is this: the gatekeepers are dying. You, sitting in your apartment, can communicate with everyone on Earth more effectively than any media company twenty years ago.

Democracy expanded the power to choose our leader. Corporations expanded our power to choose our employers. Entrepreneurship expands your power to design your life. You are a part of the first generation that has radical access to the tools of production. Rather than choosing from a set of options, you can design your own.

This change was accelerated with the Industrialization of society. Work became more and more like jobs as we understand them now. It was a natural side effect of the advancement of civilization. As the demand for specialized labor arose with the Industrial Revolution, individuals began doing more and more specific tasks.

Times have changed. It’s now less valuable than ever to understand how to follow directions and implement best practices. It’s the work of understanding and operating in the complex and chaotic systems—entrepreneurship—that’s increasingly in demand.

While the math behind EV has always been true, it’s now even more true because entrepreneurship is radically more accessible, the downside is dramatically lower, and potential upside is higher.

Stated in a formula, the Fast Lane is: Wealth = Net Profit + Asset Value Those terms are defined: Net Profit = (Units Sold) × (Unit Profit) Asset Value = (Net Profit) × (Industry Multiplier)

Knowledge work, done in the Complicated domain, is no longer scarce—it’s getting more and more abundant. As global education standards, communication technology, and machines increase in supply, Archimedes’ lever is getting shorter and shorter. For macroeconomic reasons, jobs are getting more competitive and less profitable.