Monday, April 27, 2020
Tips For Writing a Work Experience Resume
Tips For Writing a Work Experience ResumeA work experience resume can give your employer a realistic picture of your career achievements. As a work experience candidate, you need to show some accomplishments in a short space of time. It is your key to getting an interview for a job that you would love. To achieve this you need to show that you can be effective in the company and you can be productive even after just a few months.You will need to include your work history as well as your working hours. Remember that you are also allowed to show some previous work experience as well. If you want to show your work history, it is important that you follow a certain format. First, write down your start date. This can be taken from your job description or can be taken from your previous employment history.If you have more than one, use the dates to identify the start and end dates of your work experience. You can use these dates to write down your most recent work experiences.The next step is to include any other kind of work experience that you have in your resume. For example, if you have applied for a management position, this will be mentioned in your work experience. If you have been in sales and marketing, this can be discussed in your work experience. The best way to include your work history is to use bullet points and fill in the rest with your summary paragraph. It is important that you make a distinct space in your resume for your relevant work experience.The summary paragraph can be put at the very beginning of your resume. By including it at the very beginning of your resume, it makes it easier for you to add in your work history while still showing the prospective employer your strong and professional skills.In addition to the work experience, you can include other relevant information in your resume. This includes your past educational background. For example, if you have attended a certain university, a school, or you have worked in the US in a specif ic field, include this in your resume. Make sure that you provide enough information so that the prospective employer can see the qualities that he wants to see in you.Last but not least, include your work experience in your resume with clear definitions and practical examples of the type of work that you did in your job description. Make sure that the work experience you show in your resume are work experiences that match your current job.
Friday, April 17, 2020
The Importance of Old Dominion Resume Writing Center
The Importance of Old Dominion Resume Writing Center Life After Old Dominion Resume Writing Center Before you can start to design your resume on paper, you should have the words. A great friend of harvard will use the exceptional essay writing. You've made my essay look a great deal more professional and academic. There are two fundamental things which you've got to concentrate on when writing english essay in a Harvard style. Professional References whenever you are applying for any position, employer might ask you for expert reference. Getting acquainted with the Football program is a significant first step in the recruiting approach. Include who knows your work as it is related to the position. Simply take the opportunity to inspect the sections of your military occupation which you really liked and the parts you really disliked. Take time to investigate the school or business you're applying to. Therefore, if you think you have the skills to have a position, you are going to want to convince the employer, even in the event that you haven't held a position identical to the one advertised. Old Dominion Resume Writing Center Fundamentals Explained The sole thing you lack is your contact details. Any work seeker whether a fresher or a seasoned person has to compose the resume. Possessing a well-formatted, clean and professional resume will make a terrific first impression and pave the best way to landing a job which you truly want. There isn't any reason why your resume must seem amateurish. The Hidden Truth About Old Dominion Resume Writing Center Sales resumes have to show what type of salesperson you are and how well you've performed previously. Even if you're qualified for the job, if you're not able to convey your qualifications through a fast glance of your resume, the recruiter will assume that you aren't qualified and go ahead. You will need to advertise yourself properly to have the job. Try to remember that even if you're a seaso ned candidate, your job relevant qualities can earn a difference in receiving you the interview call. The Downside Risk of Old Dominion Resume Writing Center You have to create a resume that reassures the reader you're a professional, dependable person along with all the skills required to find the business done. Concentrate on talking about your skills to demonstrate you could indeed do that sort of work. Regardless of what set and the number of skills you possess, it is crucial to list them depending on the job you're applying for. Even if it is a somewhat related skill for this job include it in the resume. Although it is probable your prospective employer is going to have already printed a copy of your resume from your on-line application in preparation for the interview it's a fantastic rule of practice to bring a clean expert copy alongside you. Alternatively, you can visit the interview prepared to deal with any questions linked to the gap in a confident way. A great test to see whether your resume is understandable is to get a civilian read it. When you're writing your assessment, don't forget to type in reference. The War Against Old Dominion Resume Writing Center The program comprises a generous company match and a vast array of investment choices to help reach retirement targets. A search for an expert curriculum vitae services near me feature isn't a terrible idea for a high quality curriculum vitae. A good deal of research about the business profile and your prospective work profile will assist you in listing the most suitable skills for the job. You might even wish to do some on-line research.
Sunday, April 12, 2020
So You Think Management Consulting Is Right For You Think Again! - Work It Daily
So You Think Management Consulting Is Right For You Think Again! - Work It Daily Todayâs topic is whether management consulting is a right career choice for you. Itâs become quite controversial especially after the release of an American TV series House of Lies. So, I thought I share with you my own observations and perhaps you can relate with my experience and decide for yourself whether itâs something you want to explore. Related: 5 Ways To Be Smarter With Your Job Search First things first, let me introduce myself. This is Deniz Sasal. I am a manager with PwC Consulting in our strategy consulting domain. I am also the founder of The Career Mastery, and Landing Interviews Guaranteed free training program. I am 35 years old and have spent around seven years of my life in management consulting. I am not just any management consultant, but one of the really good ones with consistent awards and promotions under my belt. I work for PwC Consulting but also worked with McKinsey, Deloitte, Accenture, KPMG, Strategy (Formerly Booz, now a subsidiary of PwC) many times in our joint projects. Alright, letâs move on⦠I am sure you have already encountered a management consultant with a $1,000 suit, striding around the airport with his fancy laptop bag with a swagger that indicates that he has just finished creating The Earth and is on a very important mission to create a new planet. He is evidently extremely busy and constantly on call with his subordinates, and perpetually uses sophisticated words such as; proliferate, enablers, drivers⦠The reality is that they exist and somehow they have developed such an ego that is unmatched. Iâd like to think they are in minority though. Although I have been in management consulting for the past decade, and my career flourishes from year to year, I was lucky enough to segregate myself from people like these and use any opportunity I had to ensure that no-one is promoted with this attitude. If you ask what these people actually do, they will most probably say that they solve the most important problems of corporates and governments and develop visions fo r future. Wow⦠What a statement! In reality, we do just about anything⦠Last year alone, I delivered over 32 projects. I have done everything from strategy benchmark assessments for a regional Ministry, to a project management and PMO set up for a large corporate, alongside a vision analysis for another corporate, to a strategy implementation. Ultimately, top management consulting firms do basically everything that a management personnel in a large company does. The only difference is that we may do it better as our employers have accumulated centuries of experience and methodologies to be a bit more efficient and solution oriented when it comes to solving problems or maximizing opportunities. The other difference is that my job and team keeps on changing every two weeks to six months and that I may be engaged in up to five projects at a time where as a typical management personnel in a company stays there for quite a while. If there is one thing about my profession that I hate the most, it would be the traveling. Traveling is not as fun as you may think! After years of repetition, hotel rooms become dungeons. If you are in your twenties, it is not difficult to find the motivation you need to keep going and pushing, but once you hit your thirties, things become really difficult. You are probably married, perhaps with kids. Your priorities in life change dramatically; you simply want to spend more time with your wife and kids. However, the irony is that nice employers will keep sending you all over the world so that you donât have the opportunity to enjoy all of the perks that come with a six figure management consulting salary. Worst of all is that there is no end to it. You can never say I will work so hard until I become a partner. Everyone works very hard. Here I have to make a distinction. I understand everybody works hard in their own jobs. However, working hard at management consulting jobs usually means; working incredibly fast, smart, efficient, effective, and under constant pressure for 12 to 14 hours a day while managing multiple projects at a time. By the time you get home, you are carrying a pulp in your head instead of a brain. Juniors work hard to prove themselves, managers to get a shot at being a partner. Even if you become a partner, your workload and travel frequency doesnât really diminish. You canât say that âonce I am a partner, I wonât be traveling as much.â That is simpl y not the case. Partners work as hard as anyone, if not harder. They are extremely driven, only to add more value to clients⦠million dollar profit share also helps! However, there is a positive flip side to this coin as well. I love consulting. As a character, I am easily bored at work. If itâs a project which lasts for more than three months then I itch for a change. I canât imagine myself working for the same company in the same function, even with a different seniority, for more than two years. That would be the ultimate torture for me. I am sure I couldnât survive. My motivation would disintegrate, and I would either get fired or resign for another role in a different company, only to find myself in the same situation again after two years. Thatâs just one of the great perks of being a management consultant. Another perk that I highly value is when we occasionally do âgood work.â One of my recent clients was a regional ministry of social affairs. We created incredible programs that benefited hundreds of thousands of needy people. With the benefit of hindsight, I am proud to say that I was of one of the five people who developed that program, implemented it along with our government client, and successfully rolled it out to beneficiaries. We touched the lives of hundreds of thousands of people. We made it possible because we came up with efficient models to ensure that it was financially sustainable to allocate such funds. Not many people can say that they have touched the lives of others in such a way. Those beneficiaries have no idea who we are, but we helped them massively. They donât need to know. I know. And, thatâs more than enough. Of course, not all of our client engagements are like that. We may also end up delivering work for some evil corporation that will acquire a poor SME to break it into pieces, fire everyone without any compensation, and sell the IP rights. It is what it is... Disclaimer; I have never engaged in such a project nor have I ever heard my employer delivering such projects. Alright, now the disclaimer is out of the way and my job is still safe, letâs continue⦠Another perk that comes with the job is the prestige. Everybody looks up to consultants, especially to the ones that work at big firms. Working for a big consultancy firm is like getting a job insurance for life. Once you are a management consultant at a big firm in a good position, you will most likely never be unemployed again. Itâs usually just a matter of picking the best offer. Getting those offers is usually down to just responding to weekly emails from executive recruiters. Never having to worry about being unemployed ever again, even if the great recession episode two plays out â" which I suspect will in a couple of months; who wouldnât want that kind of insurance? If your management consultancy plans work out, then you will find yourself very much at the top of the food chain. You may find a lesser paying job, but you will always be the preferred candidate, at least on the resume. But again, at what cost? So, what do you think, is management consulting right for you? If you think it is, and if you want to take your career to the next level and work for large multinational companies or management consultancies, then I strongly recommend you sign up to my 3-day video training course at Landing Interviews Guaranteed. Itâs entirely free and is guaranteed to take your career to the next level once you are done with the program. Until we meet again, Iâd highly appreciate if you share this article with your friends who are considering a consulting career. Letâs spread the awareness. Disclosure: This post is sponsored by a CAREEREALISM-approved expert. You can learn more about expert posts here. Photo Credit: Bigstock Have you joined our career growth club?Join Us Today!
Saturday, March 14, 2020
7 Ways to Close Out the Year with a Bang
7 Ways to Close Out the Year with a BangAt this point, 2016 is old news. Its practically Christmas, which is practically New Years. But in the middle of all of the celebrating (or rushing to get projects done before your office is a ghost town for the holidays), there are some small (but mighty effective) things you can do to wind the year down in style. googletag.cmd.push(function() googletag.display(div-gpt-ad-1467144145037-0) ) 1. Give your network some loveIf you had a mentor or colleague who helped you get through the year, nows the time to let that person know how thankful you are. Nothing fancy requireda heartfelt notenzeichen or a small token of your thanks is all you need to bolster your professional relationship with that person. Im a fan of baking cookies for colleagues and friends this time of yearits a thoughtful, homemade way to say, Im thinking of you at the end of a great year. (Of course, its good to know if this person has any special dietary issues if you go that route you dont want to hand someone a plate of delicious peanut butter cookies if they have a major peanut allergy.)2. Set up your network for next yearThink about people youd like to connect with in the new year to move your career forward. If you already know them and want to get to know them better, nows the time to reach out with a simple holiday message that includes your hope to talk more in the new year. Its best to try to set up a concrete date for coffee, lunch, or after-work drinks in January.3.Take care of things on your pending listOnce youre back in the office at the beginning of January, you wont feel like going through and cleaning up loose ends from the year before. So do it now Go through your inbox. If you have lingering to-dos that arent especially time-sensitive, nows the time to put some time aside and check them off so that theyre not totenstill haunting you later. While youre poking around your inbox, take stock of any mailing lists youre on. Which ones do you really need? Keep those, and unsubscribe from the rest.4. Clean your deskJust like your email inbox and your to-do list, you probably dont want to come back to a messy desk. I know when I rush out the door and come back to a cluttered desk, it adds stress points before my day has even begun. Do January You a favor, and take some time to clean off your desk. Your pens dont all have to be pointing in the same direction with your stapler at a perfect 90 degree angle (unless youre into that, in which case have at it), but definitely get rid of any papers you dont need anymore and toss outdated Post-It reminders you wrote to yourself back in May. If possible, do this as early in possible in December so that youre not time-crunched and trying to get out of the office at the end of the month.5. Brush up your resumeDid you know that January and February are the most popular months for job changes or promotions? If you think you might be in the market for a new or upgraded gig soon, now is a great time to look at your resume and add any new skills or achievements that youve acquiredsince you last updated it.Even if youre not planning on changing jobs, this is still a great exercise to do annually. Be prepared You never know when an opportunity will present itselfand wouldnt it be great to say, Oh, heres a copy of my up-to-the-minute resume6. Revise your angeschlossen profilesThis is an extension of updating your resume. Whats the point in getting your it in order if everything online still reflects the slightly outdated you? Make sure your LinkedIn profileand any other online sites where you use your professional brandis up-to-date and ready to go for the new year.7. Get ready to improve yourselfYoure already fabulous, but who among us couldnt use a few positive tweaks? Identify one or two areas where you could use some improvement, and come up with a game plan for 2017. Sign up for classes that start in January, or figure out where in your schedule you can take an ho ur or two per week to work on that skill area. Thinking about that now (and getting the ball rolling on any logistics) will make it easier to get started in January, before winter inertia settles in.So even though it may seem like 2016 is running short, you still have plenty of time for these small investments that could pay big dividends in the new year.
Monday, March 9, 2020
Fairygodboss of the Week Courteney Real
Fairygodboss of the Week Courteney Real My career path has been one heck of the journey, Courteney Real told Fairygodboss. And boy, she wasnt kidding. Now the CEO and Founder of both The Real Capitalist and RiseHER, Real has experience in every aspect of the venture capital and start-up life you can imagine. Whats she learned? A lot about the value of failure, the importance of role models and the power of believing in yourself.We sat down with Real to learn mora about her journey to entrepreneurship, how she keeps her mind ready for creativity and the advice she has for women who want to pursue their dreams, just like shes chased hers.Fairygodboss of the Week Courteney RealCEO and Founder, The Real Capitalist and RiseHERSan Francisco Bay AreaTell us a little about your career. How did you get to where you are now?My career path has been one heck of the journey. I have done everything from being an early-stage entrepreneur to launching co-working spaces and I experience in binnenseed -stage venture capital and early stage accelerators. I host a weekly podcast about female founders and venture capitalists called The Real Capitalist. I also run RiseHER, a community of women campaigning ladies in the start-up ecosystem Most recently, I joined a venture capital fund called Portfolia a venture capital thats mission is to activate womens capital to back the innovative companies we want to see in the marketplace.What is an accomplishment that you are proud of?The accomplishment I am most proud of is actually my willingness to fail. I wouldnt have earned any of my accomplishments without the many failures I had along the way, and I dont think we talk about that enough. If you want to accomplish anything in life, its elend going to come without a few major failures. At this point in my life, I have gotten very comfortable with the idea that I will need to fail and fail often in order to achieve all of the big goals I have in my heart.What is a challenge that youve faced and overcome?I think its both a blessing and a challenge, but often I am underestimated for my age. In fact, with my first company, a potential investor asked if I was an intern. I think the best way to overcome this is having a sense of humor and letting my results speak for themselves.Who is YOUR Fairygodboss? And why?I have been so lucky to have a Fairygodboss at every step in my career and amazing role models who push me to dream bigger. The women in my career are a large part of how far I have been able to get. I could fill a few pages of all the women who have helped me get to where I am today, but just to name a few Amy Williams, Kate Shillo, Brande Nemire, Chenoa Farnsworth, Cecily Shepard, Asra Nadeem, Katie Russell, Trish Costello and Marcia Dawood.What do you do when youre not working?I love enjoying the outdoors, going to SoulCycle and finding local coffee shopsIf you could have dinner with one persondead or alivewho would it be?Jimmy Buffett for a margarita and cheeseb urger in paradise.What is your karaoke song?Anything by Shania Twain or the Dixie Chicks.What is your favorite movie?Elf.What book would you bring with you on a deserted island?Tina Feys Bossypants.What is your shopping vice? What would you buy if you won the lottery?A VW Van to renovate and travel the U.S.What is the 1 career tip youd like to share with other women who want to have successful careers like you?They worst that could happen is it doesnt work out and you walk away a little bit wiser. Just go for it, learn fast and fail often.Why do you love where you work?I love helping people remember how powerful and capable they are.
Sunday, January 5, 2020
Should I Get An MBA
Should I Get An master of business administration Should I Get An master of business administration?Posted September 26, 2016, by Jordan Huidekoper Studying a Master of Business Administration (MBA) has the potential to set you on the path towards attaining your dream job and fulfilling your career aspirations. Its a qualification that can add depth to your professional experience and is looked upon favourably by top employers 88 per cent of organisations surveyed in the 2016 Corporate Recruiters Survey planned to hire MBAs in 2016. An MBA is also a great way to improve business know-how, build practical skills, develop your management and leadership potential, and grow your professional network. But with so many postgraduate course options out there, how do you know whether getting an MBA is the right career move? If youre considering an MBA, ask yourself the following questions Do I need an MBA? Apart from an additional degree on your CV, an MBA qualification will prepare you fo r higher management roles by providing the knowledge and expertise to help you lead in any business setting. Completing an MBA is a demonstration of your commitment to learning and professional development, and a testament to your research skills and leadership potential. Furthermore, many employers prefer MBA graduates and acknowledge that the skills learnt in this degree are applicable and relevant to the workplace. So, if the skills learned in an MBA will boost your career opportunities and represent a good return on investment, its likely to be a wise move. Will an MBA get me the job I want? The great thing about studying an MBA is the flexibility the course offers. For example, at Kaplan Business School, you can either study a generalist MBA covering a range of business disciplines, or you can choose to specialise within a specific industry. This means that when you graduate, your qualification is tailored to your business interests and the perspective of your professional fi eld. While an MBA cant guarantee you every job, it can certainly give you an edge. Do I have time to complete an MBA? Balancing study with your current life and work commitments can be difficult. With advanced standing, you can power through your MBA and graduate within a year and a half. Or, you could choose to study on a per unit basis. If you are expecting to have a challenging few months in the office or are busy with your personal life, you can take a break before resuming your learning with a fresh mind. In many cases, students have up to six years to finish an MBA with 16 units and the end result is exactly the same. Additionally, if you choose to study online, many of the postgraduate courses available are designed to fit into your lifestyle notlage the other way around. Youll also save on travel time to and from campus. When you study online, getting to your classroom is as simple as turning on your computer or mobile device. Will an online MBA give me the same qualificat ions as an on-campus degree? An online MBA allows students to gain the same skills, knowledge and qualifications they would if completing the degree on campus. Usually, the same academics that develop the coursework for on-campus students develop the content for online study as well. Additional benefits for online students include the ability to work full time while they study the flexibility of short study blocks and freedom of location. Upon completion, both on-campus and online students receive the same degree on the same certificate from the same tertiary institution. Considering whether you should undertake a Masters degree is a tough decision and one that should not be taken lightly. A report conducted by Graduate Careers Australia titled Postgraduate Destinations 2014 revealed that 90 per cent of recent postgraduates were in employment soon after completing their degree. So taking on an MBA, which offers cross-disciplinary relevance and holds a strong reputation among emplo yers, seems to be an investment worth making in the current market. Think an MBA is the right career move for you? Check out whatcourses we have on offerMaster of Business Administration (Innovation and Leadership...Study modeansprechbarPayment optionsUpfront paymentCourse guide+ FREE eBrochureEnquire Online Enquire OnlineMBA ResourcesGeneral manager resumeGeneral manager cover letterCareer Insider StoriesShelley Lask - Body Positive Health & FitnessInterested in becoming a?Marketing ManagerProject ManagerHuman Resources ManagerFinancial PlannerAdministration ManagerPopular Career Searchescheapest online mba australiatwo year degrees australiafee help courses australiaMBA CoursesMaster of Business Administration (MBA+)Enquire Online Enquire OnlineThe AIB MBAEnquire Online Enquire OnlineMaster of Business AdministrationEnquire Online Enquire OnlineMaster of Business AdministrationEnquire Online Enquire Online Jordan HuidekoperJordan is a writer and photographer with a keen interest i n personal growth and development.Related ArticlesBrowse moreMBAPay/SalaryWill Doing An MBA Improve My Salary?Want to know the MBA definition? Find out in record time in this quick read article. Furthermore, uncover the way an MBA can help you accelerate your career and respective salary. Did we say salary increase? Yes, we did Keep reading to discover more.CAREER ADVICEMBAHow To Ask Your Employer to Pay For Your MBATheres no question, studying an MBA in Australia costs a lot. Before you give up on the idea, consider this. What about convincing work to pay? Wondering how you can get them over the line? Read how to get startedEntrepreneurshipFinanceIndustries That Require An MBAAn MBA is a powerful tool to have in your kit, but which industries value it most? binnensee just how valuable an MBA qualification can be in fields like finance, law, HR and more.
Tuesday, December 31, 2019
Brave New Road
Brave New Road Brave New Road Brave New RoadAutonomous cars used to exist only in culture, not in technology. You could find self-driving cars springing from the imagination of science fiction writers and filmmakers or in the musings of Silicon Valley visionaries. But they were tropes, not technologies. A self-driving car just wasnt the kind of thing one could expect to binnensee on the road in a lifetime.No more. Vehicles that can drive themselves without a human hand on the wheel or foot on the brake pedal are a technological reality today and soon will be cruising through yur neighborhood, if they arent already there.Indeed, according to one estimate, 10 million self-driving cars will be on the road by 2020.For many, this now-inevitable triumph of technology is neither needed nor wanted. People love their cars. They enjoy the freedom a vehicle gives them to commute to work, run personal errands, and escape on family vacations. Car culture is so embedded in our societyand our emoti onsthat one in four people name their car and many more talk to them on a daily basis. If you have the physical, mental, and financial strength to drive a car you love, then the driverless future seems like an unnecessary, even frightening, prospect.This delivery droid operated by Just Eat autonomously delivers takeout orders to hungry Londoners.As a futurist, I look at technological, economic, and cultural changes to understand what it will feel like to live a decade or more in the future. That sounds like an abstract and ethereal thing to do for a living, but the future is local and is built every day by the actions of people. Im trained to look for change where it happens firstat the margins, on the fringes, in places where the present state of technology isnt really working out for people the way it ought to. Those are the people and places that need change and see disruptive new technologies not as a burden, but as an opportunity.By thinking about what people on the fringes cou ld do with that opportunity, you can begin to map out some potentially surprising ways a new technology like self-driving cars could reshape our society.The engineering community is building this future, and is focused on making autonomous vehicles safe and efficient and attractive to use. That is incredibly important. But its also important not to lose track of the social implications of this new technologyand every new technologywhen it reaches the market and comes into wide use.If many people think they arent ready for autonomous vehicles, which have been foreseen for decades, wait until they grapple with the changes they didnt anticipate.REGAINING INDEPENDENT MOBILITYWhen I talk about people on the fringes, that makes it sound like leather-clad youths with spiky green hair. But Im thinking more of people with gray hair I believe the group that will experience the most unexpected impact from self-driving cars is the elderly.For one thing, the Baby Boom generation that is now agin g into retirement is used to having things its own way. Their entire lives, popular culture and Madison Avenue have sold Boomers on the idea that they could have it all, and that they had a birthright to the freedom of the open road. Think American Graffiti, Jan and Dean, or Thelma and Louise. Even when the so-called Me Generation starts to lose its eyesight, it will insist on keeping that independence, no matter the cost.AARP, for one, recognizes the size of the potential market. About 36 million current older drivers still hold valid licenses. About 80 percent of them live in car-dependent suburbs or rural areas, not cities with public transit. And nearly 90 percent say they intend to age in place, wrote David Dudley in AARP Magazine in 2015. For those whose independent living is closely tied to their ability to drive safely, self-driving tech is a future that cant come soon enough.By 2030, the number of Americans over 65 is expected to reach 72 million.AARPs interest is important for another reason The elderly vote, and if they want self-driving cars, lawmakers will quickly tackle some of the thorniest policy hurdlessuch as regulation, local traffic laws, and insurance.But an elderly-led adoption of autonomous vehicles will look different from what the technologys biggest backers have been touting. For one thing, the epicenter for the self-driving future would not be Silicon Valley with its tech millionaires and billionaires, or Las Vegas with autonomous tourist minibuses, or Pittsburgh, where Uber is now testing driverless taxis. Instead, the first place to incorporate autonomous vehicles into its mainstream may well be The Villages, a 70,000-resident retirement community in Florida.If so, that would change the type of vehicle to be rolled out. Instead of some sleek sedan, think of a self-driving golf cartThe Villages already has around 100 miles of golf-cart trails, and for residents it is the preferred mode of transportation in the community. From an inf rastructure standpoint, kitting out a retirement community with the sensors, lane markers, and other technology needed to have a meaningful fleet of autonomous vehicles is far simpler than doing the same for a city like Boston, with narrow and windy streets that follow precolonial deer trails. Whats more, since they arent intended for the open road, golf carts can be lighter and slower than street-legal cars, and that translates into a dramatically lower barrier to entryand reduced stakes in case of mishap.This delivery droid operated by Just Eat autonomously delivers takeout orders to hungry Londoners.However, the really interesting changes are what happens after people on the fringe adopt the new technology. An elderly bevlkerung freed from (what is to them) the burden of driving would be given a new lease on independence. Forget about doctors appointments made on time or the absence of stress about faltering reflexes Think about the impact on social activity. Would new hobbies de velop? Would volunteering or even paid work increase? Perhaps the over-65 set would find themselves attending night clubsor maybe afternoon clubs that would bring together a wider variety of retirees in a time in life when company and companionship matters the most.We wont know until the technology reaches them. But I suspect the impact of autonomous vehicles on the lives of elderly people will be profound.REIMAGINING THE SUPPLY CHAINVehicles carry more than peoplethe other passengers are the things in the international supply chain that can stretch from a factory in Vietnam or a farm in Chile to your front door. But increasingly, semitrailer trucks do more than simply carry goods from point A to point B.I learned that lesson while I was in the back of a minivan on the A6 autobahn racing from Stuttgart and Frankfurt. I didnt want to look at the speedometer as my driver, Anatoly, gunned and revved the minivan from lane to lane like something out of James Bond movie, so instead I focu sed on the seemingly endless stream of long-haul trucks that shared the road with us.In a rare moment of calm as we slowed down for some construction, I asked Anatoly why there were so many trucks on the highway.People dont warehouse anymore, Anatoly replied, taking his eyes o. the road to glance back at me. (Why do I ask my drivers so many questions?) Back a decade ago, all the big companies had warehouses where they stored goods. Then they would deliver them from storage when people placed an order. But today nobody does that. Everything is just-in-time delivery. Most of what is on this road is not peopleits things, its stuff. Stuff is going for a ride on the autobahn.He shook his head as we hit a bump. Its very hard on the roads and bridges.Highways are the new warehouses, but within the limits placed by human labor. After all, a giant warehouse can be staffed by a handful of workers, but each 40-foot container on the back of a tractor-trailer has a human driver.Or to put it in t he frame of a futurist, overland cargo is a fringe use of human-driven vehicles. And self-driving delivery is a disruption that could have all sorts of advantages.In an age of autonomous vehicles, smart cities and roads, intelligent logistics, and artificial intelligence, the human-imposed limit on the number of hours a day a shipment can stay on the road disappears. We can automate, iterate, and designate exactly where we want our stuff and how to get it there. Goods may never have to leave the roador sea lanes or air routesfrom the factory gate to the front porch.Autonomous transport of goods will allow us to completely reimagine the future of the global supply chain, Abe Ashkenazi, the CEO of APICS, a global supply chain trade association, told me recently. We think it could have as much impact as the PC revolution had on geschftliches miteinander. It wont be just about moving things from point A to point B. The whole system will change. In response, the vehicles will change, too .The necessity of putting a driver in the front with a view of the road has restricted the design of passenger cars and freight-carrying trucks. But autonomous delivery vehicles wont be subject to that constraint. A self-driving vehicle constructed to deliver a weeks groceries or an IKEA sofa wont have to look like the common delivery vanor each other, either.Theres evidence today for what our tomorrow might look like. Just Eat is a company in the United Kingdom that receives takeout orders via an app and sends the food to the customer using a delivery droid. Its essentially an autonomous vehicle, but it doesnt look or act anything like a car. The six-wheeled hauler is more like a large insulated picnic basket, with a hissing on-board air-conditioning unit. The machine is so unassuming that after a few days of rolling along the sidewalks of London, local residents stopped giving it a second thought.RECLAIMING THE INFRASTRUCTURELike the Just Eat droid, future autonomous cargo vehicle s not only will shed their human drivers, but even the form factor of being trucks. Acting as both transport and storage, they will be efficiently designed for the single-minded purpose of getting goods into the hands of consumers as directly as possible.But the roadssu.er the roads. It will be a brave new world for our roads, quite a dystopian future of wear and tear that was never imagined by the engineers who designed them half a century ago. The effect on our infrastructure as the rolling supply chain hammers the road hasnt even begun to be addressed.In another way, though, autonomous vehicles may also help extend the life of the built infrastructure.This truck didnt need a driver for its 120-mile beer delivery in October 2016Back in 2012, I was sitting on a Tempe, Ariz., bus bench with writer and futurist Bruce Sterling, who is best known for championing the cyberpunk movement of the 1980s and the ubiquitous device design trend that followedthat is, the world we are living in n ow. We had ducked out of the annual Emerge event at Arizona State University and were musing about autonomous cars and staring out across the desert spring landscape.I think the thing that Im really excited to see is what the cars will do at night, Sterling said in his scratchy Texas accent.I spend a lot of time staring out of hotel room windows at night, I replied. I travel constantly and I love watching cities at night.Sterlings flair for science fiction narrative got excited. You can imagine standing in your hotel room, watching all of the driverless cars moving themselves back into place for the next day. All of them empty. All of them getting ready for the next rush hour.Its like a front-row seat to the midnight ballet, I added, imagining the cars easing down the street, dodging each other with a dancers ease, in no hurry, but beautifully efficient.A midnight ballet may sound a bit strange, but if we dramatically shift the metaphor we use to think about our cars and roads, migh t we not begin to see new patterns and new ways to imagine these vehicles?Its not about cars at all, Shahar Waiser explained to me at a recent event. Waiser is the co-founder of GetTaxi, a ride-sharing service that allows customers to order a taxi via an app or website. What has set GetTaxi apart from its competition in the 70 cities where it operates across Israel, Russia, United Kingdom, and United States is how it works not only with travelers but businesses as well.We are changing how corporations think about moving people and goods, Waiser said. We are optimizing our system to have fewer cars on the road, but with increased utilization. We are trying to not only do business but also make the cities cleaner and less congested. Autonomous vehicles will only increase that.It wont just be cars deadheading home, as Sterling suggested. Delivery runs can be made at night. Self-driving cargo pods can take the most industrial and blighted routes, leaving the parkways and stateliest stre ets for cars with human passengers. And the roadsides themselves will be transformed, as preprogramed cars wont be swayed by flashing neon or large signs proclaiming deep, deep discounts.That sort of perspective shift has happened to other landscapes. Rivers and waterfronts were the industrial highways of previous centuries, but now we see them as pastoral. Perhaps, as we drive on them less, we will be more inclined to see our roads and city streets as works of architecture or public art.To the extent that self-driving cars will be perfect-driving cars, we may reclaim the streets for strolling on or playing hopscotch.The cultural effects of technological change are often the most surprising. Its not good or bad, it is just whats been happening as long as we have been humans.And so, the most interesting changes that will be brought by autonomous cars will be the cultural shifts. What will happen when we have an entire generation of children who have never known a time when cars did n ot drive themselves. What will their children think and their childrens children?Whole infrastructures that we take for granted today as critical will recede into the distance. Try explaining to a seven-year-old that at one point the entire worlds overland transportation was powered by horses. There will be a time when stop lights and road signs recede away like so many stables and barns.The future of autonomous cars will certainly change our lives in both dramatic and subtle ways, but the ways that will be most interesting are the things that are forgotten, the things that the next generation deem useless and frivolous. Its exactly the shedding of this baggage that will allow the next generation and their children to be unencumbered by the past.As I said at the beginning, its important for the engineering community to think through the scenarios of how new technology can affect the course of society. Engineers are the ones building this future, and the technology choices they make will determine the other choices the rest of us can make when using the technology. Its not enough to perfect the technology. Engineers have to be mindful of the way their technology impacts an all too imperfect world. MEBrian David Johnson is futurist in residence at the Center for Science and the Imagination at Arizona State University in Tempe and a futurist and fellow at the consultancy Frost Sullivan.
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