What I'll Be Doing 5-10 Years From Now
One question has squatted in my mind, lived rent-free, and overthrown every other thought I’ve had for the last two weeks. It is: What will I be doing 5-10 years from now?
It sounds like a simple question, yet it’s surprisingly loaded. Answering it feels more difficult than trying to build an Elon Musk level unicorn startup. At least, that’s how it makes me feel.
I recently wrote about what I’m building next. The question that prompted the essay was simply “What should I build next?” This question seems similar to the one I posed at the beginning, but when you take a closer look, the two are far from the same. “What should I build next?” deals with the project I plan to focus on for the next few months. “What will I be doing 5-10 years from now?” concerns where I will allocate my time and intelligence further in the future.
Each question lives in a different time scale. They both focus on my future, but at different points in time.
Deciding what to build next was easy. I explored the intersection of what I enjoy, my yearly goals, and what I value at the moment.
But figuring out what I’ll do 5-10 years from now is more daunting. I could try to take the same approach as I did when choosing what to build next, but it’s not practical. I’m blind to those factors. My hobbies and interests frequently change over time, evolving faster than AI seems to do. In five years' time, what I enjoy now may mean nothing to me, what I value now may be something I hate with a fiery passion, and don’t get me started on my five-year goals. I know as much as you. I don’t have them, and I hardly think about them.
I’m still young (only 25 as of posting this). I haven’t experienced enough of life yet, so my values and view of the world are fluid. A lot can change over the next few years. I expect it to happen.
Some people have life figured out when they’re young. They know what problems they want to solve, have a roadmap to follow, and never lose faith in their ability to execute. Good for them. But I’m not like that.
Since I love building things, the best I can do is say that in 5-10 years, I hope to start a business or be a key, early employee for one. In either situation, I want to be an integral player who builds a successful organization from the ground up.
But there’s a problem. A big one.
I don’t know what business I’d want to start, nor do I know anyone willing to take a chance on me as an early employee. That’s okay. I’m in no rush to do either. I’m happy where I am now because I learn a lot, gain valuable experience, and receive numerous opportunities to advance my career. So, shoutout to Piping Rock for that.
By now, you realize this post isn’t actually about what I’m going to do in the future. So, why am I writing this?
This post began as a way for me to declutter my mind and rant about a silly question I couldn’t escape. I hoped the writing process would give me insights into what I’ll be doing 5-10 years from now, but that didn’t happen.
However, this post has evolved. It now serves as a way for me to figure out what I can do over the next few years to prepare myself for whatever venture I allocate my time and intelligence to in the future.
I concluded that there are two main ideas for me to focus on:
- Develop skills that’ll be valuable 5-10 years from now.
- Create a network full of the best creative and intelligent problem solvers.
I’ll explain these at a more granular level in a second. First, I would like to discuss two ideas that will serve as fuel.
The first is Paul Graham’s relentlessly resourceful trait. He writes about how the simplest way to describe a good startup founder is relentlessly resourceful. In short, these people are adaptive and find ways to deliver solutions for challenging, novel problems. When all external obstacles stand in their way, relentlessly resourceful people find a way to break through.
The second idea is George Mack’s high agency mindset. High agency individuals are those who take ownership over their lives and the situations they find themselves in. When faced with seemingly impossible problems, they don’t wave the white flag and surrender like a loser. Instead, they figure out what needs to be done and make it happen, no matter what hardships block their way.
The commonality between these two ideas is that both types of individuals aren’t phased by challenges. Even when all odds are against them, they find creative ways to identify and implement solutions. “Impossible” doesn’t exist in their vocabularies.
I’m not, nor do I expect to be, a rabid fan of these concepts. But I believe in them enough. I respect the “I can solve any problem” principle they carry. So, I’ll keep them in the back of my mind over the next few years to remind myself that difficulties are inevitable but shouldn’t halt my goals, progress, or dreams.
Now let’s talk about the five skills I’ll develop to increase my luck surface area and make myself more leveraged for the future.
If you have an internet connection, which I hope you do if you’re reading this, then you’re familiar with the hottest, most controversial topic at the moment, AI. It’s everywhere, and everyone seems to be obsessed with it.
The biggest career-related fear we all share is the concern of losing our jobs to AI. I don’t want a damn machine to steal opportunities or money from me. Surely you don’t either.
AI isn’t going anywhere, and we can’t escape it. Our world’s biggest companies are going all-in on the AI race. The winner will solidify themself as a monumental turning point in history. I’m sure some companies care about it, but what they likely care more about is the boatload of money they will rake in as a result. It’s probably more than you or I can imagine.
If companies continue to invest money and time into AI as they do now, many jobs and skills will either no longer exist or exist at a much smaller scale.
So, when I look at skills to develop over the next few years, I search for those that are AI-proof. The ones less likely to crumble under AI’s wrath. Neither you nor I can predict the future, so there’s no telling what skills will truly matter. However, we can guess. The skills most vulnerable to an AI takeover are those that are repetitive and rule-based. These skills will fall off first. The ones least likely to go away are those that require a deep understanding of psychology and the human condition. AI can’t think like a human (yet), so it’s unlikely to take control of these skills.
Here are the five AI-proof skills that I believe will give me the most leverage in the future (in no particular order):
- Sales
- Marketing
- Storytelling
- Public Speaking
- Product Growth
I have no set plans yet for developing these skills, but over the next few days, I’ll try to create a roadmap for each and identify action steps to take.
Now, we come to the idea of creating a network full of the best creative and intelligent problem solvers. Whether I start a business or join an early-stage startup, one thing is certain: I’ll have to recruit top talent that’s passionate about whatever mission I have.
My current issue is that I don’t know many people who fall into the creative and intelligent problem solver bucket. The internet is the best place to meet and befriend the brightest minds who have the potential to revolutionize the future. Over the last few years, I have always said I would develop my personal brand and network with like-minded people.
But it never happened.
I post my writing online, like what you’re reading now. Although no one reads my work since I don’t promote or distribute it anywhere. If I continue to seclude myself and my ideas, nothing will change. Next thing I know, I’ll have the same sparse network five years from now.
To create a blossoming network of highly generative people, I must expand my digital presence and connect with people on other platforms, such as X and LinkedIn. It always feels awkward sharing ideas on social media, but it’s the best (and only) way to grow a network online.
There’s one more thing I will do to prepare myself for the future. It is to conduct market research across various industries.
I currently feel most passionate about and interested in the tech industry. I see it has high potential, so if I had an opportunity to build something now, it would be in the tech space. But as I mentioned earlier, my hobbies and passions often change.
The tech industry appears to be saturated at the moment, and since my technical skills are limited, it may be difficult to build something within the space. Luckily, there are hundreds of other industries and niches that I may love.
Since I don’t know much about them, I decided to invest most of my time over the next few months in exploring different areas, with the hope of finding one that I’d be willing to pursue in the future.
As I go through the research process, I’ll probably write in-depth posts about them here. So, more updates on that may come soon.
To sum things up, I can’t give a concrete answer to the “What will I be doing 5-10 years from now?” question. I wish I could, but I’m not ready yet. The partial answer I can give is that I’ll develop skills that’ll be useful in the future and build a network full of elite problem solvers. While these actions don’t specify what I’ll be doing in the future, they will prepare me for whatever comes my way.
I spent a lot of time over the last two weeks reflecting on this question. I’ll probably ponder it more over the upcoming weeks. And probably more over the upcoming months. It’ll never fully escape my mind.
Even though I’ve yet to find the perfect answer, I found one that satisfies me for now. So, I consider it a win.
With that said, I now pose the same question for you to stress over. What will you be doing 5-10 years from now?
Have fun with it.