title: "Trying Out That Skill Future-Value Thing: Does It Actually Tell You Anything?" date: "2024-07-29" excerpt: "We're all wondering if what we know matters tomorrow. Found this online tool claiming to rate your skills' future worth. Spent some time poking around. Here's what I really think."
Trying Out That Skill Future-Value Thing: Does It Actually Tell You Anything?
Okay, let's be honest. Most of us, deep down, have that little nagging worry. The one that whispers, "Is what I'm good at right now actually going to matter in five years? Ten?" The world feels like it's spinning faster than ever, new tech pops up overnight, and suddenly, the stuff you spent years mastering feels... maybe a little less shiny?
I've spent a fair bit of time thinking about this, watching trends, trying to figure out how to future-proof my skills without just chasing whatever the internet says is hot this week. It's exhausting. So, when I bumped into this tool claiming it could help assess your skill value for the future, specifically at http://textimagecraft.com/zh/google/skill, my initial reaction was, naturally, a heavy dose of skepticism. Another online guru? Another algorithm promising answers to deeply human questions?
But curiosity won out. "Alright," I thought, "let's see what this thing is actually about. Is it genuinely useful for me?"
Navigating to the link, you're met with a straightforward interface. The idea is you punch in a skill, maybe a few related ones, and it gives you some kind of readout on its long-term potential. I started with things I know – content creation, certainly, but also a bit of data analysis, project management, even some older, more niche technical stuff.
What struck me wasn't necessarily the specific score it might spit out (because let's be real, any single number predicting the future is questionable), but rather the perspective it attempts to offer. It seems to chew on data points about market demand, technological shifts, maybe how susceptible a skill is to automation or how adaptable it is across different industries.
It got me thinking about what skills are in demand for the next 10 years. Not just buzzwords, but the underlying capabilities. Is "digital marketing" the skill, or is it understanding human psychology in a digital context? Is "coding" the skill, or is it problem-solving using code as a tool? The tool, by prompting you to input specific skills, inadvertently forces you to articulate what you think your skill is, and then offers a counter-perspective based on its data.
Now, how is it different from others out there? What's eye-catching? That's a good question. There are tons of articles, reports, and even other tools offering career advice or predicting job market trends. Many are high-level, talking about broad categories like "STEM" or "creativity." This one feels a bit more granular, asking you to name the specific skill. While it doesn't provide a detailed guided learning for future jobs roadmap (you'd still need to seek that out elsewhere based on its feedback), it attempts to provide a foundational layer: is the ground you're standing on solid, or is it shifting sand?
It didn't tell me anything earth-shatteringly new for every skill I tested. Some results felt intuitive – yeah, maybe my ability to fix dial-up modems isn't a high-value future skill, shocker. But for others, it offered nuances. It might distinguish between different facets of a broad skill, hinting that one angle has more longevity than another. It helps challenge assumptions, making you ask yourself, "Is my understanding of skill valuation too narrow?"
Ultimately, using a tool like this isn't about getting a definitive, guaranteed prediction. The future is far too messy for that. Its value, I think, lies in acting as a structured prompt. It makes you articulate your skills, confront the possibility that your job skill isn't relevant forever, and then gives you a data-informed perspective to react to. It's less a crystal ball and more a mirror reflecting your current skills against potential future landscapes.
Does it replace deep industry research or talking to people actually working in those future-facing roles? Absolutely not. But as a quick, accessible way to get a preliminary temperature check on your skillset and maybe spark ideas about where you might need to upskill or pivot, it's an interesting little experiment. It adds one more data point to the complex equation of career planning in an uncertain world. And sometimes, just getting a nudge to think seriously about predicting skill value beyond the next year or two is valuable in itself. Worth poking at, just don't treat its output as gospel.