The world of work is on the cusp of its most profound transformation since the Industrial Revolution. Everyone in every industry is sceptical about AI and jobs in the future. 

By 2035, artificial intelligence, automation, and augmented reality will not merely tweak existing job roles; they will fundamentally rewrite the rules of employment. The question is no longer whether technology will transform work, but how workers, businesses, and governments will navigate a landscape where the only constant is change.

The Numbers Tell a Story of Unprecedented Disruption

The scale of the coming shift is staggering. The World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report 2023 projects that 83 million jobs will be lost and 69 million created within just five years, representing a structural churn of 152 million jobs or 23% of the workforce. This churn is expected to result in a net decrease of 14 million jobs overall in the same period.

McKinsey Global Institute’s research paints an equally dramatic picture. By 2030, up to 30% of the hours worked globally could be automated, depending on sector and occupation. Even more striking, an estimated 375 million workers worldwide may need to switch occupations due to advancements in AI.

Yet these figures tell only part of the story. The same McKinsey analysis indicates that companies using AI tools are growing at 2.3 times the rate of those that do not. Human-AI collaboration could generate approximately $2.9 trillion in annual economic value in the United States alone by 2030. Technology is not merely destroying jobs; it is also creating new ones and unlocking extraordinary economic potential.

AI and Jobs in the Future: Which Roles Will Grow and Which Will Decline?

AI and jobs in the future will not be a story of uniform loss or gain. The evidence points to clear winners and losers.

Roles in decline: 

Jobs involving routine, repetitive tasks face the greatest risk. Credit authorisers, checkers and clerks could see most of their work time automated. Management analysts also risk automation potential; telemarketers and bank tellers also face the same threat. Demand for office support, production, and customer service workers will continue to decline.

Roles on the rise: 

Demand for high-skill workers will surge, particularly in healthcare and STEM professions. The World Economic Forum projects that AI and information technologies could create 170 million new jobs globally by 2030, while replacing 92 million existing jobs, a significant net job creation. Roles in AI development, machine learning, software engineering, and data science are expected to boom.

The Skills Revolution: What Workers Will Need

The skills required to thrive in 2035 will be markedly different from those required today. The WEF report highlights that companies are increasingly prioritising investing in learning and on-the-job training and automating processes as their most common workforce strategies.

Technical skills in AI, data analytics, and augmented reality will be in high demand. But equally important will be human-centric capabilities such as critical thinking, emotional intelligence, adaptability, and complex communication.

Machines may excel at pattern recognition and routine tasks, but they cannot replicate genuine human judgment, creativity, or empathy. The human-machine frontier has shifted, with businesses introducing automation at a slower pace than previously anticipated, suggesting a more considered, complementary approach to technology adoption.

Augmented Reality: The Overlay That Changes Everything

Augmented reality will not replace workers; as the name suggests, it will augment them. By 2035, AR is expected to be a standard tool in maintenance, assembly, training, and inspection. Workers will wear smart glasses that overlay instructions, schematics, and real-time data onto their field of view. This will reduce errors, accelerate training, and allow less experienced workers to perform complex tasks with confidence.

The implication for jobs is profound. AR democratises expertise. A junior technician can perform at the level of a seasoned veteran with the right digital guidance. This shifts the value proposition from years of experience to the ability to leverage digital tools. Workers who embrace AR will find themselves more productive and valuable; those who resist may find their roles automated out of existence. Realtime AR has found AR devices extremely useful for training and other industrial verticals. 

What This Means for Australian Workers and Employers? 

For Australian businesses, the message is clear: invest in upskilling now. The McKinsey research underscores that lower-wage workers may need support in upskilling to remain competitive. Governments, too, have a role in funding retraining programs and ensuring that the benefits of automation are broadly shared. The mining, agriculture, and healthcare sectors, the cornerstones of the Australian economy, will all be transformed by automation and AR technologies. Workers in regional areas, where access to retraining and digital infrastructure is often limited, face particular risks.

For individual workers, the path forward involves continuous learning. The concept of a “career for life” is fading; in its place is a model of lifelong upskilling. Workers who proactively develop digital literacy, data skills, and human-centric capabilities will be best positioned to thrive. The companies that will succeed are those that pair people with AI tools, unlocking the full potential of human-machine collaboration.

The Bottom Line: Change Is Coming, but It Is Manageable

The transformation of work by 2035 is not a distant threat; it is already underway. The technologies that will reshape employment are being deployed today. The evidence suggests that while the scale of change is unprecedented, it is not unmanageable. With the right investments in education, infrastructure, and social support, Australia can build a workforce that is resilient, adaptable, and ready for the future.

The jobs of 2035 will look different, but they will still be filled by people, augmented by technology, and driven by human purpose. The future of work is not about machines replacing humans; it is about humans and machines working together to achieve what neither could accomplish alone.

Ready to prepare your workforce for the future? Contact Realtime AR today to explore how augmented reality can upskill your team and future-proof your operations.