Where are boomers going next?
In the dirt.
Let's not sugarcoat it. Our generation is checking out, and with us go decades of experience, perspective, and a front row seat to the most dramatic transformation any generation has ever lived through.
In my world, accounting and networking, I saw the changes up close. I was in the last class at my college that taught accounting by hand, using ledgers and pencils. The next class? Typing on terminals.
From there, my career became automated business systems. I got Microsoft certified in networking. I watched entire accounting departments shrink. Early accounting software wasn't even integrated. Each module (AR, AP, Inventory) had its own database. To pull it all together, you had to run a merging process to finally update the General Ledger.
Fast forward. Now we have AI. It doesn't just integrate, it replaces. It doesn't just streamline, it takes over. It doesn't just assist, it phases us out. It goes beyond integration. It wipes out the need for humans. What jobs automation didn't eliminate, AI is here to finish.
And that's just accounting.
Today, I spoke with someone in the medical field. Even doctors know the ground beneath them is shifting. AI is diagnosing faster, prescribing more accurately, and doing it without the white coat or the student loans. The medical profession is changing fast too.
We boomers? We were the bridge. My parents had a black-and-white TV with an antenna. Now I'm holding conversations with AI. We watched the whole arc pivot from analog to digital, local to global, manual to automated.
Interestingly. through it all, one thing that hasn't changed is human nature. What did change is how humans interact with each other and their environments.
Also, something else that has been lost, never to return, is the freedom and privacy my generation took for granted.
So here we are. Our next stop is six feet under, along with our stories, our outdated skills, and the hope we once held for a better America and a saner world.
We boomers saw a lot of change in our lifetime
