People Explain Which Professions Are Slowly Dying Out

What used to be ubiquitous at one time has turned into niche industries, which doesn't bode well for their futures.

Cobblers

"Up until a couple years ago I was a cobbler. It was my favorite job I ever had."

"When I left they shut it down(they also sell shoes and boots there) because it takes quite a long time to teach someone the skills."

– Jcavin86

Bound To Go

"Printing press repair. One of my friends travels the country repairing presses and is one of only a handful in the industry."

– jbach220

Sew, Now What?

"Sewing machine technicians."

"The two older gents that service mine are amazing, been doing it most of their lives. They're lovely people and extraordinarily knowledgeable but they're wanting to retire and there's no one to take on they business."

"They've tried to find apprentices but no one is interested despite them being in pretty high demand."

"The precision engineering in my industrial and domestic machines is extraordinary and it makes me so sad that if they go wrong I might never find anyone to fix them."

– woolgathering_futz

The media industry is taking a hit as streaming music and digital photography is becoming far more accessible.

The Digital Age Killed It

"Photo Lab Technician. I've worked in a few different photo labs and with the move to digital there really isn't a need for people who work with film."

"Edit: I should have clarified I was talking about wet labs specifically. I personally haven't seen any new places pop up for developing film and I've lived in big and small cities over the years. I definitely agree with the people saying its a niche market. I can't see it ever being has popular as it once was and I definitely do see it completely dying out as technology continues to advance at such a fast rate. That being said, I do hope I'm wrong."

– OxidanSG

Bad Static

"I work in radio and it's definitely radio."

– lizzolemon

A Self-Destructive Demise

"The thing is radio kinda further killed itself by basically being a playlist on repeat. Most people I know stopped listening cause it was super annoying to hear the same songs 10 times a day. They should go back to the days of having an actual person that is knowledgeable about music and curates what they are playing."

– mistercartmenes

When VCRs Roamed The Earth

"Video player repair people."

– RepresentativeWay734

"Any kind of electronic repairs really. No-one repairs anything any more."

– zsaleeba

The following, very specific professions are unfortunately too specific, and therefore, are apparently becoming less in demand.

Waning Artistry

"Artisans of various type."

"I'm Italian and my country is full of artisans and artist that can't just survive with the income of their product selling. The only few that are surviving are guided by young entrepreneurs that use internet and social media to export abroad."

"In this way we're losing a lot of traditional workers and works and here in Italy it's actually a problem."

– SirDoc90

Reportedly On A Path To Extinction

"Journalist."

"That's not a sarcastic, edgy comment. They are legitimately being replaced by content creators. The advertisements don't even read 'Journalist' or 'Reporter' 60% of the time."

"The distinction is important too, because the job of a Journalist is to report the truth, whereas a Content Creator simply matches a brief suited to the publications biases, alignments and interests."

– Throwawayblowawayno

They Were Going Places

"We are wildly short of truck drivers. The media is talking about it now, a little, but I learned the job a little over two years ago and in training we were shown a map of the US where we had more freight to move than drivers who could move it."

"The entire map was solid red, not a spec of white on it."

"The driver shortage predates Covid. Best I can figure is people: A) don't want to be gone all the time, B) Don't know you can drive locally and be home daily while still making good money, C) share in the negative stigma that exists around truckers these days, D) some combination of the above."

"But there is a growing shortage, and with drivers aging out and younger people not replacing them, the problem is set to get much worse. 'Everything you own arrived on a truck,' but what happens when no one is driving the trucks?"

– Geno__Breaker

Reaching The End Of Their Boundaries

"Land Surveyors. In my State (USA), there were stats put out a few years ago that there were about 2,600 licensed surveyors in the State and about 40% of those were above the age of 60. It's an incredibly important field, but no one talks about it as a 'career' when you're in high school. Depending on which sector you get into, you can make the same amount as civil engineers would but with way more job security."

– TheGloriousPlatitard

I'm noticing more and more photographers are becoming less in demand.

Consumers have become amateur photographers when smartphones with built-in cameras took over the world by storm.

Suddenly, photography neophytes are getting their work published and even going viral with their impressive Instagram portfolios. Professional camera equipment truly does make a difference, but the latest smartphones are becoming competitive with constantly improving camera technology.

While there still is a demand for professional photographers, many people wanting to save their money are relying on their own budding photography skills, myself included.

But when it's time for new headshots, this actor will not be relying on a selfie.