50% of occupations today will no longer exist in 2025: Report

Business Standard ^ | November 7, 2014 | Press Trust of India

[Mom MD]

Actually its my daughter training to be a doctor. And I think they will both live just fine, even if we end up back at a barter society, which I doubt.

[cynwoody]

The first to go will be dental hygienists, the demise of which profession is already showing up on endangered profession lists.

Cleaning teeth is a lot harder than picking strawberries. And picking strawberries is hard enough for robots that it makes news when they do it.

I suspect, if dental hygienists are in danger of unemployment, it's not robotics, but rather advances in medicine that make dental hygiene optional (ick!).

[Age of Reason]

Intelligent people with skills will have the ability to adapt

People keep thinking that.

I understand what is coming.

The only way it won't happen is if civilization first destroys itself in an atomic world war or is destroyed by disease or a collision with an asteroid or the Yellowstone super volcano erupts or we simply run out of energy (our current civilization was made possible by abundant cheap energy).

I see now that left unimpeded, technology will result in the greatest crisis man has faced since the last ice age.

Left unimpeded, there's only a few ways it will turn out: the one most likely is a return to the kind of equality that hunter gatherers enjoyed.

Which was a time when you couldn't be much richer than the next guy, because there wasn't anyplace to store stuff, protect stuff, or move more stuff than you could carry to the next campsite.

It was a time when nobody farmed and most of peoples wants were supplied automatically by nature.

In the future, most of people's wants will be supplied automatically by machines.

Machines will be a kind of artificial nature.

But instead of being limited in how much stuff you can have by how much you can carry on your person, you will be limited by how many ration coupons the government gives you, to trade for those machine made goods. And everyone getting the same meager supply of coupons, we will have much greater income equality than today, just like we had in the days of hunter gathering.

And there will be no way to materially better yourself, no way to work harder or smarter, because there will be no work, except possibly some unpaid volunteer work. Although what form that might take, I have no idea.

[Grams A]

There are certain places where they have made a major mistake in replacing people with automation.”

One of the few reasons my doctor client’s office staffs like to work with Cigna Insurance is because they can talk with a real person 24/7. Yes, these call centers are generally in India or somewhere outside the U.S., but at least if it’s 5:01 p.m. they don’t get a recording telling them to call back the next day or like some companies we have to deal with they don’t have to send an email which “will receive a prompt response within 72 hours”.

Seems like an ideal job to keep in the U.S. and let people work out of their home.

[Age of Reason]

We will come to live in a way that reminds me of how my parakeet lived: his needs and wants automatically doled out and his cage cleaned, by his owner. Who once in a while would let him out to fly around for exercise.

And instead of garbling away at our image in a mirror all day, we'll be staring into computer monitors, immersed in some virtual reality to escape the horror of real life in a technology run world.

[Rodamala]

I told you to get your dirt out of Boss Keen's ditch, didn't I?

[WorkingClassFilth]

I agree with Age of Reason. Times are changing and there will be a different landscape in tomorrow’s economy. I have a friend just finishing seminary and he said they were admonished to cross train in another field to support themselves as pastors. I agree with this for many reasons but it is going to be increasingly difficult to be a Bible believing pastor in the American tradition of the last hundred years and make a living from your ministerial duties (sounds incongruous, doesn’t it?. I believe this is a step in the right direction, again, for many reasons. Most pastoral duties should really be the province of the flock doing their jobs. Also, if a church leader is in the world as his flock, his perspective is far different from one in a cloister delivering weekly homilies.

The MD, too, will be far different in the future. I have a kinsman about to retire from practice and his view is that about 20% of medicine today (his field) is actual practice. The rest is hoop jumping and compliance to someone’s regulations and directives (Re: the gub’mint).

I’m convinced that the future will not hold a return to the Reagan years or prosperity. From here on out it is going to be a bumpy ride and the old prescriptions will be something of a fool’s paradise. Ask yourself this, if you were living on the leading edge of a post-Chrisitian socialist era or governance in a world of unstable interconnections and terror threats, what would you do differently than what you have done in the past?

[Mom MD]

Nothing. I place my trust in Christ and focus on Him. Until he returns or I die I will continue to live as I live now. I cannot anticipate an unknown future but I can go crazy trying

Until then I will do the best I can to raise my kids and give them values and a good foundation. I will be a good steward of the resources I have been blessed with and lay up what I can for the future. Yes society will become dystopian but probably not in the way any of us think, and God ultimately will take care of His own. Like the first century Christians there may be rough times, but I will keep my eyes focused on the final goal amd trust my Savior.

[WorkingClassFilth]

Bingo! All I am saying is that our ‘cultural’ merry-go-round is going to be different and, if you are honest, that is where a lot of our faith gets misplaced. Trust and obey but live prudently, too.

[bert]

While all that might be true, one does not need to tip a robowaiter with a line of slick banter and the ability to top off your glass of sweet tea

[cdcdawg]

How long before liberals start whining about the “exploitation” of robot labor? Maybe I’m behind on things; are they already doing that?

[Diamond]

Left unimpeded, there's only a few ways it will turn out: the one most likely is a return to the kind of equality that hunter gatherers enjoyed.

Which was a time when you couldn't be much richer than the next guy, because there wasn't anyplace to store stuff, protect stuff, or move more stuff than you could carry to the next campsite.

Sounds like a Barack Obama utopia.

[Diamond]

Think about it: why should anyone pay you for what you know, when they can Google the answer in seconds?

Big Brother, lawyers and many ancillary occupations are probably not going to become obsolete anytime soon. When someone sues you or when Big Brother indicts you or charges you with some infraction Google is not going to serve as your defense attorney.

Cordially,

[dalereed]

What is a concierge?

i’ve seen their little stands at airports and in hotel lobbies but have no idea what they are for or what they do.

[ctdonath2]

How many jobs from 10 years ago don’t exist now?

[ctdonath2]

“New jobs will require creative intelligence, social and emotional intelligence and ability to leverage artificial intelligence. Those jobs will be immensely more fulfilling than today’s jobs,”

There are many people for whom there are no “fulfilling” jobs. Not because such jobs don’t exist, but because those people have no work ethic. Earning their own survival is agony, as they think all necessity and luxury is their entitlement.

[Carthego delenda est]

“Machines will be a kind of artificial nature.”

3D printers supplied with bins/vats of all elements (and later assemble the elements) could and will create just about anything. Now giving that creation life at whatever level...

[WilliamofCarmichael]

I think this is germane.. and yes there are a lot of data in these tables but the alternative is to ask anyone reading this to go look it up himself. Included are 2010 census data.

This is what I inherited when I entered adulthood in 1959.

Compare these numbers to today. (I just started to look for those comparable statistics.)

The labor force and unemployment three generations of change

The text and tables are from the BLS document.

Exhibit 1 Time line of important labor force events, 1946–2001

1946	Start of the baby boom
1962	Oldest boomers enter the labor force at age 16
1964	Baby boom ends
1965	First members of generation X are born
1969	Baby boomers make up the entire youth labor force
1975	Last members of generation X are born
1976	Echo boom begins
1979	Baby boomers continue to make up the entire youth labor force
1981	Oldest members of generation X enter the labor force at age 16
1989	Generation X makes up the entire youth labor force
1992	Oldest echo boomers enter the labor force at age 16
1999	Echo boomers make up the entire youth labor force
2001	Echo boom ends

The 1980s labor force and unemployment:

generation X by 1989 were between the ages of 16 and 24 and composed 17.9 percent of the labor force;	(See Table 1 below)
baby boomers age to 25 to 44 made up 53.7 percent of the labor force.	(See Table 1 below)

The high percentage of baby boomers in the labor force was due to

• not only to their sizable numbers, but
• also to increased labor force participation within the group.

Labor force participation typically increases with age.

• In 1989, for instance,
  • 94.5 percent of men aged 25 to 44 years and
  • 74.6 percent of women in the same age group were participating in the labor force.
• In 1969, when these men and women composed the 16- to 24-year-old age group, their labor force participation rates had been
  • 68.8 percent and
  • 50.4 percent, respectively.

Table 1. Unemployment rate and composition of the labor force by age and sex, annual averages, selected years, 1959–2002

Sex and age	1959	1969	1979	1989	1999	2002
Unemployment Rate
Total, 16 years and older	5.5	3.5	5.8	5.3	4.2	5.8
Men:
16 to 19 years	15.3	11.4	15.9	15.9	14.7	18.1
20 to 24 years	8.7	5.1	8.7	8.8	7.7	10.2
25 to 34 years	4.7	1.9	4.3	4.8	3.6	5.8
35 to 44 years	3.7	1.5	2.9	3.7	2.8	4.5
45 to 54 years	4.1	1.5	2.7	3.2	2.6	4.2
55 to 64 years	4.5	1.8	2.7	3.5	2.7	4.3
65 years and older	4.8	2.2	3.4	2.4	3.0	3.4
Women:
16 to 19 years	13.5	13.3	16.4	14.0	13.2	14.9
20 to 24 years	8.1	6.3	9.6	8.3	7.2	9.1
25 to 34 years	5.9	4.6	6.5	5.6	4.4	5.9
35 to 44 years	5.1	3.4	4.6	3.9	3.3	4.6
45 to 54 years	4.2	2.6	3.9	3.2	2.5	3.8
55 to 64 years	4.1	2.2	3.2	2.8	2.6	3.5
65 years and older	2.8	2.3	3.3	2.9	3.2	3.9
Composition of the labor force
Total, 16 years and older	68,369	80,734	104,962	123,869	139,368	144,863
Percent	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0
Men:
16 to 19 years	3.8	4.8	4.9	3.3	3.1	2.7
20 to 24 years	5.8	6.5	8.1	6.0	5.2	5.4
25 to 34 years	15.1	13.6	15.6	16.1	12.4	12.1
35 to 44 years	15.9	13.1	11.0	13.4	14.6	13.7
45 to 54 years	13.8	12.8	9.5	8.8	11.0	11.8
55 to 64 years	9.3	8.7	6.9	5.5	5.4	6.0
65 years and older	3.4	2.7	1.9	1.6	1.7	1.8
Women:
16 to 19 years	2.8	3.8	4.3	3.1	2.9	2.6
20 to 24 years	3.6	5.7	6.9	5.4	4.8	4.8
25 to 34 years	6.0	6.7	11.0	12.9	10.6	10.1
35 to 44 years	7.6	7.3	7.8	11.3	12.6	11.8
45 to 54 years	7.4	7.9	6.6	7.3	10.0	10.7
55 to 64 years	4.2	5.0	4.5	4.1	4.5	5.2
65 years and older	1.2	1.3	1.1	1.2	1.2	1.3

[Numbers in thousands]

NOTE: Because of rounding, sums of individual items may not equal totals.

See BLS document for more about changing unemployment rates 1959 - 2002 affected by the aging of the three groups.

Civilian labor force participation rates by age, sex, race, and ethnicity

See brief discription here

Table 3.3 Civilian labor force participation rates by age, sex, race, and ethnicity, 1992, 2002, 2012, and projected 2022 (In percent)

		Partici	pation	rate			Percent change			Annual growth rate
Group	1992	2002	2012	2022		1992-2002	2002-2012	2012-2022	1992-2002	2002-2012	2012-2022
Total, 16 years and older	66.4	66.6	63.7	61.6		0.2	-2.9	-2.1	0.0	-0.4	-0.3
16 to 24	66.1	63.3	54.9	49.6		-2.9	-8.4	-5.3	-0.4	-1.4	-1.0
16 to 19	51.3	47.4	34.3	27.3		-3.8	-13.1	-7.0	-0.8	-3.2	-2.3
20 to 24	77.1	76.4	70.9	67.3		-0.7	-5.5	-3.6	-0.1	-0.7	-0.5
25 to 54	83.6	83.3	81.4	81.0		-0.3	-1.9	-0.4	0.0	-0.2	-0.1
25 to 34	83.7	83.7	81.7	81.1		0.0	-2.0	-0.6	0.0	-0.2	-0.1
35 to 44	85.1	84.1	82.6	81.8		-0.9	-1.5	-0.8	-0.1	-0.2	-0.1
45 to 54	81.5	82.1	80.2	79.9		0.6	-1.9	-0.3	0.1	-0.2	0.0
55 and older	29.7	34.5	40.5	41.5		4.9	6.0	1.0	1.5	1.6	0.3
55 to 64	56.2	61.9	64.5	67.5		5.7	2.6	3.0	1.0	0.4	0.5
55 to 59	67.4	70.7	72.5	75.5		3.2	1.8	3.0	0.5	0.3	0.4
60 to 64	45.0	50.5	55.2	59.8		5.5	4.7	4.6	1.2	0.9	0.8
60 to 61	56.0	59.7	63.8	68.4		3.7	4.1	4.6	0.6	0.7	0.7
62 to 64	37.7	43.7	49.1	53.8		5.9	5.4	4.7	1.5	1.2	0.9
65 and older	11.5	13.2	18.5	23.0		1.7	5.3	4.5	1.4	3.4	2.2
65 to 74	16.3	20.4	26.8	31.9		4.1	6.5	5.1	2.3	2.8	1.7
65 to 69	20.6	26.1	32.1	38.3		5.4	6.0	6.2	2.4	2.1	1.8
70 to 74	11.1	14.0	19.5	24.0		2.9	5.5	4.5	2.3	3.4	2.1
75 to 79	6.3	7.4	11.4	14.9		1.1	4.0	3.5	1.7	4.4	2.7
75 and older	4.5	5.1	7.6	10.5		0.6	2.5	2.9	1.3	4.1	3.3
Men, 16 years and older	75.8	74.1	70.2	67.6		-1.7	-3.9	-2.6	-0.2	-0.5	-0.4
16 to 24	70.5	65.5	56.5	51.1		-5.0	-9.0	-5.4	-0.7	-1.5	-1.0
16 to 19	53.4	47.5	34.0	27.8		-5.9	-13.5	-6.2	-1.2	-3.3	-2.0
20 to 24	83.3	80.7	74.5	69.9		-2.6	-6.2	-4.6	-0.3	-0.8	-0.6
25 to 54	93.0	91.0	88.7	88.2		-1.9	-2.3	-0.5	-0.2	-0.3	-0.1
25 to 34	93.8	92.4	89.5	88.8		-1.3	-2.9	-0.7	-0.1	-0.3	-0.1
35 to 44	93.7	92.1	90.7	90.4		-1.6	-1.4	-0.3	-0.2	-0.2	0.0
45 to 54	90.7	88.5	86.1	85.1		-2.3	-2.4	-1.0	-0.3	-0.3	-0.1
55 and older	38.4	42.0	46.8	46.2		3.6	4.8	-0.6	0.9	1.1	-0.1
55 to 64	67.0	69.2	69.9	71.0		2.2	0.7	1.1	0.3	0.1	0.2
55 to 59	79.0	78.0	78.0	77.8		-1.0	0.0	-0.2	-0.1	0.0	0.0
60 to 64	54.7	57.6	60.5	64.3		2.9	2.9	3.8	0.5	0.5	0.6
60 to 61	67.2	67.3	68.8	69.7		0.1	1.5	0.9	0.0	0.2	0.1
62 to 64	46.2	50.4	54.6	60.5		4.2	4.2	5.9	0.9	0.8	1.0
65 and older	16.1	17.9	23.6	27.2		1.8	5.7	3.6	1.1	2.8	1.4
65 to 74	21.1	25.5	31.8	35.9		4.4	6.3	4.1	1.9	2.2	1.2
65 to 69	26.0	32.2	37.1	41.6		6.3	4.9	4.5	2.2	1.4	1.2
70 to 74	15.0	17.6	24.2	28.8		2.6	6.6	4.6	1.6	3.2	1.8
75 to 79	9.0	10.2	15.9	19.0		1.2	5.7	3.1	1.2	4.6	1.8
75 and older	7.3	7.6	11.3	13.9		0.4	3.7	2.6	0.5	4.0	2.1
Women, 16 years and older	57.8	59.6	57.7	56.0		1.8	-1.9	-1.7	0.3	-0.3	-0.3
16 to 24	61.8	61.1	53.2	48.1		-0.7	-7.9	-5.1	-0.1	-1.4	-1.0
16 to 19	49.1	47.3	34.6	26.7		-1.7	-12.7	-7.9	-0.4	-3.1	-2.6
20 to 24	70.9	72.1	67.4	64.7		1.2	-4.7	-2.7	0.2	-0.7	-0.4
25 to 54	74.6	75.9	74.5	73.8		1.3	-1.4	-0.7	0.2	-0.2	-0.1
25 to 34	73.9	75.1	74.1	73.4		1.2	-1.0	-0.7	0.2	-0.1	-0.1
35 to 44	76.7	76.4	74.8	73.3		-0.3	-1.6	-1.5	0.0	-0.2	-0.2
45 to 54	72.6	76.0	74.7	74.9		3.4	-1.3	0.2	0.5	-0.2	0.0
55 and older	22.8	28.5	35.1	37.5		5.7	6.6	2.4	2.3	2.1	0.7
55 to 64	46.5	55.2	59.4	64.3		8.7	4.2	4.9	1.7	0.7	0.8
55 to 59	56.8	63.8	67.3	73.3		7.0	3.5	6.0	1.2	0.5	0.9
60 to 64	36.4	44.1	50.4	55.6		7.7	6.3	5.2	1.9	1.4	1.0
60 to 61	45.7	52.8	59.2	67.2		7.1	6.4	8.0	1.5	1.1	1.3
62 to 64	30.5	37.6	44.1	47.7		7.2	6.5	3.6	2.1	1.6	0.8
65 and older	8.3	9.8	14.4	19.5		1.6	4.6	5.1	1.7	3.9	3.1
65 to 74	12.5	16.1	22.5	28.3		3.7	6.4	5.8	2.6	3.4	2.3
65 to 69	16.2	20.7	27.6	35.4		4.5	6.9	7.8	2.5	2.9	2.5
70 to 74	8.2	11.1	15.4	19.8		3.0	4.3	4.4	3.2	3.3	2.5
75 to 79	4.4	5.4	7.9	11.6		1.0	2.5	3.7	2.1	3.9	3.9
75 and older	2.8	3.5	5.0	8.0		0.7	1.5	3.0	2.3	3.7	4.8
Race:
White	66.8	66.8	64.0	61.7		0.0	-2.8	-2.3	0.0	-0.4	-0.4
Men	76.5	74.8	71.0	68.3		-1.7	-3.8	-2.7	-0.2	-0.5	-0.4
Women	57.7	59.3	57.4	55.3		1.6	-1.9	-2.1	0.3	-0.3	-0.4
Black	63.9	64.8	61.5	59.8		0.9	-3.3	-1.7	0.1	-0.5	-0.3
Men	70.7	68.4	63.6	61.7		-2.3	-4.8	-1.9	-0.3	-0.7	-0.3
Women	58.5	61.8	59.8	58.3		3.3	-2.0	-1.5	0.6	-0.3	-0.3
Asian	66.5	67.2	63.9	63.2		0.7	-3.3	-0.7	0.1	-0.5	-0.1
Men	75.2	75.9	72.2	71.4		0.7	-3.7	-0.8	0.1	-0.5	-0.1
Women	58.2	59.1	56.5	56.1		0.9	-2.6	-0.4	0.2	-0.4	-0.1
All other groups1	-	-	63.9	63.2		-	-	-0.7	-	-	-
Men	-	-	69.4	63.8		-	-	-5.6	-	-	-
Women	-	-	58.8	62.6		-	-	3.8	-	-	-
Ethnicity:
Hispanic origin	66.8	69.1	66.4	65.9		2.3	-2.7	-0.5	0.3	-0.4	-0.1
Men	80.7	80.3	76.1	74.8		-0.4	-4.2	-1.3	0.0	-0.5	-0.2
Women	52.8	57.6	56.6	56.8		4.8	-1.0	0.2	0.9	-0.2	0.0
Other than Hispanic origin	66.4	66.2	63.2	60.7		-0.2	-3.0	-2.5	0.0	-0.5	-0.4
Men	75.3	73.2	69.1	65.9		-2.1	-4.2	-3.2	-0.3	-0.6	-0.5
Women	58.3	59.9	57.9	55.9		1.6	-2.0	-2.0	0.3	-0.3	-0.4
White non-Hispanic	66.7	66.5	63.5	60.8		-0.2	-3.0	-2.7	0.0	-0.5	-0.4
Men	76.0	73.8	69.9	67.0		-2.2	-3.9	-2.9	-0.3	-0.5	-0.4
Women	58.1	59.6	57.6	54.9		1.5	-2.0	-2.7	0.3	-0.3	-0.5

Footnotes:
¹ The “all other groups" category includes (1) those classified as being of multiple racial origin and (2) the race categories of (2a) American Indian and Alaska Native or (2b) Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islanders.

Note: Dash indicates no data collected for category. Details may not sum to totals because of rounding.

Source: Employment Projections program, U.S. Department of Labor, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

U.S. Dept of Commerce United States Census Bureau U.S. Census 2010

• Under "Community Facts" type
  • USA and
  • click Go
• Under "2010 Census" select "General Population and Housing Characteristics (Population, Age, Sex, Race, Households and Housing, ...)"

^*Revised count: 308,746,065
Revision date: 01-31-2014

SEX AND AGE*
Total population	308,745,538	100.0%
Under 5 years	20,201,362	6.5
5 to 9 years	20,348,657	6.6
10 to 14 years	20,677,194	6.7
15 to 19 years	22,040,343	7.1
20 to 24 years	21,585,999	7.0
25 to 29 years	21,101,849	6.8
30 to 34 years	19,962,099	6.5
35 to 39 years	20,179,642	6.5
40 to 44 years	20,890,964	6.8
45 to 49 years	22,708,591	7.4
50 to 54 years	22,298,125	7.2
55 to 59 years	19,664,805	6.4
60 to 64 years	16,817,924	5.4
65 to 69 years	12,435,263	4.0
70 to 74 years	9,278,166	3.0
75 to 79 years	7,317,795	2.4
80 to 84 years	5,743,327	1.9
85 years and over	5,493,433	1.8
Median age (years)	37.2	( X )
16 years and over	243,275,505	78.8
18 years and over	234,564,071	76.0
21 years and over	220,958,853	71.6
62 years and over	49,972,181	16.2
65 years and over	40,267,984	13.0

SEX AND AGE, pt. 2
Male population	151,781,326	49.2%
Under 5 years	10,319,427	3.3
5 to 9 years	10,389,638	3.4
10 to 14 years	10,579,862	3.4
15 to 19 years	11,303,666	3.7
20 to 24 years	11,014,176	3.6
25 to 29 years	10,635,591	3.4
30 to 34 years	9,996,500	3.2
35 to 39 years	10,042,022	3.3
40 to 44 years	10,393,977	3.4
45 to 49 years	11,209,085	3.6
50 to 54 years	10,933,274	3.5
55 to 59 years	9,523,648	3.1
60 to 64 years	8,077,500	2.6
65 to 69 years	5,852,547	1.9
70 to 74 years	4,243,972	1.4
75 to 79 years	3,182,388	1.0
80 to 84 years	2,294,374	0.7
85 years and over	1,789,679	0.6
Median age (years)	35.8	( X )
16 years and over	118,315,377	38.3
18 years and over	113,836,190	36.9
21 years and over	106,880,414	34.6
62 years and over	22,015,876	7.1
65 years and over	17,362,960	5.6

SEX AND AGE, pt. 3
Female population	156,964,212	50.8%
Under 5 years	9,881,935	3.2
5 to 9 years	9,959,019	3.2
10 to 14 years	10,097,332	3.3
15 to 19 years	10,736,677	3.5
20 to 24 years	10,571,823	3.4
25 to 29 years	10,466,258	3.4
30 to 34 years	9,965,599	3.2
35 to 39 years	10,137,620	3.3
40 to 44 years	10,496,987	3.4
45 to 49 years	11,499,506	3.7
50 to 54 years	11,364,851	3.7
55 to 59 years	10,141,157	3.3
60 to 64 years	8,740,424	2.8
65 to 69 years	6,582,716	2.1
70 to 74 years	5,034,194	1.6
75 to 79 years	4,135,407	1.3
80 to 84 years	3,448,953	1.1
85 years and over	3,703,754	1.2
Median age (years)	38.5	( X )
16 years and over	124,960,128	40.5
18 years and over	120,727,881	39.1
21 years and over	114,078,439	36.9
62 years and over	27,956,305	9.1
65 years and over	22,905,024	7.4

[Carthego delenda est]

“Wars may not even be fought against nation states.

Or wars may be fought by tiny insect sized weapons that swarm an enemy and sting the enemy to death if the enemy is human,”

That death may not need to come immediately in a well thought out long term war. The ‘enemy’ need only be ‘stung’ with a virus, cancer causing agent, or the like, to cleverly wipe out a whole segment of the population deemed undesirable to those in power.

[RegulatorCountry]

A good concierge is well-connected and knowledgable of all the good services, restaurants, shows, etc. in a given city and will make arrangements for you in order to smooth out and improve your experience in that city, for a fee. You’re not at the mercy of guessing due to being an unfamiliar noob. It’s not as hard as it once was given all the online reviews available, but it is nice if you’re able to afford to use one.