How do I know if my job is automating away or if I'm just paranoid?

I spent years watching the same worry ripple through different eras—the printing press, the assembly line, the algorithm. The question itself matters more than the answer. Start by noticing: What parts of your work feel repetitive, codifiable, measurable? Those are the places automation finds grip. But here's what I've learned: the jobs that vanish fastest are the ones designed to vanish. If your role is a checklist, it was built to be a checklist. The ones that survive—and thrive—are those where judgment, relationship, and adaptation matter. Talk to three people doing similar work. Ask them specifically: what changed in the last two years? Not the technology. What did *you* stop doing? What did you start? Your paranoia isn't baseless—it's your nervous system noticing real change. But it's also not destiny. The industrial revolutions didn't destroy work; they redistributed it painfully. Understanding which part of your work is genuinely irreplaceable to a real human need is the first step. That clarity beats both panic and complacency.