It probably comes as no great surprise that the nature of work is changing, but have you thought about exactly how it’s changing? If you haven’t, take a look at the trends outlined below. They will give you better insight into exactly how the world of work is going to change in the very near future.

1) Rise Of The Robots – Machine learning. Drones. Driverless cars. All of these are making their appearance in the workforce today, but they haven’t reached a point of saturation yet, and as such, their full impact hasn’t yet been felt – but it’s coming, and sooner than you might think.

These things are going to be enormously disruptive, and by some estimates, as many as 45 percent of the jobs in existence today will be threatened by some combination of the technologies we just mentioned. Don’t get too comfortable in your current job, because it may cease to exist well before you retire!

2) The Disappearing Corporate Ladder – This has been happening for a while now, but not all companies have fully embraced the change.

During the Industrial Era, companies grew and achieved success on the basis of a tightly defined, hierarchical structure, which we came to call the corporate ladder. If you wanted to advance, you moved upward…ever upward.

That’s increasingly less true today. Modern companies are flatter, and use a structure that looks more like a lattice than a ladder, enabling employees to cut across traditional boundaries more easily. This results in them zig-zagging their way to the top. From a practical perspective, this means wearing a great many more hats as you explore different departments and teams, burnishing your resume and skill set as you go, and making yourself a more flexible employee.

3) Digital Nomads – Right now, in the United States, there are tens of millions of “Solopreneurs,” who ply the waters of the gig economy, setting their own hours and working for themselves.

It’s a trend that’s only going to accelerate in coming years as the mainstays of traditional employment begin to disappear. You may not have a “job” at all as it is defined today. Are you ready for that? Do you have what it takes to fly solo?