Don’t Chase Jobs, Chase Problems: Employability in the Age of AI



 In Season 3, Episode 2 of the web series "Tehran(2020)", Mossad agent Nissan(nicknamed 'Owl') kidnaps Tamar, the lead character and fellow Mossad agent and wants to know what all she knows. When Tamar refuses to reveal what she knows to him, insisting she will only speak to Yulia, the head of Mossad, Nissan recalls a line from his father: “There will always be work for those who know how to fix things.”

That line triggered a chain of thoughts about employability in today’s world. It’s one of those deceptively simple truths, that suddenly feels relevant to everything happening around us. Today, the job market is more uncertain than ever for so many reasons—Automation and AI replacing roles we thought were secure, people struggling to keep up with the skills the jobs demand and the traditional idea of a stable career feeling more fragile than ever. 

In such a scenario, the question isn’t just about 'how to get a job', but 'how to remain employable at any point in time'?

What struck me is that Owl’s father wasn’t talking about espionage or intelligence. He was talking about life. About survival. About relevance. And in our context, it translates beautifully: if you know how to fix things, you’ll always find work. Fixing things doesn’t just mean repairing broken machines or solving technical glitches. It means identifying problems, seeing what’s not working and finding ways to make it work.

I keep coming back to that line: 'fixing things'. Because that’s what really matters. If you can solve problems—whether technical, business or human—you’ll always be relevant.

I’ve seen this play out in the world of startups and entrepreneurship. Founders don’t succeed because they chase glamorous ideas; they succeed because they fix pain points. They notice what people struggle with and create solutions, that make people's life easier. That’s how revenue is generated, not by chasing trends but by fixing what’s broken. Even in workplaces, the people who stand out aren’t necessarily the ones with the fanciest degrees or titles. They’re the ones colleagues turn to - when something stalls, when a process breaks down, when a project is stuck. They’re the fixers.

It’s not about titles or job descriptions anymore. It’s about being the one who can make things work.

Being employable today isn’t about having the perfect resume. It’s about adaptability, curiosity and the willingness to roll up your sleeves and fix what’s broken.

Owl’s father was right. There will always be work for those who know how to fix things. In a world where jobs are uncertain and roles keep shifting, it’s the ability to adapt, innovate and create solutions that keeps us employable

Maybe that’s the real lesson: don’t chase jobs, chase problems. Because if you can fix them, opportunities will follow.

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