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How useful would your profession or skills be in a post-apocalyptic world?

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Mr.Mike

Member
Would computer science people really be that worthless? There's really no reason to automatically assume this disaster would destroy computers unless it's some kind of massive solar flare that kills every electronic device on Earth. In any other case people would probably still need people to fix and maintain computers. Even if the networks go down computers can still do shit. They can make calculations faster than people can, they can be used to make records, keep people entertained, etc. And there are probably still people who'd be able to get the networks back up, in which case it would continue working as a communication system.

It would depend largely on what kind of social structures emerge in this post-apocalypse world. People without practical skills would be dead weight at first. But perhaps there might be some groups with the foresight to keep professionals alive?

Accountants, engineers, scientists, programmers etc might be legitimately useful in a large and well organized enough group, but what are the odds of one of those arising?
 

chiimisu

Member
Well, my major is Asian (Japanese) studies, and I will know Japanese, Korean and maybe Chinese to some degree at the end of my bachelor's, so... Not too bad. Especially considering I live really close to all those countries.
I'm not sure how useful my drawing skills will be, tho :(
 

A Fish Aficionado

I am going to make it through this year if it kills me
Future profession? Maybe (healthcare)
Current one, meh, but I know an OK amount of automotive maintenance and I can cook (somewhat).
 

Apt101

Member
Worthless (network engineer) but I am also decent at working on cars thanks to my late, great mechanic uncle. So that might come in handy.
 

jimi_dini

Member
The most useful people would be hunters, mechanics and eventually farmers.

I'm not sure if most farmers nowadays would be able to get everything done without any technology whatsoever. Same for mechanics. I mean cars nowadays are full of electronics and crap.

And in case computer technology still exists in some way or another, and I assume that it does, then people who know how to repair, fix and code that shit will be useful as well.

Unless something really really bad happens, computers will still work, but electricity is scarce, internet is gone, mobile phones are dead (and I mean no network available) and so on.

If really everything doesn't work anymore and I mean all technology and so on, I'm pretty sure that the western world won't survive for long.
 
I could run the quarry where all those deathclaws live in Fallout: New Vegas. Going to need cement for the concrete to build the prisons.

I just need a badass with a Pip Boy to stumble across my quarry and clean it out
 

bsod

Banned
Unless computers become powered by something other than electricity, absolutely useless. Zombie apocalypse, stay away!
 
As a web programmer I'm resigned to being fed to other survivors in some kind of Donner Party action.

All I request is that I be used to feed the engineers. You need those folks.
 

Zombine

Banned
As a web programmer I'm resigned to being fed to other survivors in some kind of Donner Party action.

All I request is that I be used to feed the engineers. You need those folks.

Bullcrap. You have technical knowledge and could make a great teacher or you could help preserve knowledge from the old world to help rebuild it.

Jesus some of you guys give up too easy.
 
Well, I guess quantum optics won't especially be a big deal in a post-apocalyptic world. But I guess with some Trial and Error I could built same basic machines. I won't be as useful as a full electrician or engineer, but I guess I could be of some value... Oh and I would need some books because I really heave a hard time remembering formulas...
 

hateradio

The Most Dangerous Yes Man
Bullcrap. You have technical knowledge and could make a great teacher or you could help preserve knowledge from the old world to help rebuild it.

Jesus some of you guys give up too easy.
What would be the point of teaching others information that is unnecessary? (Not everyone makes a good teacher, too.) Besides, once the world is rebuilt, new and different technology may take place. That's the way us in the field think, I imagine. We'd be largely unneeded for our knowledge.
 

Zombine

Banned
What would be the point of teaching others information that is unnecessary? (Not everyone makes a good teacher, too.) Besides, once the world is rebuilt, new and different technology may take place. That's the way us in the field think, I imagine. We'd be largely unneeded for our knowledge.

When someone is standing there with a gun to your head and you want to live...

...don't look at the gunman and tell him to shoot.
 

Mr.Mike

Member
Bullcrap. You have technical knowledge and could make a great teacher or you could help preserve knowledge from the old world to help rebuild it.

Jesus some of you guys give up too easy.

Our immediate practicality would be zilch. As far as preserving knowledge, I suppose the CS people could do a decent enough job of saving mathematics, as there are probably a lot more of us than straight up math people. In the future Math will be a subset of Computer Science. And somebody would have to teach everyone how to count in bases other than 10, as they now all have varying quantity of fingers.
 

Hilbert

Deep into his 30th decade
Mathematics and computer science is my career...depending on how destroyed the world gets that may or may not be helpful.

But I also am skilled in growing plans, butchering animals, cooking and sewing blankets and clothes. So I think that would be pretty useful otherwise.

It would be a good opportunity to move everyone to counting in base 12!
 

brinstar

Member
Cartoonist; I could be like that picture-drawin' dude in Snowpiercer but other than that yeah I'd probably be killed and eaten immediately.
 
I'm a chef, so I know how to safely prepare, store, cook, and sanitize foods and cooking equipment. With training in first aid, I reckon I'd be pretty useful in preventing people from dying by eating bad food.
 
I work in finance so probably not. I'd be so useless in the apocalypse that my key skill would probably be the fact that I have got absolutely no gag reflex.
 

bsod

Banned
When someone is standing there with a gun to your head and you want to live...

...don't look at the gunman and tell him to shoot.

When they pull the trigger and nothing happens...

"Have you tried turning it off and on again?"
 

jb1234

Member
A classical pianist? Uh... well, I can serenade the zombies to Mozart, I guess?

Edit: And I need to read the OP more carefully. I still don't think my skills would be terribly useful to survival but you never know...
 

Crossing Eden

Hello, my name is Yves Guillemot, Vivendi S.A.'s Employee of the Month!
Well, i'm an animator so... Not the most useful profession ever for that situation. (._. )
 

RedSwirl

Junior Member
It would depend largely on what kind of social structures emerge in this post-apocalypse world. People without practical skills would be dead weight at first. But perhaps there might be some groups with the foresight to keep professionals alive?

Accountants, engineers, scientists, programmers etc might be legitimately useful in a large and well organized enough group, but what are the odds of one of those arising?

I guess. Look at Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. They still needed people to rig up radios and stuff like that.
 
Colonist conflict mediation. You could also help with sorting people off into their appropriate groups. You'd also be tasked with organizing reports and files on troublemakers.

But but but what if they are unhappy with the mediation!!! I'd end up making enemies on the first day and gets sacrificed to C'thulhu by dinner time ;____;


*clings to zombine* halp



I wanna be the one that ration the booze :D I'd be popular then ^___^
 

BosSin

Member
Programmer, so not very useful. However I am a big guy so manual labour or just beating down fools and taking their food are viable options.
 

akira28

Member
profession? depends, but skills are modestly useful. I might be a character in the game, but I would definitely be an optional hard mode.

(I've been playing a lot of NEO Scavenger on Steam)
 

Zombine

Banned
But but but what if they are unhappy with the mediation!!! I'd end up making enemies on the first day and gets sacrificed to C'thulhu by dinner time ;____;


*clings to zombine* halp



I wanna be the one that ration the booze :D I'd be popular then ^___^

You'd have protection! Nobody is just going to let your enemies walk all over you. Any good group would know how fragile the whole ecosystem is, and the pissed off folks would quickly get put in their place.
 

Buggy Loop

Gold Member
Hmmm. Future electrical engineer here, i guess i would have some use? Electricity in a post apocalyptic world would make a huge difference. Plus i could make transmitters/receivers for communication. I made an AM radio receiver that does not require any power source, was quite cool :)
 

akira28

Member
Hmmm. Future electrical engineer here, i guess i would have some use? Electricity in a post apocalyptic world would make a huge difference. Plus i could make transmitters/receivers for communication. I made an AM radio receiver that does not require any power source, was quite cool :)

crystal radio?
 

StayDead

Member
As someone who's working to go into Networking I like to think I'd be able to play my part in reconnecting the world, but outside of that no I'd be useless.
 
I'm a lawyer, who is a former animator, children's edutainment game designer, dishwasher and casino dealer.

I'm fucked.

My only chance is to [walking dead tv spoilers]
be like Eugene and bullshit my way into getting protection
.
 

Bandit1

Member
I can do some automotive stuff, weld, etc. so I think that would be VERY useful, because we all know that this is how the apocalypse goes down:

V8_interceptor_3.png
 
You'd have protection! Nobody is just going to let your enemies walk all over you. Any good group would know how fragile the whole ecosystem is, and the pissed off folks would quickly get put in their place.

\o/ yay protection

im feeling pretty good about my chances now ^_____^
 

acrid

Banned
I work in a nuclear power plant. I have an electrical background. If you want power, you better recognize....
 
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