AI Will Eliminate My Job in 10 Years—How Do I Plan for Retirement?

Summary

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Podcast Summary: AI Will Eliminate My Job in 10 Years—How Do I Plan for Retirement?

Podcast: Ramsey Everyday Millionaires
Host: Ramsey Network (primarily Dave Ramsey and Dr. John Delony)
Date: September 1, 2025

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Overview of the Episode

This episode centers on Paul, a 43-year-old software engineer from Minneapolis, who fears that rapid advancements in AI will render his job obsolete within the next 5–10 years. Paul seeks advice on balancing retirement savings with college funding for his children, considering his early debt payoff journey, limited retirement savings, and concerns about major career disruption. The Ramsey Network hosts approach his anxieties with empathy and practical strategies, addressing both the emotional and financial sides of planning for an uncertain future.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Debt Freedom and the New Challenge (00:17–00:49)

• Paul and his wife successfully paid off all debts, including their home.
• Having paid off debt, they're focused on long-term financial planning for retirement and their daughters’ college education.

2. AI Anxiety & Career Uncertainty (00:49–04:23)

• Paul expresses deep concerns about the future of software engineering due to AI, doubting he’ll be able to continue in his current field for more than 10 years.
  • Quote (Paul):
    "I'm watching the prospects for the future of my career disappear every single day with AI and I don't believe that I'll get more than 10 years in this career." (00:49)
• Dr. John Delony empathizes, sharing his own story of career change spurred by industry disruption and institutional uncertainty.
  • Quote (Dr. John Delony): "My caustic anxiety...was unfounded. Things integrated slower than I thought they would. I realized that a lot of the people making statements...had a financial stake in that being true before there was reality." (02:53)

3. Perspective on Change & Opportunity (03:41–04:38)

• Dr. Delony frames career upheaval as a halftime moment: an opportunity for reinvention—rather than just survival.
  • Quote (Delony): "It's halftime. The plays you were running in the first half are not going to win this game. We get to either run those same plays and get beat by 70 or we get to change up strategies." (04:24)
• The hosts note that career dissatisfaction is actually an opportunity, not just a threat.

4. Taking Action: Building the Boat Before the Rain (04:49–05:25)

• Paul and his wife are proactive; his wife is already retraining for a more secure profession (teaching).
• Hosts encourage starting preparations for a career pivot early—before disruption happens.
• The importance of taking control by training or upskilling while still employed is emphasized.

5. Balancing Retirement and College Funding (05:25–08:16)

• Prioritization Advice:
  • Continue investing at least 15% of household income in retirement (401k/403b) before prioritizing college funding.
  • Use educational cost calculators to set realistic expectations for college savings.
  • Have transparent conversations with children about college funding limits.
  • Remember: parents should not sacrifice their retirement for kids’ college—there are multiple ways to finance higher education.
    • Quote (Dave Ramsey/Host): "I do not want you to sacrifice [retirement] to pay cash for kids' school because there are so many other ways that they can go without you being the only bank." (07:42)
• Math-First Approach:
  • Dr. Delony describes breaking goals into manageable numbers: calculate months until college, divide by goal savings, and automate saving.
    • Quote (Delony): "It's just a math equation you can do in your head." (07:16)

6. Facing the Future with Clarity (08:06–End)

• College and work will change dramatically in 10 years; flexibility and open conversations are essential.
• Encouragement to revisit retirement trajectories and adjust contributions as income or circumstances change.
• The episode concludes with reassurance: by focusing on what can be controlled (spending, saving, communication), Paul and his family can face uncertainty with confidence.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "I'm watching the prospects for the future of my career disappear every single day with AI and I don't believe that I'll get more than 10 years in this career."
  — Paul (00:49)

• "My caustic anxiety...was unfounded. Things integrated slower than I thought they would. I realized that a lot of the people making statements...had a financial stake in that being true before there was reality."
  — Dr. John Delony (02:53)

• "It's halftime. The plays you were running in the first half are not going to win this game. We get to either run those same plays and get beat by 70 or we get to change up strategies."
  — Delony (04:24)

• "I want fear to make you do the right things and I don't want fear to cause you to not do the right things."
  — Host (05:25)

• "I do not want you to sacrifice [retirement] to pay cash for kids' school because there are so many other ways that they can go without you being the only bank."
  — Dave Ramsey/Host (07:42)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:17 – Paul introduces his story: becoming debt free, concern over AI and job security
• 02:09 – Dr. John Delony shares parallel experience with institutional disruption and fear
• 04:24 – Halftime analogy for career change and life reinvention
• 05:25 – How to balance savings for retirement and college in the face of uncertainty
• 07:16 – Practical advice for calculating and communicating college savings goals
• 07:42–08:16 – Prioritizing retirement over college savings; the big-picture message

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Takeaways

• Face Fear with Facts: Don’t let anxiety paralyze action; use fear productively to plan and adapt.
• Retirement Comes First: Invest a minimum of 15% of income in retirement, regardless of uncertainty.
• College Planning Is A Family Conversation: Set expectations early and use realistic math.
• Career Disruption Is an Opportunity: Start building the next chapter now, not out of panic but out of possibility.
• Embrace Change Together: Lean on family, communicate early, and address challenges proactively.

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This episode is an encouraging guide for those facing future-of-work fears—balancing practical financial advice with the reassurance that, even in uncertain times, clear-headed planning and communication will keep families on the path to everyday millionaire status.

Transcript

[A]

This episode is brought to you by SmartVestor. Connect with an investing pro near you.

[B]

At RamseySolutions.com SmartVestor we got Paul in Minneapolis, Minnesota. What's up Paul?

[A]

Hi, how are you?

[B]

We're doing good. How can we help?

[A]

I'm just so glad to talk to you all. My wife and I started on the Ramsey plan probably about four years ago and it was just after one of our many moves across country, our final move. And we were, we had a home and we had a truck loan and we had credit card debt, all of which we have now paid off.

[B]

Wow.

[A]

Currently debt free, home paid off, full nine yards.

[B]

Way to go.

[A]

Very exciting. Yeah, we appreciate it. The help from you guys. That is.

[B]

That's awesome.

[A]

My question. Oh, thank you. My question for you is we are both 43 and I am a software engineer with over 20 years of experience. And I'm watching the prospects for the future of my career disappear every single day with AI and I don't believe that I'll get more than 10 years in this career. I think it's pretty much going to go away very shortly in that timeframe, plus or minus five or 10 years. I'm lucky I can make it to retirement in my current job, but it's very unlikely and we haven't saved a lot because we pilfered some of our 401ks along the way to finance some of our moves. And now we're sitting on approximately 120,000 in our 401ks collectively. And I also have a 14 year old daughter and an 11 year old daughter that are going to want to go to college. And I'm kind of looking at that and trying to figure out what should I be doing, how much should I be contributing not only to the college but to our own retirement. Given that I don't know that I'm going to have a huge amount of career prospects in the near future.

[B]

I mean we can. There's two pieces I hear here. There is just practical talk about what's the best way to save for college, what's the best percentage to put towards my 401k so that we're ready in retirement because we don't have as much as I want. Right. Like there's the logical side there. Then I hear a lot of fear on the other side. It may be well founded fears, but I still hear a lot of fear. So maybe we tackle the fear side first.

[C]

Yeah, here's, I mean Paul, I sat in this exact seat, gosh, 10 years ago. Now I was actually back in 2013, I sat on a team, there was five of us and the university president where I worked bought 5 of our time out our departments and put us in a room for 18 months to study the future of higher education. And within six months, I think four of the five of us had sold our house and everybody began their exit strategy. There's like we saw, oh, this is unsustainable. And that was the time I started nickel and diming my way towards a degree in counseling. I just saw, I saw the writing on the wall. Now I will say this. My caustic anxiety. I gotta get out right this second was unfounded. Things integrated slower than I thought they would. I realized that a lot of the people making statements about how everything's gonna be over and all the this is and that's are happening had a financial stake in that being true before there was reality. Right. And so I'm with you, dude, there. I mean there's AI versions of me that are better than me.

[A]

Right.

[C]

And you've also in your career read the energy needs reports that would say for all the stuff to come true. We're not even, we're so far away from being able to build, you know. You get what I'm saying?

[A]

I do and I understand that I'm presenting a conversation that sounds a bit fear mongering.

[C]

Oh yeah. You're not.

[A]

You're in it. You're right in the middle of it.

[C]

You're not. I've been there. And here's what I'm going to tell you. I got an I started training five years before I thought I was going to need to for a new opportunity and I did have to do it on weekends and I did have to do it with two young kids and I did have to do it at nighttime. But I just saw the writing on the wall.

[A]

I hear that. And that's actually, I mean my wife is going back to school right now to be a teacher because we know that her current job is going to be replaced. So she's, she's taking action in that space. I find that far more difficult. Yeah. Just because I've been doing this for over 25 years and I don't enjoy it. Yeah. Already. And the prospect of picking secondary type career for the second half of my life that I probably won't enjoy as well.

[B]

That's the part.

[C]

This is your shot. Yeah. It's halftime. Just think of it this way. It's halftime. And the plays you were running in the first half are not going to Win this game. Cool. Then we get to either run those same plays and get beat by 70 or we get to change up strategies.

[B]

And it's a blessing. You said you didn't even like the engineering job. So look at it as, you know what, this might have been the only thing that would shake me loose to actually go pursue something that I could actually love.

[A]

Fair enough. I am of the mindset though too that I like to build the boat before the rain 100%.

[C]

That's what I'm saying. That's what, that's what I told you. I just did. I just did this, I just did that.

[A]

I'm with you, I'm with you. But like let's pretend a worst case scenario and I'm in a position where I have between five to 10 more years of high in the morning. Should I. To give myself mental peace. What's the. What should I be contributing in my retirement and in my college funds and in my 403Bs so that I can make sure that I'm building the boat to settle my own emotional, you know, concerns?

[B]

Yeah, so that's the part where I was kind of dialing in on the fear because I want fear to make you do the right things and I don't want fear to cause you to not do the right things. Does that make sense? So absolutely, to John's point. Yeah. On the career side, you know, we'll send you find the work you're wired to do. We'll find all those things to help you dive into what it looks like to build the boat towards a new career and finding what you love to do. But on the financial side, just keep doing what you're doing. Right, today you're making a paycheck. Your job's not going tomorrow, so today you're making a paycheck. You live in a paid off house so you should at least be continuing to invest 15% but you should have some margin there that you can do more. Now how much to this day, how much are you putting aside for your 14 year old and your 11 year old?

[A]

None. We hadn't really planned on saving for college very well. That was a huge mistake on our part and we started on our debt snowball. We were already sort of kind of in the middle of being close to the end, so we just pushed hard on all that debt and that's okay. And so yeah, we do have a margin as far as we can probably save between 3 to 4,000amonth right now on top of our expenses.

[B]

Then I would do That I didn't ask you, how much do you guys make?

[A]

Household income is 170.

[B]

Okay, great. So you've got the margin. I want you for sure investing 15%. Don't back that down for college. Keep it at 15% and then yeah, if you can stack away some more for the kids college, that's great in the mint. In the meantime, so go ahead and use a education calculator to find out how much that will be when the time comes for them. So that way you can start having the conversations now with them and saying, hey, when the time comes 14 year old that you go to school, you're probably going to have about $35,000 here, here's what that means for you and start talking to them about what that expectation is or whatever it's going to be.

[C]

I did that just. You sound like an anxious guy like me. I just did that recently. My daughter's 9 and I literally took the number of months she has left before she's 18 and I just divided that by the number I want to have in an account for her when she goes to college. And then I just decided I'm gonna start saving that much money and put it in a dedicated account. I called a buddy who's a banker and I'm run. I mean it was just that simple. But it's just a math equation you can do in your head.

[A]

Fair enough.

[B]

And, and there's also part of this because you also mentioned retirement. I always like to highlight this. You are going to reach an age. Forget the, the AI part for a moment. You are going to reach an age where you cannot work regardless. So retirement is very important. I do not want you to sacrifice that to pay cash for kids school because there are so many other ways that they can go without you being the only bank. Does that make sense?

[A]

Absolutely. Yeah. My parents and my wife's parents didn't provide for our educations and we, you know, did that ourselves.

[B]

So.

[C]

But I can, I can almost guarantee you in 10 years education is going to look different too.

[B]

It is. But what I want you to do is the same way that you run out those educational numbers, look at your current 401k and say @ this rate that we're investing, how do we feel? You know, when age 68 comes whatever day you want to retire, do we feel good about this? And if not, what must we do today to make that the number we want? And if that means I'm putting less to kids college, so be it. As long as you're having those conversations, and you're jumping into this with your eyes wide open.