The last time there was a huge technological upheaval -- the automation of farming -- there was a huge push for education that correlated with this, and that's what made a lot of the difference. Many of the state leaders in the high school movement of the 1910s and 1920s were farm belt states like Iowa and Nebraska. (http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2012/07/the-triu...). That really made the transition from agrarian society to manufacturing a heck of a lot smoother.

Unfortunately I really don't see anything near the push for education and training today. And that's an issue. I'm sure there was plenty of pains in the agrarian transition, but education gave an out that allowed the next generation to prosper. Without a good education or vocational training type system, it's not just the current generation of adults that might have pains with the automation transition, it's their kids as well.