College students wary of the job market are changing course in search of ‘AI-proof’ majors

Two years ago, Josephine Timperman arrived at college with a plan. She declared a major in business analytics, figuring she'd learn niche skills that would stand out on a resume and help land a good job after college. But the rise of artificial intelligence has scrambled those calculations. The basic skills she was learning in things like statistical analysis and coding can now easily be automated. "Everyone has a fear that entry-level jobs will be taken by AI," said the 20-year-old at Miami University in Ohio. Several weeks ago, Timperman switched her major to marketing. Her new strategy is to use her undergraduate studies to build critical thinking and interpersonal skills—areas where humans still have an edge. "You don't just want to be able to code. You want to be able to have a conversation, form relationships, and be able to think critically, because at the end of the day, that's the thing that AI can't replace," said Timperman, who is keeping analytics as a minor and plans to dive deeper into the subject for a one-year master's program. Today's college students say that picking a major that's "AI-proof" feels like shooting at a moving target as they prepare for a job market that could be fundamentally different by the time they graduate. As a result, many are reconsidering their career paths. About 70% of college students see AI as a threat to their job prospects, according to a 2025 poll by the Institute of Politics at the Harvard Kennedy School, while recent polling by Gallup, a US-based research company, finds that American workers are increasingly concerned about being replaced by new technologies. The uncertainty appears most concentrated among those pursuing degrees in technology and vocational areas of study, where students feel a need to develop expertise in AI but also fear being replaced by it. Meanwhile, students studying healthcare and natural sciences may be less impacted by AI overhauls, Gallup found. This article was provided by The Associated Press.