Updated
Updated · Morning Brew · Aug 17
US Students Switch Majors as 69% Fear AI Will Hurt Job Prospects
Updated
Updated · Morning Brew · Aug 17

US Students Switch Majors as 69% Fear AI Will Hurt Job Prospects

3 articles · Updated · Morning Brew · Aug 17

Summary

  • 22% of US college students surveyed by Superhuman said they have already changed their major or concentration because AI has worsened their job-market fears.
  • 69% said AI will make it harder to find work, and a separate Lumina-Gallup survey found 47% had seriously considered switching fields because of AI.
  • Computer science, once a growth engine, is no longer a clear refuge: enrollments fell 8.1% last year after 15 years of rapid expansion.
  • 79 schools now offer an AI major, up from just four in 2020, while others are steering students toward broader transferable skills or newer career tracks such as content creation.
  • St. Louis Fed researchers say AI has added another headwind for recent graduates, leaving students to rethink not just jobs but what college should prepare them to do.

Insights

With coding jobs shrinking, will the rush to new AI degrees just create another saturated market for tomorrow's graduates?
As colleges pivot to unconventional digital majors, who will actually teach these rapidly evolving skills when most professors lack AI training?
If employers now value human adaptability over technical skills, are traditional four-year degrees becoming an outdated path to career success?