Future jobs and AI

[TheBlueKoala]

I'm sincerely worried about the future of my children in terms of geopolitics, environment etc. But also on a practical level for their future careers. One dc doesn't know which direction to go because so many options are at risk of being obsolete in the future.

The old menace was outsourcing. With a high education level your job weren't at risk for that because it was only low skilled work that got outsourced. AI is a total game changer for that being more apt/quick to calculate, code and even create than any human ever could.

"Secure" jobs would be those requiring human interactions; teaching, medical jobs, retail, waitering, politics etc. Jobs that are at risk; computer science, finance, paralegal staff, accounting, ingeneering etc.

One of my sons would like to study either digital creation/animation, marketing or finance but I don't know what to tell him. To not study and just go on to work at the local Lidl because that's where he will wind up anyway ? No snobbery here, that's what the other non academic dc is aiming for and we are supportive of that ofcourse.

Does anyone have any thoughts on this? Read this article today that just made me so depressed..:

https://edition.cnn.com/2026/02/26/business/block-layoffs-ai-jack-dorsey

Tell him to learn how to use ai alongside those skills, figure it out. He might be better at using ai than his senior peers. But it might not pay off at all, huge risks

I would highly recommend he goes to work anyway and waits until he is more certain about what he wants to study. At the moment, he doesn't seem sure as there is quite a bit of difference between digital animation and finance... Plus, having some work experience really helps both with studies and with finding a gtad job later. And your income is not taken into account for student finance after he turns 25.
I went to uni at 32 and had a wonderful time of it. I studied art, then did masters in clinical sciences. I am quite comfortable splitting my time between NHS job (security of a salary and pension) and running my small creative business. Did Ai affect my art business? Somewhat. I lost clients who were budget-conscious. My higher end clients are willing to pay even more for human-made product. If anything, I am actually able to charge a lot more for my skill.
I often think about it as a difference between commissioning bespoke furniture from a carpenter and buying an IKEA kitchen. Different levels of skill, different target audience, different price entirely.

If he is going to go for digital creation/animation, then advise him to look at the syllabus of the course and check that they offer education in AI and skills like project management alongside. He needs something that gives him lots of transferable skills too. I agree with previous poster that he should also take any opportunity to take additional courses/workshops on offer. Don't dismiss degree apprenticeships either (hard to get!)

If he can manage to, any job alongside his studies will also help.

This is not necessarily related to what you asked, but make sure he can cook for himself, manage a budget, and look after his belongings so they last. If things are going to get tough, it's these life skills that he will need to help get him through. Honestly, I don't think any of us are going to have secure jobs anymore and not just because of AI. I have been very careful to teach mine how to sew, grow veg, cook on budget etc.

Traditional marketing is already dead in the water from AI. there was a woman on radio 4 only the other day complaining how she couldn’t get a job in marketing after being out for awhile and she put it down to her age and gender. But when asked if she had used AI to help generate a CV that could be automatically tracked she hadn’t and I just thought she didn’t have the first clue about how things have changed.

That aside, finance is a good option as no one is ever going to trust AI enough for there not to be some human oversight. And that goes for a lot of other professions too.

a lot of Non-academic professions such as electricians plumbers mechanics are all still set to make decent money.

in law, AI is being used a lot for help writing contracts. But what lawyers will always tell me is not that they will lose their jobs to AI, but lawyers who are good at using AI will be the ones that succeed. We are in a market where you cannot afford to be complacent or ignore it.

I think Katza has the right idea. I work in an area where our creative work can’t be done by AI (yet), it’s nowhere near sophisticated enough to adhere to our strict but nuanced industry regulations. But spreading your bets is the way to go for young people if I’m honest. Specialising in someting so young for 3 years at uni prob isn’t going to pay off for most. I would work out a way for ds to study two of those subjects for now and specialise later in reaction to job market trends.