Reading “This is how Gen Z is AI-proofing their careers” in Fast Company last week, I realized it wasn’t just a passing trend – it’s exactly what I’m seeing in my own classrooms. This year, alongside my usual MBA cohort – international professionals around 30 – I’m also teaching a much younger, less experienced elective group. Their attitudes echo the article almost perfectly.
In response to AI’s rapid advance, many young people are gravitating toward the trades, healthcare, and other fields where automation feels less threatening. It isn’t technophobia, it’s pragmatism: “I want a job a robot can’t take.” Among my students, there’s no panic, just a mix of resignation and strategic optimism.
Earlier this year, I wrote about how AI is reshaping one of the oldest social contracts: the first job. Entry-level positions that once offered crucial on-the-job training are disappearing, forcing young people to seek alternative paths. At the same time, Forbes notes a growing AI literacy gap – Gen Z uses AI widely but often without understanding it, leaving them vulnerable to precarious work. Another Forbes piece argues that standing out now means not just using AI but demonstrating how you can energize your work with it, making AI fluency part of your professional brand.
