“AI is going to reshape every industry and every job,” Reid Hoffman, co-founder of LinkedIn, has said. A majority of working Americans are worried about Hoffman’s prediction, according to a recent Pew Research study, with 33 percent using the term “overwhelmed” to describe their feelings on AI and its effect on their future employment prospects.
Jasmine Escalera, PhD, is a career coach who advises recruitment companies like Zety and Bold. Even though Escalera definitely feels the winds of change blowing like a tropical storm, she tells college students and job seekers to plan, not panic.
Escalera acknowledges that many career fields are already being affected by AI, leading to layoffs and the sense that once reliable work is now obsolete. Escalera recently worked with Zety on a list of 14 AI-proof careers that pay over $50K and require one skill that a chatbot cannot offer: Empathy. We spoke with Escalera about why empathy-centered jobs will be so important in the AI economy, the value of college degrees in the 21st century, and how lifesaving gig jobs — like driving an Uber or delivering DoorDash — are at risk.
We just conducted a survey for Zety, the brand that I work for, and we’re seeing a major trend with Gen Z. I happen to be infatuated with Gen Z because they are really changing the scope of career trends. They themselves [are questioning things] and seeing corporate America seems to be over the place; we’re dismantling DEI, we’re going back to the office, work/life balance isn’t what it used to be or what we were hoping it would be; flexibility isn’t there. And AI is transforming the work world, and we’re not sure how it’s really going to change the world. But we do know there are specific positions, those that are highly automated, and have repetitive tasks — which are a lot of starter jobs — and that maybe there’s not going to be opportunities [for them].