AI's Impact on Education: Rethinking Career Paths and Skill Development
This post highlights a significant societal anxiety and shifting sentiment regarding the value of formal education in an AI-dominated job market. The questioning of traditional degrees versus flexible, self-taught skills presents a clear demand for new educational models, career guidance, and skill-building platforms that address future job security.
Origin Reddit Post
r/futurology
Is formal education still a good investment with AI taking jobs ?
Posted by u/Technical-Truth-2073•07/21/2025
As AI and automation lead to job losses, is getting a degree in a specific field still a safe path to career security or are we better off focusing on flexible,self taught skills for the futu
Top Comments
u/CRAkraken
Yes. Just don’t go into tremendous debt. A 4 year degree from a state school is just as good as a stupid expensive private school or a school with a famous name.
u/RealizingCapra
The optimistic me, hopes it's a vehicle for the evolution of consciousness at nested scales. Having more or less mapped out the physical earth. Humans observations of Earth's most recent witn
u/wizzard419
Need? Yes. But will the people paying for work be in agreement? This is the same issue we are seeing now, entry-level positions are being eliminated, new graduates cannot find work in relevan
u/TheBestMePlausible
Also, it’s fun!
u/inappropriateshallot
That would be wild tripping on shrooms during a MAD scenario. Maybe AI will prevent that from happening as it would probably harm it as well. I appreciate your perspective, if I understand it
u/Three_hrs_later
Or healthcare. You can even still get RN/BSN paid for if you're willing to work wherever they need you for a few years.
u/RedditWhileImWorking
Yes. Don't buy into the idea that AI will take all of the jobs. It's rhetoric.
u/FuckingSolids
If you're considering post-secondary education as a means to learn how to do things, it's probably not worth it. If you're interested in learning how to think, it *could* be, but no guarantee
u/CRAkraken
Yes. Just don’t go into tremendous debt. A 4 year degree from a state school is just as good as a stupid expensive private school or a school with a famous name.
u/Sprinklypoo
It always will be as long as we actually want a future for humanity...
u/wizzard419
Eh.... honestly I am not sure anymore. If it were any other admin, I would say "Yeah, go for it" as if you took out federal loans but failed to find relevant work you could eventually get the
u/Three_hrs_later
Or healthcare. You can even still get RN/BSN paid for if you're willing to work wherever they need you for a few years.
u/Hina_is_my_waifu
Get a job with a real world interaction. Ai isn't replacing medical nurses/support staff/doctors, trades, or
High level specializations.
u/nipple_salad_69
Hasn't been a good idea for years, even less a good idea now given
u/pimpeachment
It's depends. If you are getting a BA, no. A BS, probably still good.
Something in robotics or Ai is even better.
u/RealizingCapra
The optimistic me, hopes it's a vehicle for the evolution of consciousness at nested scales. Having more or less mapped out the physical earth. Humans observations of Earth's most recent witn
u/TheBestMePlausible
Also, it’s fun!
u/wizzard419
Need? Yes. But will the people paying for work be in agreement? This is the same issue we are seeing now, entry-level positions are being eliminated, new graduates cannot find work in relevan
u/Toroid_Taurus
Life and work are about networks. If you want to live somewhere, and you can afford to go to college, you will have a crazy good time. Use your summers to gain experience via internships. Don
u/nipple_salad_69
Hasn't been a good idea for years, even less a good idea now given
u/inappropriateshallot
I'm a professor of landscape architecture- people centric, its both figuratively and literally about creating the world people live in. We talk about AI a bit in class, more so how to be an o
u/inappropriateshallot
That would be wild tripping on shrooms during a MAD scenario. Maybe AI will prevent that from happening as it would probably harm it as well. I appreciate your perspective, if I understand it
u/RiffRandellsBF
Depends on what you mean by "formal education". A lot of current degree programs lead to careers in fields akin to buggy whip production and Henry Ford is right around the corner.
u/DickweedMcGee
Yes. AI will cut down on jobs that require a lower level of critical thinking, ethics and professionalism but they will have the same need, if not more, for jobs that do. And those jobs have
u/pimpeachment
It's depends. If you are getting a BA, no. A BS, probably still good.
Something in robotics or Ai is even better.
u/dreadnought_strength
The only people insistent that AI is taking everybody's jobs are those who are selling you AI
u/FuckingSolids
If you're considering post-secondary education as a means to learn how to do things, it's probably not worth it. If you're interested in learning how to think, it *could* be, but no guarantee
u/RiffRandellsBF
Depends on what you mean by "formal education". A lot of current degree programs lead to careers in fields akin to buggy whip production and Henry Ford is right around the corner.
u/Orwells_Roses
People will need critical thinking skills more than ever, in the post-reality era. These mental skills are complicated and require nurturing, and this is typically what one undergoes in the c
u/Lost_Usual8691
I agree with Toriod. The network effect of college is a compounding thing. Who you know will become even more important as the technology continues to evolve. The IRL communication skills wil
u/RedditWhileImWorking
Yes. Don't buy into the idea that AI will take all of the jobs. It's rhetoric.
u/[deleted]
Life and work are about networks. If you want to live somewhere, and you can afford to go to college, you will have a crazy good time. Use your summers to gain experience via internships. Don
u/Lost_Usual8691
I agree with Toriod. The network effect of college is a compounding thing. Who you know will become even more important as the technology continues to evolve. The IRL communication skills wil
u/dreadnought_strength
The only people insistent that AI is taking everybody's jobs are those who are selling you AI
u/abluedinosaur
It hasn't been a "safe path" for decades, you need to be smart about it. However, there is still evidence that graduates make much more money over a lifetime than those who do not attend coll
u/Hina_is_my_waifu
Get a job with a real world interaction. Ai isn't replacing medical nurses/support staff/doctors, trades, or
High level specializations.
u/wizzard419
Eh.... honestly I am not sure anymore. If it were any other admin, I would say "Yeah, go for it" as if you took out federal loans but failed to find relevant work you could eventually get the
u/Sprinklypoo
It always will be as long as we actually want a future for humanity...
u/inappropriateshallot
I'm a professor of landscape architecture- people centric, its both figuratively and literally about creating the world people live in. We talk about AI a bit in class, more so how to be an o
u/DickweedMcGee
Yes. AI will cut down on jobs that require a lower level of critical thinking, ethics and professionalism but they will have the same need, if not more, for jobs that do. And those jobs have
u/abluedinosaur
It hasn't been a "safe path" for decades, you need to be smart about it. However, there is still evidence that graduates make much more money over a lifetime than those who do not attend coll
u/Orwells_Roses
People will need critical thinking skills more than ever, in the post-reality era. These mental skills are complicated and require nurturing, and this is typically what one undergoes in the c