Julie Jones - Gen Z College Degrees

GEN Z GRADS SAY THEIR COLLEGE DEGREES WERE A WASTE OF TIME AND MONEY AS AI INFILTRATES THE WORKPLACE

Four years of classes, thousands of dollars in tuition and one freshly minted diploma — all to be outdone by a chatbot.  As artificial intelligence floods the workplace, nearly half of Gen Z job seekers say their degrees have already been made obsolete by the rise of generative AI tools like ChatGPT — and they’re wondering why they even bothered hitting the books in the first place.  It’s a waste of time and money, according to respondents to a new Indeed report, which found 49% of Gen Z job hunters think their college education has lost value in the job market thanks to AI.   Only about one-third of millennials feel the same way, and just 1 in 5 boomers have similar regrets, as CIO Dive reports.  The tech tide isn’t turning anytime soon. Businesses are adopting AI faster than you can say “resume rewrite,” and young workers — especially fresh-out-of-college grads — are feeling the squeeze most.  Indeed’s new report, conducted by Harris Poll and based on responses from 772 U.S. workers and job seekers with at least an associate’s degree, reveals a generational divide in career confidence.  Younger applicants are far more likely than their older counterparts to feel that AI has rendered their skills — and schooling — useless. Even worse, college degrees are rapidly losing priority in job listings. With companies increasingly dropping the four-year requirement, half of Gen Z now say college was a poor investment altogether.

There's a saying that's making its way around corporate America: You won't lose your job to AI, you'll lose your job to someone using AI.  Are companies doing enough to train employees on how to harness the power of AI?

A workplace expert and the CEO of Today's Professionals Consulting & Development.  Her company works with companies from coast to coast on business etiquette, communication, and soft skills JULIE JONES