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What would you study if you were in college<\/a> today?<\/p>\n For many college students<\/a>, majoring in computer science is no longer a job guarantee. According to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York\u2019s<\/a> labor market data, recent computer science graduates have an unemployment rate of about 6.1%, slightly higher than the 5.7% overall rate for recent graduates.\u00a0<\/p>\n Not all hope is lost. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics predicted that software developer jobs will grow 15%<\/a> from 2024 to 2034, about five times the average for all jobs. So long-term demand for computer science is strong, even as recent graduates face an uphill climb trying to enter the field.\u00a0<\/p>\n According to a new report from The Wall Street Journal<\/em><\/a>, experts recommend three alternative majors<\/a> instead of computer science for students who want to thrive in an AI-dominated workplace: anthropology, mathematics and philosophy. The commonality between these different areas of study is that they thrive where AI falls short<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n For example, anthropology is \u201cthe study of what makes us human,\u201d according to the American Anthropological Association<\/a>. That inquiry feels newly urgent as AI reshapes work and forces people to consider which skills and qualities remain uniquely human.\u00a0<\/p>\n Alec Litowitz studied mathematics and anthropology at MIT before adding both a law degree and an MBA to the mix. Throughout his career<\/a>, including as an early partner in global hedge fund Citadel<\/a>, Litowitz has repeatedly relied on the insights into human behavior that he gained from anthropology.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe beauty of anthropology for me is that I can telescope out and try to understand what\u2019s happening to society right now,\u201d he said in an interview with the Journal<\/em>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Bert Bean, chief executive of Insight Global, a staffing and consulting firm, told the Journal<\/em> that he brings candidates for AI jobs<\/a> in for an interview and puts them in front of a whiteboard. Then, the interviewers \u201cthrow crazy technical problems\u201d at the candidates to see how they think<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Math majors excel at this type of assessment. They usually have experience with manual problem-solving, having grappled with hard questions and practiced working them out by hand.\u00a0<\/p>\n However, Litowitz, the math-anthropology double major, said that if he were to do it all over again, he would pick philosophy. Ana Prestamo, a recent graduate from the University of Notre Dame, agrees that philosophy is a useful major.<\/p>\n \u201cStudying philosophy, or any of the humanities for that matter, has given me something that artificial intelligence cannot replace: a closer understanding of what makes us human,\u201d she wrote in March<\/a> in The Observer<\/em>. \u201cAnd in a time when AI can solve almost any technical problem, understanding what makes us uniquely human becomes all the more valuable.\u201d<\/p>\n Notably absent from the list of recommended majors<\/a> is AI. Peter Miscovich, executive managing director at real-estate giant JLL<\/a>, told the Journal<\/em> that majoring in AI is \u201ctoo narrow.\u201d Eventually, saying you majored in AI will \u201csort of [be] like saying you majored in Excel,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n What would you study if you were in college<\/a> today?<\/p>\n For many college students<\/a>, majoring in computer science is no longer a job guarantee. According to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York\u2019s<\/a> labor market data, recent computer science graduates have an unemployment rate of about 6.1%, slightly higher than the 5.7% overall rate for recent graduates.\u00a0<\/p>\n Not all hope is lost. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics predicted that software developer jobs will grow 15%<\/a> from 2024 to 2034, about five times the average for all jobs. So long-term demand for computer science is strong, even as recent graduates face an uphill climb trying to enter the field.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\nMath and philosophy are also strong contenders<\/h2>\n
Key Takeaways<\/h2>\n
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