College Majors that Won’t be Replaced by Automation  

 

BY BRETT CLAWSON

With new advances in the field of AI (artificial intelligence) coming about every single day, people around the world are rightfully concerned about whether AI can one day replace human workers in different occupations. While it’s true that jobs such as carpenters, telemarketers, and bank tellers are at risk, many other occupations are safe from the robots. This article will highlight five of those career paths. It will also reveal college majors that high school and college students should consider if they want a job where they won’t get replaced by technological advances.

Creative Endeavors (Dance, Visual Arts, Creative Writing, etc)

While technology has enabled photographers to make their pictures better, allowed independent musicians to make music that rivals their peers on major labels, and let first-time authors bypass the gatekeepers in the publishing industry to publish their books, some AI experts have wondered whether computers can actually create art themselves. The good news for those aspiring artists is that the creative output of computers has been less than stellar. Yes, computers can “draw a picture of a tree”. But what machines lack is imagination, creativity, and the improvisational skills that the average artist possesses. So if you want to go to art school, major in dance, or read and write great books, your livelihood will probably not be replaced by AI.

PRE-MED

Most of the tasks that a physician performs in their work could be automated by machines. But what a robot can’t do is make difficult decisions about patient care, have a good bedside manner, or deal with the complexities of human psychology. Plus, there could be legal consequences if a machine makes an error that costs a patient their life. For all of these reasons, pre-med students can rest easy knowing that their future profession is safe from automation.

Education
Technology has certainly changed how many of us learn new skills. With the proliferation of online courses and even online college degrees, some people fear that robots could teach children in school in the next few decades. But education majors need not worry so much. Investopedia reports that schools will always need humans to teach and answer the questions of students. This need is so strong that many school districts across the country are trying to figure out how to recruit teachers. So if you’re an education major at your college, you won’t have to worry about machines taking over your job when you graduate.

 

Social Work/Psychology

When technology eliminates many occupations, displaced workers will need a lot of compassionate support. For this reason alone, therapists and social workers will be in demand. Machines can’t beat humans when it comes to empathy, complex social interactions, and intuition. Therapists have these skills and qualities, so their work will be even more valuable in the coming decades. Social work and clinical psychology students can approach their studies knowing that their work will help a lot of people whose very livelihood got taken over by machines.

 

Kinesiology/Exercise Science

Bernard Marr of Forbes stated that people with higher-than-average physical skills may survive the automation of America’s workforce. Marr says that as humans, we love to see athletes perform amazing physical feats. This will probably not change in the coming years as machines become able to do more and more things. Even if scientists created robots that could play basketball, football, or soccer, we would still want to see humans perform physical feats on the field that we couldn’t do. Kinesiology and exercise science majors can enter a field where they could help amazing athletes do their thing on the field or court without worrying about their jobs disappearing due to technological advances.

Byline:  Brett Clawson is a writer and entrepreneur with a degree in Business Management. He enjoys researching emerging business trends and sharing their impact on business and the industry as a whole. He believes that the best way to influence others and share his knowledge with the world is through his writing.