Asked how they feel about AI’s impact on their future career, half of student respondents answered, “Uncertain.”
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Nearly half—42 percent—of college-eligible students say that artificial intelligence will influence which career they pursue, and 10 percent report that they have already changed their planned major due to concerns about AI, according to a report released Tuesday.
“AI is upending the value equation in higher education,” said Pam Royall, head of research at the education consultancy EAB and co-author of the report. “Colleges must prove they’re preparing graduates by offering experiential learning and emphasizing in-demand, durable job skills that are less likely to become obsolete in an AI-driven economy.”
In an annual survey conducted in February and March, EAB surveyed 9,516 students who were eligible to enroll at a college for the fall 2025 term about their college plans. About nine in 10 of the survey respondents said they attend or are planning to attend college—the same share as the previous two years, but a decrease from 2015, when 98 percent of respondents said the same.
Their attitudes about AI’s impact reflect those captured in other surveys; for example, a Gallup and Lumina Foundation poll released earlier this month showed that 47 percent of students have thought about switching their major either “a great deal” or “a fair amount” amid the rise of AI.
“I planned to be a therapist, but the way the world is going, by the time I obtain my degree, AI will have my job,” one student wrote in their response to the EAB survey. Another student said that “after seeing AI replacing entry-level jobs,” they switched their major from computer science to electrical and computer engineering.
Asked how they feel about AI’s impact on their future career, half of student respondents answered, “Uncertain.” About 10 percent said they felt “depressed,” 32 percent said “concerned” and 31 percent answered “nervous/anxious.” Only 7 percent of respondents said they feel “excited,” and 13 percent were “optimistic” about AI’s impact on their future career.
Their concerns aren’t without justification; between 2022 and 2025, employment for early-career workers in “AI-exposed” occupations like software development and clerical work dropped 16 percent compared to employment for more experienced workers in those roles. As AI proliferates, unemployment for recent college graduates is on the rise. In June 2025, the unemployment rate for bachelor’s degree holders between 22 and 27 years old was 6.6 percent—2.6 percentage points higher than the national unemployment rate of 4 percent.
“I’m unsure if my job opportunities will still be there, but there’s no way to know fully,” one student respondent wrote in the EAB survey.
About a third of students said that, due to advances in AI, they believe fewer jobs will require a college degree. A quarter said they think more jobs will require a college degree, and 29 percent were unsure.
In determining the value of a college degree, 44 percent of students look at postgraduation job placement, the EAB survey shows. About 35 percent of students look at access to internships as an indicator of college value, 30 percent look at financial aid and 29 percent look at tuition prices.
Cost of living was an often-cited reason for deciding not to enroll in college—66 percent of students said it’s a primary financial concern, up from 51 percent the year prior. About a quarter of students said they opted out of attending college because they wanted to take some time off before enrolling, and another quarter said it was because they couldn’t afford to go to college at all. About 12 percent of students said they opted out because they needed to work—a three-percentage-point increase from the previous entering class.
While they worry about AI’s impact on their future careers, students are also using the tools to aid in their college search. This year, 26 percent of students reported using AI to aid in their college search, compared with 14 percent last year. Students of color in particular are turning to the tools—37 percent of Black students and 29 percent of Asian students said they used AI in their college search, compared to 21 percent of white students.
