Matthew Ramirez began studying computer science at Western Governors University in 2025, lured by the promise of a flexible, well-paying career as a programmer. But while the headlines of the press technology layoffs and the potential of AI to replace entry-level codershe began to wonder if this path would actually lead to a job.
When the 20-year-old interviewed for a data center technician position last June and never heard back, his doubts deepened. In December, Ramirez opted for what he thought was the safest bet: turning away from IT altogether. He dropped out of his planned major to apply to nursing school. He comes from a family of nurses and views the field as more stable and harder to automate than coding.
“Even though AI may not yet be at the point where it will overtake all of these entry-level jobs, it probably will by the time I graduate,” Ramirez said.
Ramirez isn’t the only one reshaping his career due to his anxiety about AI. As are students like him reconsider their specialties Fearing that AI will disrupt their job prospects, more established workers – some with decades of experience – are rethinking their trajectory because they encounter AI at work and share the same unease. Some workers avoid it altogether; others adopt it.
It’s unclear when AI will become advanced enough to replace some white-collar workers or how many jobs it will be able to take over. But concern over its potential impact is already pushing people to change course, reshaping the job market before automation fully arrives.
What is clear is why workers are feeling nervous. THE World Economic Forum projects that AI could eliminate 92 million jobs worldwide by 2030, including many white-collar positions. Employers in the United States cited AI as a factor in nearly 55,000 job losses in 2025, according to Challenger, Gray and Christmasa consulting firm, as job seekers navigate a tougher market.
Although AI is still just one of many factors leading to layoffs, ADP, the largest payroll company in the United States, has found that professional and business services positions, alongside information services jobs in media, telecommunications and IT, collectively, 41,000 jobs were lost in December 2025. During the same month, employment increased in the healthcare, education and hospitality sectors, according to company data.
Many of these white-collar roles involve writing, data analysis, and coding – tasks that generative AI tools can increasingly perform. Practical work, in direct contact with people, remains less exposed.
Jobs that emphasize interpersonal and practical skills are increasingly attracting young people who are wary of automation, according to Dr. Jasmine Escalera, a career development expert at Zety, a professional development platform.
She emphasized research showing that 43% of Gen Z workers who are concerned about AI are moving away from entry-level corporate and administrative roles toward careers that rely on what she calls “people skills,” including creativity, interpersonal skills, and practical expertise.
In that same report, 53% of young people surveyed said they were seriously considering a blue-collar or skilled trade job. Escalera said this was a measure taken by workers to reduce their exposure to AI and that the Wall Street Journalthe leading journal on white-collar work, recently urged its readers to think about it.
But pivoting can come with sacrifices. Many white-collar positions that workers fear are being automated — from software development to financial analysis — are paid with median salaries well above $75,000 a year, with developers earning about $133,000, according to the agency. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Manual jobs pay less. Many skilled trades, such as electricians and plumbers, are closer to $60,000 per year. These types of jobs also often require in-person work, physical labor, and less predictable schedules – all compromises that workers may accept in their efforts to sustain their careers.
For some job seekers, any mention of AI is a red flag in job postings, so they ignore them altogether.
After being made redundant last January, Roman Callaghan, 30, spent nine months looking for his next job. As a medical coder at a drug access company for four years, Callaghan handled administrative tasks such as calling insurers and entering medical data. After his employer began deploying AI across the company to streamline workflows, he wondered if the move would ever affect his job. When he was laid off two years later, he suspected his fears had come true, although his employer didn’t specifically cite AI as the reason.
When looking for a new job, he avoided any position that mentioned phrases like “integrate AI,” “AI first,” or “develop AI” in job descriptions. Callaghan wanted a new job, but his AI anxiety kept him away from roles that now seemed short-term. He just didn’t want to risk being fired again because a future employer would end up using AI to sort his ranks.
Over the past nine months, he said, he has applied to at least 100 jobs in data entry, medical coding, call centers and paralegal work, while deliberately skipping 30 to 40 offers that reference AI. While he searched, he took odd jobs to make ends meet, first at a local fish store, then at a call center. He stayed there until mid-October, when he landed a data entry job.
Avoiding AI-focused jobs “felt like it narrowed the number of companies I could work for,” Callaghan said. “Even though my options were limited, staying true to my beliefs was worth it. »
Recruiters say this type of avoidance is increasingly common. Marshall Scabet, CEO of Precision Sales Recruiting, which helps manufacturers hire sales professionals, said about a quarter of the sales candidates he spoke with in the past six months were trying to move away from Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) jobs.
Many clients told him they were concerned that their technology sales roles were being replaced by AI, Scabet said, and believed that selling industrial equipment was safer with automation. To do this, he said, it was necessary to establish human relationships with suppliers.
“In their opinion, there was less chance of this job going to AI,” Scabet said. “AI is not just going to walk into a factory and present a machine.”
For more experienced workers, their encounters with workplace AI are pushing them to reconsider entire industries or learn new skills.
Liam Robinson, a 45-year-old animation artist, says he actively avoids jobs in the mobile gaming industry he has worked in for more than a decade. In his last role as art director, his employer encouraged his staff to use generative AI to speed up production. Robinson, who refused to use AI in his own work, said he saw animation quality suffer around him as his colleagues began to rely on the technology.
Last September, after revealing in a self-assessment survey that he was not using AI, Robinson was fired. This left him disillusioned with the direction of the industry. He believes AI destroys creativity, erodes know-how and harms the environment, fueling his resistance to working for companies that build or deploy it.
He does not actively apply for new positions and instead focuses on creating webtoon comics. But if money ran out, he said, he would take on other tasks, from driving for Uber to disposing of trash. “As long as I’m useful and make a little money, that’s enough,” Robinson said.
As professionals like Robinson face the possibility that the skills they spent years mastering are no longer highly valued, many are redefining what stability looks like, according to Arianny Mercedes, founder of career strategy company Revamped.
Rather than seeking prestige or high salaries, Mercedes said its job-seeking clients are increasingly prioritizing roles related to regulated or core parts of an organization, such as health care administration, education or compliance.
“The goal is not to avoid AI,” Mercedes said. “It’s about occupying positions in which AI modifies work tools without undermining authority or decision-making.”
For others, the safest response to AI is to rely on it.
After designing and developing websites for four years, Dmitry Zozulya decided to give up his job. As AI tools have proliferated and made it possible to code and create branding for a fraction of what they used to cost, the 29-year-old has found it increasingly difficult to sell his work on websites and landing pages.
Instead, Zozulya began offering AI-based automation services, helping businesses streamline workflows. He now runs a small consulting firm while building personal projects to deepen his experience.
“I think it’s very important to adapt,” Zozulya said. “Even when it’s uncomfortable.”
Whether the rise of AI is distracting workers from entire industries or just certain roles, it’s disrupting many people’s thinking about what their future at work will look like – and it’s happening abruptly.
For Ramirez, this recalculation began before he even entered the workforce. He believes that switching from computer science to nursing means he’ll find work after graduation, even if it means giving up the future he once imagined.
“If you add AI to the picture, the likelihood of healthcare jobs disappearing is currently slim,” Ramirez said. “I can’t speak for the future, but in the next few years they will still be there.”