Published : 15 Sep 2026, 06:28 AM
Updated : 16 Sep 2026, 11:50 AM
As evolving AI poses the threat of stealing your career among other prospects of the future, like clean water, pursuing a degree may seem like a difficult proposition.
Charlie Ball, an expert on graduate employment at Jisc, suggests otherwise. He cautions young people against focusing too heavily on finding particular careers that are supposedly immune to AI.
Instead, he suggests they should build a broad mix of skills that enables them to adapt quickly as the labour market evolves, according to the Guardian.
Ball told the New York Times, “What you’re trying to do is futureproof a 45-year career in a time of rapid technological change – and that’s really quite hard to do. What’s likely is that jobs that hinge a lot on human, face-to-face interaction are unlikely to be replaced.”
While no career can be considered completely shielded from AI, some fields may retain stronger protection because they depend on human judgement, creativity, physical presence, or personal relationships, reports the Guardian.
Areas With Lower Risk
Research and development in STEM degrees have long been linked to strong career prospects. While AI may transform some entry-level laboratory work, the inventive core of research should remain human-led, The Guardian reports.
“The creativity and imaginative work will have to be done by humans,” Ball says.
“The whole point of R&D is to find out new things, and AI can only really compare against stuff that it’s already got in its database.”
AI is also expected to become increasingly embedded in design, simulation and modelling, but engineers will still be needed to translate those plans into the physical world and oversee complex real-world projects.
The Guardian cites Ball as saying, “Much of engineering is going to be hard to replace by AI. We are likely still to need engineers to do the big stuff like civil engineering – building bridges and buildings.”
AI can already generate images, music, writing and other creative material, but Ball argues that audiences will continue to value distinctly human expression.
He says people will become increasingly adept at recognising AI-generated work.
“There will always be demand for human-led creativity. Everything AI currently produces is a remix of things that already exist. AI can’t create things. You’ll never get a distinctive new voice emerging. It can’t do that.”
Areas Where AI Could Become More Integrated
The Guardian says medicine is unlikely to disappear as a profession, but doctors’ roles could change substantially as AI becomes more capable of diagnosis and clinical support.
Human judgement and accountability, however, will mostly remain central.
Ball says, “Their jobs will change somewhat. But people will want humans to deliver their health news, particularly the more difficult news.
“And no matter how good automation gets, when your kids are poorly, you will want to take them to a human GP.”
The Guardian reports that Ball sees AI as useful for diagnosis in some circumstances, but not as a substitute for human responsibility.
Similar to medicine, technology is also likely to penetrate nursing and other healthcare roles, potentially easing pressure on understaffed services.
Yet the hands-on, emotional and interpersonal dimensions of care are harder to automate.
“AI and tech will get injected into many health roles, and on balance that’s probably quite a good thing, because at the moment we have nowhere near enough people doing these jobs,” Ball was quoted as saying by The Guardian.
“But people will want humans to care for them when they are sick… I cannot envisage a situation where there will ever be a robot midwife.”
Teaching is another field where AI may transform how work is delivered without eliminating the need for human educators, according to The Guardian.
Technology can assist with lessons and administrative tasks, but Ball argues teachers remain important for explanation, relationships, and pastoral care.
