WorkSeptember 3, 2026via Financial Times Technology
Is AI affecting what people choose to study?
Why it matters
AI is reshaping career perception and education choices in real time — practitioners need to understand which skill categories students are rushing toward, and employers need to know what talent pipeline looks like in 18-24 months.
Key signals
- Applications for AI-exposed degree programs rising since ChatGPT launch (Nov 2022)
- Shift suggests students are self-sorting into roles they perceive as AI-resistant or AI-augmented
- Enrollment changes indicate labor-market signaling is already at work — before widespread corporate AI deployment data exists
- Source: Financial Times analysis of application trends
- Applications for degrees linked to AI-exposed jobs have risen since ChatGPT's launch in Nov 2022
- Educational demand shift reveals student perception of AI displacement risk
- Signal of proactive workforce adaptation to AI-driven labor market changes
The hook
College applications are shifting. Since ChatGPT launched, enrollments in AI-exposed fields have surged while traditional programs stall.
Since ChatGPT’s launch, applications have risen for degrees linked to jobs with the greatest exposure to AI