What should you study in the age of AI?

If you are choosing a course in 2026, you have probably asked a version of this question: will the job I'm studying for still exist when I graduate?

It's a fair question. The International Monetary Fund estimates that almost 40% of jobs worldwide are exposed to AI, rising to about 60% in advanced economies. Those are the countries most international students choose. But "exposed" does not mean "replaced". The International Labour Organization's 2025 study found that jobs are more likely to be transformed than eliminated. Clerical work is the most exposed.

So the better question is: which subjects put you on the right side of that change?

What employers expect

The World Economic Forum's Future of Jobs Report 2025 asked employers around the world what they expect by 2030. Its headline numbers:

• 170 million jobs created and 92 million displaced by 2030, a net gain of 78 million.
• Employers expect 39% of workers' core skills to change by 2030.
• The fastest-growing roles are big data specialists, FinTech engineers, AI and machine learning specialists, software developers and security specialists. UI/UX designers, environmental engineers and renewable energy engineers are also in the top 15.
• The fastest-declining roles include data entry clerks, bank tellers, administrative assistants, legal secretaries, bookkeeping clerks and graphic designers.

Look closely at the two lists. The growing roles build, secure or apply technology, or work on the energy transition. The declining roles mostly process information in routine ways, and that is exactly what AI does well.

Three kinds of subject

We sort the courses on our site into three groups. None of them is a guarantee, and none is a dead end, but they need different plans.

1. Subjects that grow with AI

AI, data & analytics, software & cybersecurity, engineering & robotics, climate & energy, biotech.

US government projections for 2025–35 show data scientists growing 34.6% and solar installers 36.5%, against about 3% for all jobs.

There's a warning inside the good news, though. Stanford's AI Index 2026 found that employment of software developers aged 22–25 has fallen nearly 20% since 2024, even as older developers' jobs grew. AI now does much of the simple coding that used to train juniors. If you choose computing, choose depth: statistics, security, systems design and real projects, not just "learn to code".

2. Human-centred subjects

Nursing & healthcare, teaching & early childhood, hospitality & events.

Care jobs and teaching are among the roles adding the most workers by 2030. AI will help with records, lesson plans and bookings, but a patient, a child or a guest still needs a person. US projections put nurse practitioners at 41% growth, among the fastest of any job.

These fields also line up with what several countries say they need. Canada's 2026 Express Entry categories include health care and social services, and education.

3. Subjects that are changing fastest

Business analytics & finance, management, design & media, law.

These are still good subjects, but the routine parts of the job are going first. FinTech engineers are the second fastest-growing role in the world, while bank tellers and bookkeeping clerks are among the fastest declining. It's the same industry, going in opposite directions.

In these fields, the course you choose inside the subject matters more than the subject itself:

• Choose accounting with analytics and a professional qualification, not just bookkeeping.
• Choose UX and interaction design, not just graphic production.
• Choose management courses with co-op or placements, where you lead real projects.

A useful test for any course: look at the module list and ask, "Could AI do most of this coursework today?" If the answer is yes, look for a course with more projects, placements, research or professional accreditation.

The skills that matter in every subject

Whatever you study, employers are asking for the same rising skills. WEF's top five are AI and big data, networks and cybersecurity, technological literacy, creative thinking, and resilience, flexibility and agility. Analytical thinking is the top core skill: seven in ten employers call it essential.

Microsoft's 2026 Work Trend Index asked people which human skills matter more as AI does more of the work. The top answers were quality control of AI output (50%) and critical thinking (46%). In other words, the valuable person checks, questions and takes responsibility for the answer, rather than simply producing one. We wrote more about this in the skills AI can't replace.

How to decide, in four steps

1. Start with the work you want to do day to day, not the job title. Do you want to build things, care for people, analyse, create or lead?
2. Pick a career that matches, and check its AI outlook honestly.
3. Choose a course that builds depth through projects, placements, co-op or accreditation, in a country whose post-study work rules fit your plan.
4. Talk to an adviser before you apply. We check entry requirements with you for free, and your first 3 applications to partner universities have no service charge.

Nobody can promise which jobs will exist in 2035. But the pattern in the evidence is clear enough to plan on. Routine information work is shrinking. Work that builds technology, cares for people, or takes responsibility for decisions is growing.

Sources checked on 26 September 2026. Figures are from the reports linked above. They describe global and US trends and are not predictions for any individual.