Choosing a career is a big decision. It determines how you will spend tens of thousands of hours throughout your life and sets the trajectory for the people you will meet, the places you will go, and the impact you will have on the world.
It’s natural to seek out input from diverse sources when making this decision. Speaking with school counselors, discussing the matter with older relatives, or shadowing professionals in industries you are curious about are all great strategies that can help illuminate and clarify your options.
Cliche as it may sound, reading is also a window to other worlds. Books, industry magazines, and even internet forums are all wonderful places to get firsthand accounts of people’s experiences. This also applies to other types of content, such as videos and podcasts. Now, as young people consider their futures, there’s a new elephant in the room: AI.
How Artificial Intelligence Shapes Our Decisions
From writing reports to communicating with others, people are outsourcing a wide range of tasks to large language models like ChatGPT. This includes decisions as monumental as what to do with your professional life.
To be clear, generative AI is a tool like any other. Some uses are positive, while others are negative. Think about social media: some people use Facebook to share exciting moments or stay in touch with friends, while others allow it to waste their time or make them anxious. It’s all about engaging responsibly.
Another point we could add to this analogy is the fact that artificial intelligence can have a negative impact on people’s self-worth. While social media can cause harm by encouraging us to compare ourselves to idealized depictions of others, AI makes people wonder how they stack up against robots. This can leave us wondering where we even fit in, or what we even have to contribute to an AI-infused world.
Will AI Replace Humans?
To better understand our present moment, it’s often helpful to look to the past. The rise of computers in the 1970s and 80s sparked many similar concerns to the ones people have about AI today. Millions of typists, secretaries, and office clerks spent their days doing manual tasks that they feared would soon be replaced by machines.
By 1982, when Time magazine named the computer “person of the year,” some of these fears were materializing. Jobs that centered on filing information and manually calculating financial data, for example, truly became obsolete. However, this same evolution also gave birth to many new professions that were previously unimaginable. New career opportunities emerged in fields such as web development, digital marketing, IT support, and cybersecurity.
New technology that seems earth-shattering can be more exciting than scary when understood with perspective. In fact, new tech often means tons of opportunities for entrepreneurship and innovation. AI doesn’t spell the end of opportunity, nor can it make perfect decisions on your behalf. With all that in mind, let’s discuss some tips on how AI can be useful when choosing a path for your career.
How AI Can Actually Help You Find the Right Career
Think of AI as a helpful assistant, not a decision-maker. It can expand your thinking, challenge your assumptions, and provide insight, but the final call is yours to make. Here are some concrete strategies to use:
- Brainstorm possibilities: Start by listing a few career ideas you’re already considering. Then, ask your generative AI tool to build on those ideas. For more personalized results, try giving some context behind each of your original ideas. Sharing your interests, strengths, and priorities can help LLMs outperform search engines because the answer can be fully customized to you.
- Learn about behind-the-scenes professions: Most industries have an entire ecosystem of support roles assisting their most visible workers. Behind every doctor is a team of lab technicians, medical coders, administrators, and IT specialists. Behind every live concert are audio engineers, lighting designers, tour managers, and publicists. It’s easy to overlook such roles, but generative AI can offer valuable educational opportunities. Try inputting industries you’re interested in and having an open-ended conversation about the various roles.
- Simulate a career quiz: Ask ChatGPT to guide you through a personalized Q&A session. You can prompt it to ask you a series of questions about your interests, strengths, values, and preferences, like a dynamic game of 20 Questions. Then, have it summarize what it learned and offer tailored career suggestions. Because it’s conversational, you can go deeper on anything that sparks your curiosity.
- Stress test your ideas: You can also use AI to explore the potential drawbacks of various professions you are interested in. Try discussing common challenges, lifestyle demands, required education, and the long-term outlook. This can help you uncover dealbreakers early and prepare thoughtfully for the challenges you are willing to face.
Final Thoughts on AI Collaboration
AI isn’t some kind of omnipotent god that can solve your life for you. Neither is it the devil, lurking to destroy your career or remove purpose from your life. It’s a powerful tool that will bring about significant changes, just like smartphones, the internet, and the personal computer. These are exciting times, especially for entrepreneurs. If you keep a positive, forward-thinking mindset, artificial intelligence can help you navigate the modern world and build a life and career that you love.
We firmly believe AI will never fully replace human collaboration and creativity. If you’re looking for a partner to help your company build a brand and reach new customers, we’d love to help. Check out our services and Matcha Design and get in touch today!
