The cause of increased anxiety is artificial intelligence (AI), automation, and uncertainty changing the professional world, which professions will still be needed and promising in the future.
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76% of career consultants surveyed noted that over the past 2 years, the attention of current and future students to study completion results and career readiness has significantly increased.
Pressure from parents/guardians on young people choosing a profession has also increased. In 63% of cases, it is the parents who demand proof that the chosen field of study will guarantee a job for their child. In 25% of cases, such concerns matter to both parents and children.
This shows that families increasingly want education to provide a visible return on investment. According to consultants, tension arises here because many families still equate university reputation or rankings with employment opportunities. Although instead, it is important for students to learn to evaluate universities based on what they will actually experience there and how they will develop, not just the institution’s brand.
Practical experience is becoming the most valuable currency in a career.
The traditional question “What do you want to study?” is replaced by “What do you want to be able to do at work and what educational path will help you achieve that?”. This shift in perspective emphasizes more the connection between university study programs, skills, and career.
The survey showed that practical experience is becoming the most valuable currency in a career. In 41% of cases, families, when choosing study places, value most the opportunity to gain practical experience during studies: participating in internships, cooperation programs, etc.
No wonder, as career consultants named the most frequently heard family questions: “Will AI take jobs?”, “Which jobs are resistant to artificial intelligence?”, “In which professional fields is the return on investment (ROI) the highest?”, “Which skills will remain valuable?”, “How does the university help students develop those skills?”.
Professionals emphasized that they do not encourage young people to choose supposedly “AI-resistant” professions. Instead, secondary schools should help students develop adaptability, critical thinking, communication skills, technological literacy, problem-solving skills, and the ability to learn continuously.
Lithuanian experience: looking for studies related to AI
This global survey confirms the trends in Lithuania that I notice working with 9-12 grade students and communicating with their parents. I see a lot of stress – how to “correctly” choose a professional path and the studies leading to it.
The university plays many roles: it turns young people into adults, responsible individuals, but does not guarantee a job and security.
Members of the Baltic States career consultants network I founded, from private and public schools, unanimously confirm the trend that students use AI in their essays.
With students in Vilnius, we often talk about the fact that AI is a great tool for idea generation or grammar checking, but we should not use it when writing papers.
Students are extremely interested in learning as much as possible about how AI works and how to best utilize its capabilities. They believe that if they master AI usage perfectly, it will guarantee them a great career in the near and distant future.
Some students seriously consider choosing foreign university fields such as AI query engineering or AI team creation/design. From the students’ perspective, such a specialty will guarantee huge demand for their services and salary.
Young people are looking for universities where they can choose AI studies alongside their main subject.
Another example – traditionally about a third of high school graduates each year choose business-related studies, including business, management, economics, finance, marketing, etc. This year we observe a clear change: young people are looking for universities where they can choose AI studies alongside their main – business-related – subject. And we see how quickly universities adapt to this demand.
Regularly participating in global events, I testify that young people worldwide experience the same fear: what will I do after finishing studies, will I have a job. The emergence of artificial intelligence has awakened an inner desire like never before: “I want to have a job”.
How are schools reorienting?
Not only universities adapt their study programs quickly, but changes are also necessary in secondary schools. There is a real need to work with students and help them choose a career.
The main task is to help the child understand what activity delights them so deeply that they will enjoy doing it for many years.
It is important to awaken what excites them because I now notice a lot of apathy among youth. It arises from the fact that students receive too much negative information from around the world at every moment. Adding to this, they are not sure what they want to do in life and whether they will have a good job after university – and this creates such youth disengagement. So an important task of my work is how to engage students with their own future!
What we have actually started to change in Lithuania: if earlier the AISV career consultant worked with 9-12 grade students, from this year they will work with 8-12 grade students. The content of career counseling is adapted to students by age, and its essence is that students discover “this thing brings joy to my life”. We develop reflection skills and help them articulate – why do they like doing what they do?
We use a lifestyle calculator where children mark: what kind of house they want to live in, what car they want to drive, how many times a year they want to vacation, and the algorithm calculates – how much they need to earn to create such a lifestyle. This is often an unexpected perspective for them and helps them understand the value of money.
Only then do we explore various specialties. Using the excellent tool “Maia,” students find interesting specialties for them, where it shows – how much they can earn, which entrance exams they will need to take, which subjects are mandatory to choose at school. This tool even shows which companies in the USA and the United Kingdom (UK) are currently looking for such employees and how much they pay. Such interactivity interests children and gives them a sense of reality.
We talk about money so that children realistically imagine: if I want to be an artist and earn 100 thousand euros per year – I can achieve that gradually, not immediately. I notice that information reaches children most effectively from first-hand sources, listening to professionals invited to school who tell about their career path. It is important for children to see that people who have made a successful career may have studied something completely different, changing their job profile several times along the way until they found what they do now.
For career choice, it is especially important that children ask questions to people who have created careers, e.g., “What type of person would be happy working in such a job?” or “Did you imagine you would work in this job when you were my age?” (the answer is usually “No”).
I have lived and worked in Lithuania for two years, and what I see as distinctive here: the vast majority of Lithuanian students are interested in education abroad and want to experience different cultures, but after studies want to return to Lithuania because they like living here. Now this is reinforced by the fact that in popular study countries like the USA or the United Kingdom, it is increasingly difficult to get a visa to stay after studies.
Tips before September 1st
Summer is the best time, especially for 9-12 grade students, to ask themselves the mentioned career-related questions and try volunteering, short courses, professional observation.
Soon – September 1st, and with it academic pressure will begin. Therefore, exploring oneself, what one really likes to do, is best when the brain has more space and is not yet burdened with studies. Because career planning is most valuable when it has structure and continuity, it is like a journey of development, not a decision students have to make finishing secondary school. Students should have continuous opportunities to connect their academic knowledge with the world outside school, understand the variety of opportunities available to them, and develop self-awareness and skills. That is why it is especially important for parents and students to start thinking about careers now and gradually develop these thoughts from 8th to 12th grade.
Early consistent career preparation gives students freedom and time to explore and get to know themselves without pressure. Over many years, I have met many students who changed their minds about career choice. And that is normal. Unfortunately, it is often too late to choose the necessary subjects and exams at school. The freshest example: a boy really wanted to study engineering in Canada but could not apply because chemistry was required there, and he had not chosen this subject.
Twelfth graders wishing to study abroad know that entrance exams take place in the fall: in most US universities, the document submission deadline is November 1, at Oxford or Cambridge – October 15.
Students who know themselves well always stand out from the crowd of candidates. So university application reviewers analyze not only grades but also students’ extracurricular activities. Ideally, if these relate to the desired field of study – it strengthens the candidacy. Such students are authentic and have their own voice.
