AI is impacting the early career decisions of young people, but employers are yet to replace most entry-level jobs, explains ISE’s Claire Tyler.
Students are entering a labour market where traditional entry-level roles are evolving and concerns about job displacement due to AI and job automation are on the rise.
A new joint report from Prospects at Jisc and ISE - AI and Early Careers - reveals that while AI is shaping student decisions, most employers anticipate evolution rather than elimination of early career roles over the next three years.
Job seekers have mixed emotions about pivoting career paths
The survey of more than 700 students and early career professionals found 13% of respondents had already changed their career plans because of AI (up from 10% in the most recent Early Careers Survey), with a further third considering a change.
Older respondents and postgraduates were more likely to report a shift in career direction, while women were somewhat more settled: 11% of women reported changing plans due to AI versus 17% of men.
Disabled respondents were less likely to have changed direction (8%) but far more likely to be contemplating it (45%) and reported higher levels of anxiety and unhappiness than non‑disabled peers, a clear signal for more targeted support.
Emotionally, curiosity (34%) and anxiety (27%) about AI dominate. Those who’ve already changed career direction are the most polarised, being simultaneously the most excited (20%) and the most unhappy (23%) about AI’s role in their future career.
Preparedness matters too as postgraduate students, who felt better equipped by their programmes, were more likely to feel excited and curious; those earlier in their studies were more likely to feel less prepared and unhappy.
Job seekers perceive not only risks, but also opportunity
Among career‑changers, fear of replacement was the top driver (69%), closely followed by expectations that roles will be reshaped (57%).
However, changes to career plans are not all driven by defensive behaviour: 36% said they learned new AI skills that influenced their plans, 29% saw new opportunities, and a third are now pursuing higher paying AI‑related roles.
Postgraduates are notably less focussed on the risks of job replacement than undergraduates and more likely to cite skills gains and opportunity creation, suggesting that agency grows with capability and education level.
Industry choices also reflect this nuance. Many who initially aimed for technology/engineering or business/finance careers are staying in those fields but repositioning to work alongside AI.
Changes in career direction therefore reflect not only perceptions of which sectors will be most affected by AI, but also respondents' confidence in their ability to adapt and develop new skills as these sectors become increasingly AI‑integrated.
However, translators/interpreters reported wholesale shifts away from their intended path due to concerns about AI exposure.
This highlights a significant vulnerability for some students, as well as a lower perceived capacity to adapt within an AI‑enabled version of their industry in future. It also suggests a potential need for greater support for students currently aspiring to those careers.
Employers expect gradual change, not disruption
We also gathered knowledge from 30 of our employer members to understand how they are approaching AI adoption and where they anticipate changes in job design, skills requirements, and candidate expectations. We delved into the area more in our Development Survey launching at this year’s Conference.
Despite concerning headlines about the mass replacement of entry level roles by AI, when asked about hiring intentions over the next three years, just over half of employers (53%) said they expect entry‑level hiring to hold steady, with 27% anticipating growth and 17% planning reductions. This echoes our recent findings from our graduate vacancy pulse survey and Recruitment Survey 2025.
Although employers acknowledge that AI adoption is growing within their organisations, any changes to entry‑level hiring are being driven more by external market uncertainty, strategic restructuring, and budget pressures than by AI itself.
As such, while AI is beginning to influence role design, it is not yet the primary factor shaping entry‑level recruitment volumes. In fact, of the employers who provided a prediction about job replacement, half predict that a few roles (1-10%) would be replaced, 18% expect some roles (11-25%) to be replaced and almost a third (32%) do not expect any roles to be replaced.
However, there is some uncertainty surrounding the pace and scope of AI adoption, with a quarter (23%) of employers not providing a prediction about job replacement.
Within entry level roles, AI-driven change so far is modest: 50% of employers describe informal task adjustments due to AI rather than formal redesign and 43% made no changes to their roles which they can attribute to AI.
Most employers foresee minor adjustments to the tasks or responsibilities assigned to roles in the next three years (67%), with 26% expecting significant change.
Most employers are also at a relatively early stage of considering how AI will affect entry-level roles. While a small minority have already restructured or are actively reshaping roles (10%), the majority (60%) expect to review and potentially reshape entry-level roles in the next one to two years.
Human skills are still vital
Crucially, employers do not expect any early career tasks to be fully automated within three years. Human‑led work will remain important, such as client relationships, collaboration, mentoring, judgement on complex or sensitive matters.
That said, worker collaboration with AI is set to rise in tasks related to design and creativity; planning, organising and prioritising work and preparing presentations and visual materials, while routine language and content tasks are most susceptible to automation.
Skills needs are also re-balancing: routine admin, basic data processing, early‑stage research and drafting will matter less; critical thinking, communication, AI/data literacy, adaptability and emotional intelligence will matter more.
What AI support do students and early career hires want?
Students want hands-on training with AI tools to build digital literacy; up‑to‑date guidance on AI capabilities and limits; careers advice attuned to the labour‑market impact of AI; a stronger emphasis on support around ethics and responsible use of AI and AI integration across the curriculum.
Employees echo these sentiments, calling for structured AI upskilling from their employers, reassurance about job security and transparent communication (including in recruitment) about when and how AI is used.
Meanwhile employers are asking for educators to emphasise AI literacy and practical skills; critical thinking, evaluation and verification of AI outputs; ethical, safe and appropriate use of AI; human skills and differentiators; and adaptability, agility and lifelong learning mindset.
AI is influencing student career choices and the skills required in entry level roles, however employer plans point to steady, human‑centred AI adoption, rather than job replacement.
Clear communication, targeted support where uncertainty is highest and practical, ethical skill‑building can convert anxiety into opportunity and help graduates step confidently into an AI‑augmented labour market.
See more data on the impact of AI on entry level roles in our forthcoming ISE Development Survey 2026 which will be released at our Development Conference on 7 May