5 AI Career Truths Every Young Professional Should Know

Forbes

6 hours ago

Today's newest employees must take strategic steps to succeed in an AI-driven workplace.
We all know that AI is changing everything and there's no turning back. Those of us in established careers are adapting and experimenting with AI in our everyday work. This isn't so bad, we think. We can roll with this.
But what about young people just entering the workforce? What are the ground rules for their career success?
Let's be real: we're all just making this up as we go along. That makes advising and mentoring the young professionals who are just launching their careers a challenge. The strategic steps young workers need to succeed in their careers are vastly different than the path older generations trod.
In many ways, it seems the outlook for younger workers is much tougher.
'We are entering a phase where AI can perform tasks that were previously reserved for trained professionals,' says Chris Callison-Burch, Professor at University of Pennsylvania's School of Engineering and Applied Science. 'These systems are now able to automate tasks associated with entry-level jobs—and that's bad news for recent college grads, who should be entering into exactly those jobs as a start to their careers.'
Diana Godwin, Director of Amazon Web Services (AWS) Certifications, agrees. 'For recent graduates and young professionals, today's landscape presents unprecedented volatility—rapid technological revolution paired with market unpredictability could easily lead to apprehension,' she says.
The challenge for young people just entering the workforce is twofold: master the technical skills related to AI while navigating heightened uncertainty around career growth. 'The most successful young people won't be those who compete with AI but those who know when to use it and when to trust their own instincts,' says Godwin.
To cultivate accurate instincts, young professionals must accept five foundational truths about AI in order to thrive in this fast-changing landscape.
'Young professionals—regardless of their chosen path—must develop foundational AI literacy,' says Godwin. 'As AI transforms nearly every role—from software development to marketing to human resources—understanding its capabilities and limitations becomes not just advantageous but essential to the modern workforce.
'This literacy represents a new form of professional fluency that many employers are already seeking.'
One big piece of AI literacy is prompt engineering. 'Think of prompt engineering like learning to ask good questions,' says Godwin. 'The better you get at it, the more useful the answers become. It's less about technical perfection and more about developing an intuition for how to communicate with these systems.'
Callison-Burch also strongly advises his students to learn to use these tools well. 'Think of yourself not just as a user, but as a manager of AI agents,' he says. 'You still need the technical grounding to evaluate output, spot errors, and apply domain knowledge — otherwise, you risk using these systems blindly.'
But even as technological proficiency becomes more important, professional skills (also known as soft or human skills) have also grown in value.
'Soft skills still matter deeply,' says Callison-Burch. 'In fact, they're often what make someone an effective AI user—the ability to frame problems, prompt creatively, iterate, clearly specify the important aspects of a solution, and evaluate outputs critically.'
'While technical skills and AI literacy are in high demand, employers are still looking for talent who excel in problem-solving, communication, strategic thinking, and other human-centered skills,' stresses Godwin. 'As machines get smarter, our most human qualities become more valuable, not less.'
Godwin argues that while technical fluency is necessary to stay competitive, those who pair that fluency with strong human-centered skills are well-rounded, standout candidates. 'This combination is what employers are looking for, and what future-proofs your career, regardless of the role or industry.'
Godwin further argues that the core elements of success remain intrinsically human. 'No matter how advanced AI will become, human values are irreplaceable,' she says. 'More than anything, human-centered skills become a premium at a time when innovation is happening at lightning speed. Young workers need skills like relationship-building, collaboration, and openness to learning to work effectively with their managers, peers, and AI in a new world of work.'
The reach of AI is already extending beyond the job itself into the process of landing the job. AI-led hiring is another element of AI's workplace impact that young professionals must manage. 'AI isn't just transforming jobs—it's also reshaping hiring itself,' Callison-Burch says, citing the recent experience of one of his students who was just interviewed by an AI system.
'That will become more common,' he says. 'Navigating AI-led hiring will be a skill in itself—one that younger applicants may be better prepared for than older ones. It's going to be a wild time for everyone.'
It's all part of a bigger about-face by companies who, says Callison-Burch, have shifted from banning AI tools to asking candidates how they have used them effectively. 'Demonstrating thoughtful, responsible use of AI is now a competitive edge,' he says.
Generation Z has shown remarkable interest in entrepreneurship, far beyond any generation before them. Now, it seems their entrepreneurial bent will be deepened by AI.
'If recent grads are struggling to find entry-level jobs, I think it's a perfect time to consider entrepreneurship,' says Callison-Burch. 'The same advancements to software developer tools that might make it hard for you to find an entry-level job at Microsoft might also give you the tools you need to launch your own company.'
He shares the story of one of the University of Pennsylvania's recent alumni who founded Parambil, a startup leveraging AI to help law firms manage mass tort cases. 'That kind of high-leverage application wouldn't have been feasible even a few years ago,' says Callison-Burch.
'There's never been a better moment to build using AI.'
'Lifelong learning' has been a catchphrase in the world of work for many years, but now AI has lent it extra urgency. As AI evolves, so must we. Thankfully, there is a growing number of opportunities for younger and seasoned workers alike to level up their AI proficiency.
Godwin urges students to take advantage of any introductory AI courses their schools offer. If none, there are other AI training options available. 'At AWS, we offer more than 135 free and low-cost AI and ML courses on our digital learning centers, AWS Skill Builder and AWS Educate, for people of varying backgrounds and experiences,' she says.
'If they want to validate their skills to employers, they should consider AI certifications, such as the AWS Certified AI Practitioner that's designed for people from a variety of backgrounds and experiences to showcase their understanding of AI and generative AI concepts, their ability to recognize opportunities that benefit from AI, and their knowledge on using AI tools responsibly.'
On the higher education side, Callison-Burch shares how Penn Engineering is responding to meet this moment. 'We launched the first undergraduate major in AI in the Ivy League, and I direct our Master of Engineering in Artificial Intelligence Online program. Both have grown rapidly,' he says.
'But we also try to create pathways outside the classroom. This summer, I'm working with a team of 20 undergraduate and master's students who are building new tools with LLMs in an eight-week sprint—experimenting with vibe coding to rapidly prototype new interface designs, improve AI systems and build new technologies. They're asking: What can I build? What can I do faster or better with AI?
'That's the right instinct.'
If we're honest, very few of us are fully at ease in this moment of vast technological advancement. But all of us, whether fresh out of school or in a well-established career, can manage our responses to the pressures of modern work.
'Succumbing to anxiety or analysis paralysis will not contribute to the success of your career,' says Godwin. 'A mentor once told me, 'You have to be the driver and advocate of your own career,' and it really stuck with me. External circumstances will continuously evolve beyond your control, but your capacity to anticipate, adapt, and acquire high-value skills remains entirely within your agency.
'You'll be able to navigate any digital or societal disruption as long as you stay curious and constantly seek in-demand technical and non-technical skills.'