The Principia Guide to Choosing an “AI-Proof Major” in 2026
Is computer science really dead?
Scary headlines from major news outlets like “The Computer Science Bubble is Bursting” (The Atlantic) and “Goodbye, $165,000 Tech Jobs. Student Coders Seek Work at Chipotle” (New York Times) would have you believe so. And here at Principia Education, we’ve seen an increasing number of our high school families and students asking tough questions about right-fit majors and schools, especially when it comes to computer science and other tech-adjacent fields.
While these headlines are sensationalized (and for parents, might feel eerily reminiscent of the gloomy post dot-com boom headlines of the late 90s and early 00s), there’s some truth in the numbers behind them.
A closer look at the reality of computer science unemployment numbers shows that part of the issue at hand is the sheer growth of CS majors. The number of graduates in the field doubled from 50k annually between the mid-2010s to 100k+ in the early 2020s. The CS and tech hiring markets have cooled significantly from the heyday of big signing bonuses and high starting salaries. Entry-level roles are more competitive. And the pace of change feels faster and more disruptive than previous tech cycles.
And CS isn’t the only historically “safe” field going through a transitional phase. For years, advances in machine learning and imaging have shown the potential to uproot medical specialties like radiology and pathology. Microsoft even published a list of 40 jobs most likely to be impacted by AI, reinforcing the reality that no career path is entirely insulated from technological change.
So if you’re a student who’s nervous about committing to a major that feels like it could become obsolete by college graduation, know that you’re not alone. The reality is that in the coming years, there may no longer be a perfectly “safe” major that guarantees an easy job search or six-figure salary right after graduation.
But there are time-tested, safe strategies for becoming a student capable of confidently navigating a shifting job market, regardless of major. We believe that the students who will thrive in the next era are those who focus on building key personal skills, qualities, and experiences that will ensure that they’ll be able to handle the job markets they’ll face in the future.
Here are some of the strategies we’ve seen work for our students over the past few years, and the top five suggestions we have for building an “AI-proof” college experience in the age of rapid invention.
Step 1: Be Agile
One of the biggest misconceptions students have about choosing a major is that it determines their entire career trajectory.
The reality is that adaptability has always been part of a modern career trajectory. When a field is evolving, the young professionals who succeed will be the ones who are comfortable evolving with it.
Being agile means anticipating change instead of being afraid of it. When students build identities around curiosity and the process of learning rather than a specific tool or niche, it’s easier to stay resilient, regardless of how industries shift.
Practice agility by:
Taking at least one outside of your major discipline each semester/year: Don’t let interdisciplinarity fall by the wayside in college. Keep exploring the humanities, social sciences, and languages even if your major doesn’t require you to – all fields which will make it easier to see connections between new ideas.
Learning outside of the box tools and skills independently through short projects: Long breaks are one of the core joys of college. Use winter break and extended summers to develop new skills: learn a coding language not taught at your college, develop your public speaking and pitching skills through an online Coursera program, do a deep-dive on a topic you care about and aim to publish in a relevant journal.
Keeping an eye on the field at large: Don’t just rely on casual media like Reddit, anecdotal reports from friends, or major news outlets for information on your field. Join professional organizations at the student level, subscribe to niche publications within your area of interest, and pay attention to trends as they emerge.
Step 2: Seek Problems First, Then Develop Skills To Match
In a world where technology is perpetually shifting, your hard skills will often (or let’s be honest about the state of things in 2026 – always) need to pivot to match. New programming languages replace older ones, platforms shift, and what feels essential today can look very different a few years from now.
While grades and classes matter, they won’t set you apart: your initiative will. Both colleges and employers want to see that you can notice gaps in infrastructure, identify missing context, build things that didn’t exist before, test novel ideas, and step outside the box. Focusing on pursuing experiences signals curiosity and follow-through in ways both employers and colleges deeply value.
You can build meaningful experiences by:
Looking for real-world friction points: Many of the most successful tech companies didn’t start with a specific technical breakthrough. They started with a problem. Uber wasn’t created because someone wanted to practice geolocation mapping. It came from frustration getting a ride in San Francisco. DoorDash didn’t begin as an exercise in logistics optimization. It came from noticing small local restaurants were struggling to deliver to their customers efficiently. Practice this same mindset by paying attention to inefficiencies and inequities in daily life. Notice what’s inconvenient or challenging at school, in local businesses, or in community organizations, then design a small project or app that addresses it.
Trying hands-on work early and often: High school students can look for local internships, volunteer with a nonprofit managing social media or data, shadow professionals, or join summer institutes or hackathons. Don’t just rely on tried-and-true application based programs: reach out to local companies, family networks, and local university professors to offer your specific passion and skills. See a local business that could use a website revamp? Offer to assist pro bono in exchange for a chance to shadow the CEO for a day. Curious about a tech startup you’ve noticed on the drive home from school? Stop by and introduce yourself. Some of the best opportunities aren’t the ones you’ll find online, but the ones you create yourself.
Keeping track of what you’ve built: Maintain a portfolio site, writing archive, and keep your resume updated and ideally public and searchable. Beyond a public archive, consider keeping a private set of notes each semester where you reflect on outcomes, challenges, and skills you’ve built over time. Being able to point past the highlights of your resume to specific successes and challenges over the years will give you an advantage when applying for programs, internships, or jobs.
Step 3: Explore Emerging or Hybrid College Programs
While it can be tempting to double down on existing interests that match your high school classes, consider leaning into the novelty rather than avoiding it when picking a major. Students and families often assume the safest move is choosing the most traditional version of a major. But some of the most forward-looking work is happening in interdisciplinary spaces where fields overlap and reshape each other.
Double majors are one of the simplest ways to embrace new ways of thinking. Pairing computer science with philosophy, economics, linguistics, design, or policy can help build both technical depth and social context, crucial in an era where human-technology integration is everywhere.
And many top universities are formalizing this hybridity into their programs. Stanford’s Symbolic Systems major blends computer science with psychology, linguistics, and philosophy to study how humans and machines process information. Michigan’s Robotics Major draws on more than a dozen departments so students can shape their degrees around computing, perception, and human interaction. And Berkeley’s data science curriculum was designed specifically to combine computation with real-world inquiry. Choose schools that have a forward-looking approach, and then pursue experiences that show you’re a great fit.
Practice this by:
Looking for interdisciplinary classes tied to new tech: In high school, take classes that mix coding with business, robotics with design, or statistics with social research, either at your school if they exist or in summer programs designed to expand your perspective. In college, prioritize unique course options like human-computer interaction, AI and society, or applied data science. These environments train you to think about where technology fits, not just how it works.
Applying to special programs, labs, or innovation hubs: Seek out collaborative spaces where you can learn from others different from you. High schoolers might consider targeting project-centric summer programs or interdisciplinary tech opportunities. College students can check out business and design competitions, startup incubators, or interdisciplinary research groups like Stanford’s d.school. Each campus will have their own flavor of opportunities, so do your research during the application process and ask questions.
Building your own hybrid path when one doesn’t exist: It often takes years for universities to approve and develop new majors, so don’t be afraid to combine majors or minors intentionally with your own goals in mind. Add classes like Rhetoric or Design Thinking that will stretch you to improve your visual, communication and logic abilities alongside your technical work. Or design independent projects that connect disciplines for your capstone or thesis. Students who actively build bridges between fields tend to graduate with more options available to them.
Step 4: Develop Core Human Skills
This might seem counterintuitive in the age of AI, but tech leaders consistently emphasize that human skills are becoming more valuable, not less. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has argued that “if you just have IQ without EQ, it’s just a waste of IQ,” stressing that empathy is no longer a “soft skill,” but central to effective innovation and collaboration.
In a world where AI can write code, analyze data, and automate many daily tasks, the skills that remain hardest to replicate are the ones grounded in communication, novel thinking, and teamwork. Students who learn to connect with people, articulate their ideas clearly, and understand real human needs are the ones who will be able to use AI as a tool in roles that matter.
Practice developing core human skills by:
Putting yourself in collaborative environments intentionally: Join debate teams, student government, robotics groups, research labs, or community initiatives where you have to coordinate with people who think differently than you do.
Strengthening your communication muscles: Take advanced writing-heavy or presentation-based classes beyond what’s required at your high school or college, volunteer to lead group projects, or practice explaining technical ideas to non-technical audiences (like teaching computer skills at a local community center, or explaining how to use Canva to create a family recipe book to your grandmother).
Building empathy through exposure to different communities and age groups: Work part-time, tutor younger students, or volunteer off-campus so you’re constantly exposed to new perspectives outside your academic bubble.
Step 5: Build (and Maintain!) Your Relationships and Networks
While technology and industries are always evolving, one constant remains: opportunities are still created through people. Students who learn early on how to build genuine (and long-lasting) relationships with mentors, teachers, supervisors, and peers will navigate career and academic transitions more confidently. And this isn’t just conventional wisdom: a LinkedIn study found that 70-85 percent of jobs are still filled through personal and professional connections, highlighting how central relationship-building remains in today’s job market.
Staying in touch with mentors, expressing gratitude, asking thoughtful questions, and showing curiosity about others’ paths helps develop social confidence and perspective. Over time, these relationships become sources of guidance, encouragement, and opportunity — assets just as meaningful as any credential or technical skill set.
Send annual thank you notes and brief, genuine update emails to mentors, former teachers, volunteer coordinators and supervisors, and family friends: Let them know how you’re doing, what you’re interested in, and remind them of the impact that they had on your education and your life.
Join professional networks early on - and don’t be afraid to get out of your comfort zone: Get off campus, especially if you’re in or near a major city where your field has many job opportunities. Use breaks and special funding from universities to attend conferences, workshops, and networking events.
Connect with alumni and conduct informational interviews: Join alumni associations for your high school and college, and attend local events. Utilize counselor and career center resources to make contacts. Make sure to engage with a range of professional levels, from new grads to executive-level professionals. You’ll learn to better understand their challenges and best practices at each stage of your career.
