March 24, 2026
By Alyssa Zelaya
Staff Writer
Nowadays, it is difficult to think about employment without considering the impacts of artificial intelligence.
In fact, last summer, CBS News noted that AI was among the top five reasons for job loss. Furthermore, in November 2025, Massachusetts Institute of Technology released a study concluding that AI can already replace 11.7% of the U.S. labor force.
Fears that AI will continue affecting the job market are leading some students to rethink their majors and prospective careers.
Senior Michael Monahan said AI has influenced his plan to pursue civil engineering in college.
“My brother actually told me that I’ll be better off with civil engineering because of how the market’s going with AI and how many companies are investing in it. It’ll be better to stay away from systems [engineering],” Monahan said.
“We’re never going back. AI is here to stay, and it’s only getting more powerful.”
He said he is not interested in learning how to work with AI as part of his major.
“I don’t want to be relying on a computer, especially when it comes to transportation infrastructure. I feel like that’s dangerous,” Monahan said.
Like Monahan, senior Caroleena Brea, who wants to study graphic design in college and become a tattoo artist, said she considered AI when selecting her prospective career.
“That’s one of the few [jobs] that can’t be taken over. I was going to be an illustrator before for kids’ books, [but] AI is replacing a lot of the illustration jobs, and companies are laying off their artists,” Brea said.
She said AI will likely cause people in her generation to change careers multiple times.
“[We] don’t know which jobs are going to be stable in the future,” Brea said.
School counselor Ms. Leidemer said AI should not affect students’ decisions about majors, but she encourages students to be aware of the technology.
“The best way to do your research [is to] stay on top of it, stay educated about it [and] talk to people who are in the field now and see the changes they’re seeing,” Leidemer said.
PIE CHART BY ZAHARA CHOWDHURY This pie chart represents the responses of 113 LHS students. Survey results were collected using Google Classroom and Google Forms between Feb. 2-11.
She said that in any field, adaptability is important.
“With any major, things are always changing. Things are always evolving, so you have to learn to adapt to change,” Leidemer said.
Business and technology teacher Mrs. Huntington said in the field of computer science, one of the subjects she teaches, she expects AI to create jobs rather than take them over.
“We’re never going back. AI is here to stay, and it’s only getting more powerful. That’s something we need to learn to work with,” Huntington said.
She also does not think AI will replace jobs in education.
“Teachers do not just teach curriculum and knowledge, but it’s that human interaction, and you still need humans to teach humans,” Huntington said.
Like Huntington, English teacher Mr. Belmont, who is also LHS’ technology coordinator, said he does not regard AI as a threat to teaching jobs.
“There’s such a big human element [to] it. It will possibly automate some parts of it, but I think the profession itself is not in direct danger from AI,” Belmont said.
Rather than avoiding AI, Belmont said students will need to use it effectively.
“Everybody will have access to it, but not everybody will know how to use it to its full potential,” said Belmont.
