4 AI Skills Young People Need For Future Jobs In Tech

Technology-related roles are projected to be the fastest growing jobs that will shape the global labor market by 2030. The World Economic Forum predicts that the need for AI and big data skills will skyrocket by 87% over the next 5 years—continually expanding into areas like cybersecurity, quantum computing, and more.

AI (artificial intelligence) is transforming the tech industry, creating new jobs and driving demand for specialized skills. For an aspiring tech professional, getting a head start on AI education is key to future-proofing your career. But to know which skills matter most, you first need to understand where AI is headed.

Understanding The Future Of AI

When ChatGPT and Claude launched to the public, they brought large language models (LLMs) into the spotlight. LLMs are machine learning models trained on vast amounts of text data which, when integrated into applications like ChatGPT, can understand human language and provide direct answers to questions. While LLMs and LLM-based applications continue to be a great resource for students and workers, ongoing AI development has shifted the industry’s focus to something a bit more sophisticated—AI agents.

Built on top of LLMs, AI agents are complex systems that blend multiple technical fields. Unlike basic LLMs, these agents can tackle complex tasks autonomously, going far beyond answering simple questions.

If this sounds complicated, it’s okay. Here’s an example that should help clear things up:

If you ask an LLM-based application like ChatGPT or Claude a question, it will give you an answer to that question and then wait for your next instruction. For example, if you provide the prompt "What are the top things I could do on my trip to Boston?", it might respond with a list of popular attractions like "Freedom Trail, Fenway Park, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston Harbor, and Quincy Market." It gives you information, but you're still doing the planning work.

In contrast, an AI agent could take a request like “plan my weekend trip to Boston,” and independently:

• Check weather forecasts to suggest appropriate activities

• Find attractions matching your specific interests and preferences

• Discover well-reviewed restaurants that fit your dietary needs

• Compare hotel options and make reservations for you

• Book tickets for shows or attractions that might sell out

• Create a complete itinerary optimized for location and timing

AI agents are autonomous, figuring out what information they need, what tools to use, and in what order to tackle tasks—all on their own. Their value as problem-solving tools has pushed them to the forefront of AI development, and they’ll be the focus of innovation in the AI industry for the foreseeable future.

Skill #1: Learn How To Learn

Over the next few decades, AI technology will continue to evolve and AI proficiency will become essential within technical fields.

As new jobs emerge, you'll need to become a lifelong learner, constantly adapting to new technologies while maintaining strong fundamentals in computing and programming. By mastering engineering and AI skills today, you can jumpstart your tech career and establish habits for continuous growth.

Lifelong Learning Tips

• Develop curiosity as a habit. Ask questions about how things work and why things are the way they are.

• Create a learning routine that fits your lifestyle. Even 15-30 minutes daily can make a significant difference over time.

• Mix up your learning sources—books, podcasts, courses, hands-on projects, and conversations with experts.

• Find or build a community of fellow learners who can provide support and new perspectives. Girls Who Code has a built-in community of peer support in each of its programs.

Skill #2: Collaborative Problem Solving

AI agents are inherently complex, growing more sophisticated as technology advances. Building them requires more than just programming expertise and future tech professionals will need to collaborate effectively across disciplines while adapting to rapidly evolving AI capabilities.

This creates demand for collaborative problem solving skills and an understanding of how your individual role in a project fits into a larger system. It involves navigating competing priorities, complex constraints, and communicating effectively on novel challenges that are impossible for any one person to solve alone.

While it may seem like an unimportant soft skill when compared to hard, technical skills like coding, the value of collaboration cannot be understated. Effective teamwork will be indispensable in the future tech workplace.

Skill #3: Awareness Of AI Ethics And Legal Considerations

AI is now on every company's radar, with minimal guardrails to ensure responsible use. Businesses are racing to implement these tools sometimes without proper safeguards, setting themselves up for ethical missteps and potential legal consequences.

For example, 99% of today’s Fortune 500 companies use AI-based and automated tools in their hiring processes. Unfortunately, some studies have shown that these tools exhibit biases, limiting job opportunities for certain groups.

Then there’s the case of generative AI, which raises flags about ethical data set acquisition and exploitation of others’ work. Content created with generative AI is also often rife with inaccuracies, leading to major errors in everything from news articles to legal documents and computer code.

As a future tech worker, you’ll need to know more than technical skills—you’ll need to understand the ethical and legal implications of AI use, regularly check your code for possible biases, and collaborate with legal experts to reduce risk.

Skill #4: Cybersecurity Education and Preventing Shadow AI

In addition to questions of ethics and legality, AI also poses a threat to cybersecurity. Today, many employees use LLMs and AI agents to increase their productivity, which is great—that is, as long as they are company approved. Unfortunately, many go rogue with their AI tool use, a bad habit that can lead to major problems.

Unauthorized AI programs, also known as “shadow AI,” threaten data privacy and security. Roughly half of all employees are shadow AI users, a number that is only expected to grow as LLMs and AI agents become more and more commonplace.

Popular AI tools like ChatGPT offer companies access to corporate enterprise accounts with added safeguards. These safeguards ensure that employee-entered data won’t be used for public training models, risking future source data leaks. Unfortunately, the majority of employees continue to use their personal accounts in the workplace, foregoing these added security measures. A recent study from Cyberhaven found that 73.8% of employees using ChatGPT for work functions used personal accounts rather than corporate ones. When it came to Gemini and Bard, the percentage was even higher at 94.4% and 95.9%, respectively.

These numbers are especially concerning when you account for the amount of sensitive data being fed into shadow AI accounts. For example, when it comes to AI use in legal fields—e.g., using AI tools to draft documents like settlement agreements or merger contracts—82.8% is done through personal, shadow AI accounts. Within research and development teams, the number is 55.3%. For source code data, it’s 50.8%.

As AI becomes more prominent, you’ll need to regularly evaluate the safety of AI tools and follow company policies, protecting your organization’s data and cybersecurity.

Preparing For An AI-Driven Future

Over the next few years, AI will undoubtedly shape the job market. Thankfully, there are concrete steps you can take to prepare. You can commit to lifelong learning, taking the time to experiment with emerging technologies like AI agents. You can hone your skills as a collaborative problem solver, learning how to work with multiple teams with diverse expertise. With an awareness of ethical and legal risks, plus strong cybersecurity practices, you can protect yourself and your place of work. By staying up-to-date with your AI education,you can drive innovation while ensuring a secure, ethical, and responsible future.

Looking to get a head start in tech education? Explore our Programs page to discover learning opportunities for students of all ages.