This story was originally published on CFO.com. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily CFO.com newsletter. Maybe, like me, you started your career at a large public accounting firm. Or maybe you began with a major consulting firm, financial institution or Fortune 500 company. Or maybe you have been working for small businesses all along. Regardless of where we start our careers, finding our way into a small business seems to be part of the natural progression. My first days as a sm ...

Core Viewpoint - The article discusses the historical evolution of job roles, emphasizing the shift from repetitive tasks to creative and empathetic roles, and from single skills to interdisciplinary thinking [1][47]. Group 1: Popular Majors and Employment Crisis - In 2023, the top 20 popular undergraduate majors are predominantly in STEM fields, with electrical engineering and automation leading with a heat score of 82,000 [2][3]. - Despite the popularity of these majors, an unexpected employment crisis is emerging, particularly in the U.S. where computer science, once considered a top field, now has a high unemployment rate of 6.1% [5][6]. - The article highlights that the perception of job security in popular fields does not correlate with actual employment stability in the AI era [22]. Group 2: Impact of AI on Employment - By 2030, it is predicted that over 12 million jobs in the U.S. will disappear, affecting not only low-skilled labor but also white-collar jobs previously considered secure [8]. - A study predicts that up to 70% of roles in professions like medicine, law, and education may be replaced by AI by 2028 [9]. - The article notes that the demand for computer science graduates is not necessarily increasing due to oversupply and the need for more skilled candidates [18][20]. Group 3: Shifts in Educational Focus - Major universities are reducing humanities courses while expanding STEM programs, with over 100 new AI-related majors added in the last six years in China [12][13]. - The article cites that the number of STEM graduates in China is eight times that of the U.S., indicating a significant shift in educational focus towards technical fields [16]. Group 4: Job Market Transformation - The retail and manufacturing sectors are expected to see significant job losses, with 2.8 million and 2.1 million jobs respectively needing to be reallocated by 2030 [28]. - In manufacturing, the demand for basic skill jobs is declining, while the need for engineers and high-level management is increasing [30]. - The financial sector is also undergoing transformation, with an estimated 600,000 jobs affected, particularly in roles like cashiers and data entry [31][32]. Group 5: Future Skills Demand - The article emphasizes the importance of both technical and social-emotional skills in the future job market, with predictions of a 29% increase in technical skills demand in the U.S. by 2030 [43]. - It highlights that the integration of technical and social-emotional skills will be crucial, as both STEM and humanities graduates will need to adapt to the evolving job landscape [45][47].