Is anyone else nervous - and angry- about having to spend so much for college in the face of AI, lack of any sort of

[Anonymous]

We don’t have to do anything. You can literally have your kid commute to either umd or George mason for $12k a year. And we’re getting preapproved scholarship offers in the mail daily. Imo it’s a very good time to find value at a college. We choose to allow them to go away to the “hot” school of choice.

[Anonymous]

Do some deeper reading about this if you haven't to figure out how to insulate your and your kids careers.

The 4 human capabilities creating barriers against AI replacement are:
(1) empathy and authentic human connection,
(2) original creative thinking,
(3) ethical reasoning, and
(4) physical dexterity in unpredictable environments.

Figure out how your career or your kid's education can give them skills in 1 or more of these areas.

There are studies everywhere about the most AI-resistant careers. Things like:

- healthcare (clinical roles, therapy, nursing)
- skilled trades (electricians, plumbers, HVAC - hands-on problem-solving)
- education (teaching, counseling - requires relationship-building)
- creative fields (design, strategy, content requiring originality)
- management/Leadership (complex human coordination and judgment)
- physical services (agriculture, construction, hospitality, emergency response)

there are many AI-proof careers. But most of them combine specialized technical knowledge with irreplaceable human elements (see above).

think about where your/your kids strengths lie and then try and reposition.

it's not in the traditional generic white-collar careers (general IB, biglaw, consulting, SWE) like we thought thirty years ago.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Go pre-med, then med school and get a job in emergency medicine in a big city.

You have AI proofed yourself.

Yep.
Or Ag/Agtech or hospitality at Cornell.

Both colleges see massively increased interest.

Premed and medical school are another part of the problem:
1. Students take on years of schooling with no guarantee of success—a massive investment of time and money.
2. It raises the question: are students truly passionate about medicine, or are they pursuing it purely for financial reasons? If it’s the latter, both future doctors and their patients ultimately suffer.
3. Either AI or the imported H1B physicians will eventually saturate the market

Let's be honest here, 99% of kids go for premed or med for money.

Why is considering financial aspects a bad thing?
As opposed to the 99% of kids going into finance, big tech or big law doing it out of a sense of altruism? Who doesn’t choose a profession with very expensive
Education costs without some consideration of the financial repercussions? I don’t understand why people think medicine should be impervious to the same financial incentives as any other job. Why should young people sacrifice their youth and tuition dollars without some expectation of at least financial security at the end of that long path. As it is, medicine is NOT the best way to make money for students that are smart and motivated enough to do well enough to gain admission to med schools.

[Anonymous]

My view -

1. Elite colleges that trade on prestige are no longer guaranteed pathways to high-paying jobs, especially for students who lack real, demonstrable skills.

2. Education has become commoditized through globalization and AI tools. Much of the knowledge and many of the skills that don’t require deep specialization can now be self-taught online.

3. We need to rethink the purpose of college. Prestige no longer reliably signals intelligence—it often reflects family wealth more than anything else.

4. The time and money invested from K–12 should focus on helping kids navigate a rapidly changing world and adapt to AI tools. Personally, I won’t be investing in “look-good-for-college” activities, though that’s ultimately a personal choice for each family.

[Anonymous]

I recently asked Claude this question. (Lots of follow-on prompt engineering, but some good results).

Top Schools & AI-Resistant Majors


HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONS
University of Pennsylvania: Nursing (BSN); Biomedical Engineering (clinical track)

Johns Hopkins: Nursing; Biomedical Engineering; Public Health

Duke: Nursing; Physical Therapy (DPT); Biomedical Engineering

Emory: Nursing (BSN)

Northwestern: Nursing; Communication Sciences & Disorders (Speech-Language Pathology)

University of Michigan: Nursing; Kinesiology; Pharmacy (PharmD)

Washington University in St. Louis: Occupational Therapy (OT); Physical Therapy (PT)

USC: Physical Therapy (DPT); Occupational Therapy

Boston University: Physical Therapy; Occupational Therapy

Vanderbilt: Nursing; Speech-Language Pathology; Peabody Education

UNC Chapel Hill: Nursing; Pharmacy


AGRICULTURE, ENVIRONMENT & NATURAL RESOURCES

Cornell
CALS: Agriculture, Sustainable Food Systems, Animal Science, Environmental Science; Natural Resources; Landscape Architecture

Yale: School of the Environment (various programs)

UC Berkeley: Environmental Science; Conservation & Resource Studies

Stanford: Earth Systems; Hopkins Marine Station programs

Duke: Nicholas School of Environment

MIT: Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences


HOSPITALITY, BUSINESS & HUMAN-FOCUSED FIELDS
Cornell
Nolan School of Hotel Administration
ILR (Industrial & Labor Relations)

Penn: Wharton Real Estate

Georgetown: Public Policy; Social Work-related programs


EDUCATION & COUNSELING
Vanderbilt: Peabody Education

Penn: Education

Stanford: Education (undergraduate programs)

Brown: Education Studies

Yale: Education (minor)

Northwestern: Education & Social Policy

Columbia: (Graduate: Teachers College, Social Work)


CREATIVE & DESIGN FIELDS
Carnegie Mellon:
Design
Architecture
Human-Computer Interaction

MIT:
Architecture
Media Arts and Sciences

Cornell:
Architecture, Art, and Planning (AAP)

Rice:
Architecture

USC:
Cinematic Arts
Architecture

NYU:
Tisch (Film/Media)


ENGINEERING WITH HANDS-ON/CLINICAL FOCUS

MIT: Biomedical Engineering; Materials Science; Mechanical Engineering

Georgia Tech: Biomedical Engineering; Industrial Design; Materials Science

Caltech: Engineering (various); Geological Sciences

Princeton:
Engineering (various disciplines)


APPLIED SCIENCES WITH FIELDWORK
Stanford: Marine Biology; Geology/Geophysics

Brown: Marine Biology; Environmental Studies

Duke: Marine Lab programs


TECHNICAL FIELDS (AI-ADJACENT BUT RESISTANT)
Carnegie Mellon: Cybersecurity; Information Security

Georgia Tech: Cybersecurity


VETERINARY/ANIMAL SCIENCES
Cornell:
Animal Science (pre-vet)
(DVM: College of Veterinary Medicine)

Penn:
(DVM: School of Veterinary Medicine)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Go pre-med, then med school and get a job in emergency medicine in a big city.

You have AI proofed yourself.

Yep.
Or Ag/Agtech or hospitality at Cornell.

Both colleges see massively increased interest.

Premed and medical school are another part of the problem:
1. Students take on years of schooling with no guarantee of success—a massive investment of time and money.
2. It raises the question: are students truly passionate about medicine, or are they pursuing it purely for financial reasons? If it’s the latter, both future doctors and their patients ultimately suffer.
3. Either AI or the imported H1B physicians will eventually saturate the market

Let's be honest here, 99% of kids go for premed or med for money.

Why is considering financial aspects a bad thing?
As opposed to the 99% of kids going into finance, big tech or big law doing it out of a sense of altruism? Who doesn’t choose a profession with very expensive
Education costs without some consideration of the financial repercussions? I don’t understand why people think medicine should be impervious to the same financial incentives as any other job. Why should young people sacrifice their youth and tuition dollars without some expectation of at least financial security at the end of that long path. As it is, medicine is NOT the best way to make money for students that are smart and motivated enough to do well enough to gain admission to med schools.

When the public good - education, health - becomes solely for profit. Everyone suffers. Greeds take over everything. Technology used to be "Don't be evil". Now it is to replace human workers for maximizing profits (for share owners)

[Anonymous]

No, because AI is overrated and overhyped right now. It's not going to the panacea that these tech bros are pushing. But, I wouldn't study computer science because it's "guaranteed" a well-paying job.

[Anonymous]

I heard on a podcast that some of Cornell's "special" colleges have AI-proofed their majors - because they were historically less white-collar or more accessible - and now that's back in vogue due to AI.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are highly likely to achieve AGI in approximately 3 to 5 years and ASI within 10 years.

Nothing matters once an entity develops ASI.

unless you are in deepmind like some of us, pipedown. these estimates are outlandish

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No, because AI is overrated and overhyped right now. It's not going to the panacea that these tech bros are pushing. But, I wouldn't study computer science because it's "guaranteed" a well-paying job.

[phone]

Ignoring AI, I think people are wising up to the cost of college and questioning its worth. I figure an investment account with $250k is more valuable in the LT than sending my kid to an out of state private over in-state public.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No, because AI is overrated and overhyped right now. It's not going to the panacea that these tech bros are pushing. But, I wouldn't study computer science because it's "guaranteed" a well-paying job.

[phone]

Ignoring AI, I think people are wising up to the cost of college and questioning its worth. I figure an investment account with $250k is more valuable in the LT than sending my kid to an out of state private over in-state public.

Exactly, since covid, the investment direction has shifted

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No, because AI is overrated and overhyped right now. It's not going to the panacea that these tech bros are pushing. But, I wouldn't study computer science because it's "guaranteed" a well-paying job.

It is not overhyped, sorry, it’s just not. I work around tech and AI and it is replacing people left and right across all areas - layoffs in tech of course, HR, finance, creative, editing, legal, etc. Yes, you still need a human hand in things, but many fewer than ten years ago.

[Anonymous]

Looking at the tuition, it is quite clear a few things are meant to taking more money away from mc and umc

* tax but not sure what's been done for everyone?
* expensive health insurance
* expensive private education from k-12, colleges, now even master degree, more and more education, when will kids be independent
* expensive tutoring, EC, coaching, consultants just to chase prestige lol, whole industry of rip-off, are kids better off?
* expensive housing now we are talking about 50 years mortgage, chain for the slaves

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Go pre-med, then med school and get a job in emergency medicine in a big city.

You have AI proofed yourself.

Yep.
Or Ag/Agtech or hospitality at Cornell.

Both colleges see massively increased interest.

Premed and medical school are another part of the problem:
1. Students take on years of schooling with no guarantee of success—a massive investment of time and money.
2. It raises the question: are students truly passionate about medicine, or are they pursuing it purely for financial reasons? If it’s the latter, both future doctors and their patients ultimately suffer.
3. Either AI or the imported H1B physicians will eventually saturate the market

Let's be honest here, 99% of kids go for premed or med for money.

Why is considering financial aspects a bad thing?
As opposed to the 99% of kids going into finance, big tech or big law doing it out of a sense of altruism? Who doesn’t choose a profession with very expensive
Education costs without some consideration of the financial repercussions? I don’t understand why people think medicine should be impervious to the same financial incentives as any other job. Why should young people sacrifice their youth and tuition dollars without some expectation of at least financial security at the end of that long path. As it is, medicine is NOT the best way to make money for students that are smart and motivated enough to do well enough to gain admission to med schools.

When the public good - education, health - becomes solely for profit. Everyone suffers. Greeds take over everything. Technology used to be "Don't be evil". Now it is to replace human workers for maximizing profits (for share owners)

That has nothing to do with the medical doctors and other healthcare workers who are front line workers getting a wage. Healthcare becoming profit driven big business is due to business people taking control and squeezing both patients and the medical professionals to increase their profit margins. You want to blame someone, blame big pharma and insurance execs, not the front line primary care docs seeing ever more patients for ever less pay.

[Anonymous]

you don't HAVE to do anything.

you have choices.