As AI makes career paths uncertain, Kansas City nonprofit guides new grads | Opinion

Across the Kansas City region, graduates are fielding familiar questions: “What do you want to be?” “What career are you choosing?” “What’s next?”

But for the class of 2026, those questions feel heavier than they once did.

With the rapid rise of advanced artificial intelligence, young people are hearing constant predictions about the future of work: entire industries transformed, jobs automated, new occupations disappearing almost overnight.

And yes — AI will reshape the workforce in profound ways. But amid all the anxiety about what’s changing, it’s worth pausing to consider what probably won’t.

For generations, human work has been built around enduring patterns of capability that transcend industries, technologies and job titles. The ability to communicate and persuade. To build relationships and networks. To identify patterns and solve problems. To organize information. To innovate. To lead people through uncertainty.

The tools may evolve. The applications may change. But these foundational human capabilities remain remarkably durable.

At the Kansas City nonprofit DeBruce Foundation, we call these capabilities “agilities” — or patterns of work interests and strengths that can help people navigate multiple career pathways over the course of their lives. Because people are not static — and their careers aren’t either. The average young person entering the workforce today is likely to change jobs, industries and even professions multiple times.

That is why career success increasingly depends less on preparing for one specific job title – and more on understanding how your strengths can flex, adapt and grow across changing opportunities.

That kind of self-knowledge matters even more during periods of economic disruption.

For years, The DeBruce Foundation has studied how young people think about work and opportunity through our public opinion research on youth and careers. The findings have remained remarkably consistent: Young people are optimistic about their futures, but many lack career literacy — the ability to understand themselves, explore options and navigate the changing world of work. Many also lack the professional networks and exposure that help people identify emerging opportunities.

AI raises the stakes.

In a world where technical skills may evolve rapidly, the ability to learn continuously and adapt confidently becomes even more valuable. That has implications for all of us.

For students graduating this year, it means taking advantage of resources and tools to explore pathways you hadn’t considered. Research shows that students typically consider only one or two careers — a fraction of those they are likely to hold over their lifetimes. Familiarizing themselves with the wide range of occupations aligned with their skills and interests can better prepare young people to navigate the twists and turns their careers are likely to take.

For parents, this is a moment to acknowledge the uncertainty many young people feel — while also encouraging them to focus on what they can control. Help students discover their capabilities. Encourage broader career exploration. And socialize the idea that career pivots are not failures, but a normal part of modern working life.

For educators, it means introducing career literacy earlier and in ways that expand horizons instead of narrowing them. A student interested in coding, for example, should not think, “I can only be a software engineer.” They should understand that strengths in innovation, problem-solving and working with information can translate across many industries and roles that may not even exist yet.

For employers, this is an opportunity to think beyond narrow technical qualifications and focus more intentionally on the durable human capabilities that help workers thrive alongside evolving technologies. This moment also calls for deeper partnerships with schools, workforce organizations and community institutions to help young people better understand what future workplaces will actually demand.

There is no question that AI will change the economy. Some jobs will disappear. Others will emerge. Much about the future remains uncertain.

But the goal of career development was never supposed to be predicting the future perfectly. It is about preparing people to navigate change with confidence. And that may be the most important gift we can give this generation of graduates.

Dr. Leigh Anne Taylor Knight is executive director of the 501(c)(3) nonprofit DeBruce Foundation, which offers a free career skills toolkit to graduates as part of its charitable mission.