10 AI-Proof College Majors | Degrees Safest From AI in 2025

As artificial intelligence becomes more popular in the workforce, it's natural to wonder if your career or intended college major is safe from the reach of AI. Fortunately, some majors are generally AI-proof and lead to careers that require more human creativity and human oversight daily.

That being said, if you want to embrace AI in your career, you can check out artificial intelligence colleges that offer courses and degree programs in machine learning, computer science, and other AI-related specializations. However, this article suggest majors you can choose that are more likely to not be affected by AI.

College Majors That Are Safest from Artificial Intelligence (AI) Automation

Choosing a college major that is fairly safe from artificial intelligence is a good idea in this day and age, as these majors typically lead to AI-proof careers. These are jobs that are least likely to be replaced by AI and require a certain degree of human resources and involvement to be performed properly.

Below, you can review these safer college majors if you are concerned about the growing use of AI in the workforce.

1. Performing Arts

Performing arts majors include theater, stage lighting, musical theatre, and music. These majors are highly unlikely to be replaced by AI due to the human creativity and thought that is required to complete any type of performance or stage production. AI tools cannot replicate human creativity, nor can they put on live productions, compose original music, sing, or play instruments. While some AI tools may be incorporated into fields like digital music production, performing arts majors as a whole are still very safe from AI.

2. Engineering

Even though some may argue that software engineering could potentially be taken over by AI algorithms in the coming years, the reality is that engineering is still a relatively safe major for college students to choose. Mechanical engineering requires human dexterity and design to complete, while fields like nuclear engineering cannot be trusted to AI systems for liability reasons. In fact, most fields of engineering require a significant amount of oversight and assumption of liability, something that protects these careers from being overtaken by hit-or-miss AI tools.

3. Psychology

A major in psychology can lead students into careers in counseling or therapy, or it can pave the way for further education in the field, doctoral degrees, and, eventually, a teaching career for future psychology students. AI tools cannot truly have an understanding of human psychology, nor can they form the human connection necessary for therapists, counselors, and educators to have an impact on their clients. Similar to engineering, careers in psychology also carry an assumption of liability for the patient's care, leaving AI too risky to rely on in this field.

4. Social Work

Social work involves helping individuals from all walks of life overcome their individual problems and set them up for a successful, fulfilling life. Social workers may work in healthcare and mental health facilities, schools, or the government, and this job requires a significant amount of emotional intelligence. AI is unlikely to overtake this career field because the nature of the work involves keeping up with cases, connecting with other humans, and providing empathy and understanding to others to help them better their lives.

5. Nursing

Nursing and other healthcare professions, such as becoming a surgeon or a specialist doctor, are very safe from AI. In the healthcare field, AI tools are typically only used for scheduling purposes, if they are used at all. Nurses must obtain certifications, provide direct patient care and support to other humans, treat illnesses or injuries, and use critical thinking and problem-solving skills to help with diagnoses. AI tools cannot do this, and robots do not have the dexterity or skill required to provide adequate healthcare to humans—they likely won't for a very long time.

6. Ecology

Ecology is the study of how organisms, including humans, interact with the environment around them. Ecology, much like other physical sciences, requires fieldwork, research studies, and observations of patterns or interactions in the environment. AI tools cannot perform these tasks, and even if they could, it is debatable that the observations would be entirely accurate without a human also checking the data and recording their own observations. Other college majors similar to ecology that are also AI-proof include biology, marine studies, and anthropology.

7. Event Planning

Event planning is something that you might think can be carried out by AI, but current AI tools do not have the capacity to consider multiple different factors and preferences for the clients of an event planner. Event planners are trained throughout college on proper communication techniques, business and entrepreneurship basics, and financial or budget planning. While AI tools might help streamline a few of these processes, artificial intelligence is unlikely to take over this career field, leaving event planning a fairly safe college major choice.

8. Law

Careers in the legal field require significant critical thinking skills and the flexibility to find legal precedents and apply previous legal cases to current situations. These skills are taught to students as they complete an undergraduate degree and then a post-graduate JD degree, and they are not something that an AI tool can easily replace. When it comes to lawyers who prosecute criminals, those who defend human rights, and other legal fields, human oversight and critical thinking skills are essential to ensure that laws are upheld accurately, something that AI is not able to do.

9. Education

Education and teaching are good choices for a college major, as AI tools cannot teach students. Some AI tools may be able to provide summaries of texts or ideas for lesson plans, but they cannot replicate the experience of face-to-face learning. Teaching is typically a high-demand career, and those in an education major will learn pedagogic basics in addition to the best ways to manage a classroom and ensure students are ready for their future as they progress through school.

10. Dentistry

Much like nursing, dentistry is a career where AI has virtually no reach. Dentists must evaluate a human's teeth and other dental health conditions, using critical thinking, specialized education, human connection, and face-to-face contact in order to make diagnoses. AI cannot be trusted with human healthcare in this fashion, and AI has limited use in dental offices. If you do not wish to become a dentist, dental assistant or dental hygienist careers are also an option when you major in dentistry.

Impact of AI Technology Replacing Jobs

As AI technology grows in popularity, the main concern of the workforce is the loss of jobs that involve repetitive tasks. Careers that involve these types of tasks include data entry, customer service, and certain types of retail or food service jobs. Overall, this can have a significant negative impact on the economy, as individuals may lose their jobs and not have a way to obtain education for a career that is safe for AI. Some individuals, such as the elderly or disabled, may not even have the ability to learn a different type of job.

Over time, AI technology overtaking certain careers can reduce the number of entry-level and low-skilled jobs available, leading to greater entry requirements in terms of education and desired skills for college students and other individuals who need to secure a job. Individuals may need to choose highly skilled careers in healthcare or engineering, or they may need to turn to more manual jobs, such as working as electricians, plumbers, or HVAC technicians.

It's incredibly important that college students consider potential AI impacts on their desired job field to ensure that the major they choose serves them well into the future.

Liability and Legal Concerns for AI Advancements

Privacy and data protection are some of the biggest legal and liability concerns when it comes to AI advancements. Oftentimes, it's been discovered that AI is being trained on personal data, which can be seen as a violation of privacy rights. AI may also show an unconscious bias when gathering data, causing the results of certain AI tools to be skewed in a certain direction and not completely objective, as pointed out by the NY Times.

AI has also been shown to deliver incorrect or unreliable results to users, causing distrust of AI and apprehensions when it comes to the liability of these tools. Many users express concerns when it comes to using AI in a greater capacity, as AI results generally need a human checking them to ensure they are accurate.

Finding AI-Proof Career Paths for College Students

AI-proof careers, according to the U.S. Career Institute are ones that require at least a small amount of human interaction to complete the work of each job. In today's world where AI tools and chatbots like ChatGPT are becoming increasingly popular, it's important that college students know how to find career paths that are future-proof and relatively low risk of being outsourced to AI.

College students looking for jobs AI can't replace should keep the following in mind when considering their college major and the career fields they are interested in:

• Jobs that require human touch and dexterity, such as healthcare fields, are generally safe from AI.
• Jobs where human-centered thinking and design are necessary, such as careers that involve strategic thinking, usually do not heavily incorporate AI.
• Jobs that are heavy in human connection, such as working as a therapist, teacher, or social worker, cannot rely on AI.
• Jobs that require field work, such as careers in anthropology, emergency response, law enforcement, ecology, or biology, are typically safe from AI influence.

College Majors That Are Most Vulnerable To AI

In general, jobs that AI can't replace include jobs that involve hard labor, physical touch, and a significant level of critical thinking or human decision-making. On the other hand, some college majors, especially ones that lead to jobs involving repetitive tasks or tasks that can easily be automated, are vulnerable to AI.

Majors that are most vulnerable to the growth of AI include:

• graphic design
• journalism
• marketing
• game development
• finance
• accounting

Explore Online Bachelor's Degrees Today

An online bachelor's degree can often pave the way for a rewarding career that is free from the influence and growing use of AI. Check out Learn.org to find out more about online degree programs and colleges in your area that offer degrees in fields that are safe from the reach of artificial intelligence.