3 Takeaways on AI and Entry-Level Jobs

Artificial intelligence is becoming increasingly embedded in higher education and the workforce, with students adopting AI tools at growing rates and employers placing greater value on AI-related skills.

As institutions race to keep up, colleges and universities are developing new AI policies and literacy programs aimed at preparing students for an evolving job market.

Here’s what Inside Higher Ed has learned about AI’s impact on entry-level work—and how institutions are responding.

1. AI adoption has grown among college seniors.

A new report from Handshake drew on data collected in March from 1,248 students graduating with a bachelor’s degree this year from nearly 500 institutions nationwide. It shows AI adoption among seniors has shifted from evenly split to nearly universal: 85 percent now report using AI tools—up 31 percentage points from two years ago—and more than a third say they use them daily.

As students increasingly use these tools, institutions are looking for new ways to support them. The State University of New York recently adopted a new systemwide AI policy aimed at expanding the use of AI tools while setting guardrails around how they shape student learning, support services and academic outcomes.

During a recent Board of Trustees meeting, university leaders outlined a framework to scale AI use across SUNY’s 64 campuses while requiring training in responsible use, embedding AI literacy into the general education curriculum and expanding student access to research and learning opportunities.

Jesse Sloman, SUNY’s chief information security officer, said the policy is intended to improve student success by expanding high-impact uses of AI, including advising and early-alert systems that help identify when students may need additional support.

“One of our major concerns is making sure that SUNY data—including students’ personal information and academic records—is protected,” Sloman said. “We don’t want a SUNY student using a SUNY AI tool and have that data used to train external models outside of narrow, contractually defined terms.”

2. Employer demand for AI skills is accelerating.

The report also found that more than 10 percent of active internships on the Handshake platform now mention AI-related skills, while the share of full-time job postings referencing AI has nearly doubled year over year to 4.2 percent.

That growth spans industries. Nearly a third of tech job postings now mention AI—more than triple the share from two years ago. In addition, more than 7 percent of financial services postings reference AI, along with roughly 5.5 percent of media and marketing roles; both sectors hovered just above 1 percent two years ago. AI mentions in government, health care and education postings—near zero two years ago—have risen to roughly 3 percent each.

In response, the University of Virginia College and Graduate School of Arts & Sciences launched an AI Literacy and Action Lab in April, which aims to help students build AI competencies across disciplines. Developed in partnership with the UVA Library, the initiative is designed to equip students, faculty and staff with structured, evidence-based AI training embedded directly into coursework.

The lab will initially roll out through faculty-led course pilots, a flagship one-credit seminar, a series of one-credit AI courses and an incubator pathway for projects that extend beyond a single semester.

“The structure reflects our belief that people are most motivated to learn when they’re working on something they care about—perhaps a problem they want to solve or a question they want answered,” said Leo Lo, UVA’s librarian and dean of libraries. “Rather than attending a workshop or sitting through a webinar or lecture, we believe in learning by doing.”

3. Student anxiety about AI is rising quickly.

Even as AI adoption rises, the Handshake report found the job market for early-career workers remains tight. Job postings on the platform are down 2 percent from last year and 12 percent below pre-pandemic levels.

That contraction is shaping how graduating seniors view their job prospects. The share who feel pessimistic about starting their careers has climbed 16 percentage points to 62 percent, up from 46 percent two years ago.

Among those expressing concern, anxiety about AI is rising quickly; about 50 percent cite it as a factor, up from 34 percent in 2024—the steepest increase of any concern tracked in the report.

Christine Cruzvergara, chief education strategy officer at Handshake, said the unease reflects a moment of transition, as both students and employers adjust to the rapid emergence of AI.

“Naturally, when everything is so new and people are trying to figure [AI] out, it’s just going to feel a little bit messy,” Cruzvergara said. “I don’t know if it’s so much a mismatch as it is all of us trying to create whatever the new structure is going to be. We’re redefining what entry-level jobs will look like.”

Get more content like this directly to your inbox. Subscribe here.