Community college students feel generally optimistic about the job market, but also report a degree of anxiety around the economy.
AI in Education

Community college students have mixed feelings about AI


Community college students feel generally optimistic about the job market, but also report a degree of anxiety around the economy

Key points:

Forty-eight percent of community college students have mixed feelings about AI’s impact on their career prospects, according to a survey from CompTIA, while 26 percent feel generally positive, 17 percent are generally negative, and 9 percent are unsure.

Still, community college students are learning about and preparing for AI as they anticipate entering the workforce, namely by:

  • Using or learning AI tools such as ChatGPT or Copilot (40 percent)
  • Learning AI skills for free through YouTube or TikTok (30 percent)
  • Researching how companies are using AI to prepare for using aI on the job (28 percent)
  • Taking AI classes or training courses (18 percent)
  • Networking with AI thought leaders (15 percent)
  • Earning a certification or other AI credential (13 percent)

Fewer than half (44 percent) of community college students say they believe digital skills hold a high degree of importance in all career fields.

Eighty-eight percent of students rated leadership and communications as somewhat or very important, 82 percent said digital fluency is somewhat or very important, and 79 percent rated data and analytics as somewhat or very important.

When it comes to pursuing a career in a technology field, students identified roadblocks. Forty-eight percent said they had considered a career in technology, while 45 percent had not.

Confidence gap concerns keep some community college students from pursuing careers in a technology field:

  • Concerns around insufficient math or science skills
  • Concerns about the length or difficulty of pursuing a career in technology
  • Concerns about finding a job in a tech field
  • Concerns about working in tech/negative perception of “tech culture”

Twenty-four percent of students report their academic program has an embedded requirement to earn an industry-recognized certification; another 24 percent report certification is recommended.

Among students earning an industry-recognized certification as part of their academic program, nearly all (96 percent) report advancing at least one step ahead in their career readiness progression (46 percent report advancing several steps ahead).

Half of students (51 percent) report concern with identifying and navigating career path options in their chosen field; 30 percent have concerns about potential gaps in their academic program leaving them short of career ready.

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Laura Ascione
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