Jaime Teevan, Microsoft’s chief scientist, believes the answer may lie in an unexpected place: the liberal arts.

“Metacognitive skills will be very important—flexibility, adaptability, experimentation, thinking critically, being able to challenge things. Developing critical-thinking skills requires friction, doing things that are hard, doing deep thinking,” Teevan told The Wall Street Journal. 

“For that, a traditional liberal-arts education is really important.”

Teevan, who leads the research direction of the company’s experiences and devices division, including Office, Windows, Surface, and Teams, said the shift reflects a deeper change in how humans interact with technology. And for her, the stakes are personal: she has four sons, ages 17 to 21, all navigating higher education decisions in real time.

“Think of what AI does. It used to be that communicating with a computer was deterministic: You press this button, and this thing happens. Now it’s based on natural language, providing context, expressing intent and thinking critically.”

In other words, while liberal arts majors—such as anthropology, psychology, and education—have long been among the worst-paid majors, the very skills often taught in those career paths are becoming more valuable, not less.

 As AI handles more technical and repetitive tasks, the ability to exercise judgement, communicate nuance, and take responsibility is emerging as a differentiator. And it may be just what Gen Z needs to land a job in today’s market.

In today’s AI era, Gen Z may need to take an ‘insurance policy’ on their education

For years, educators and employers pushed students toward STEM fields, pointing to degrees like computer engineering as pathways to six-figure salaries. But early signs suggest that even those once-reliable routes are facing pressure.

The unemployment rate for computer engineering majors has climbed to 7.8%—the highest of any major except anthropology, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, underscoring how quickly the job market is shifting in the AI era.

It’s a concern echoed by Ethan Mollick, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School known for his AI research. With so much uncertainty, Mollick argued that overspecialization can be risky. Instead, he emphasized the value of broad, foundational learning—an approach central to liberal arts education—where students build critical thinking, problem-solving, and communication skills across disciplines. 

“Take an insurance policy by being broadly educated, being deeply educated, being flexible in the face of change, maybe saving money to get through the disruptions—the things you’d do in any time of uncertainty,” he told the WSJ. “A liberal-arts education matters more than ever.”

Employers are on the hunt for liberal arts graduates

The shift to hiring liberal arts majors is already showing up in the hiring process.

At McKinsey, candidates are now being evaluated in part on how well they can work alongside AI tools—a signal that technical knowledge alone is no longer the primary differentiator. The firm’s CEO admitted its hiring priorities have changed, with a new focus on “looking more at liberal arts majors, whom we had deprioritized.”  

It’s an idea echoed by Ravi Kumar S, the CEO of IT firm Cognizant Technology Solutions Ravi Kumar S, who said he’s also changed his hiring practices in the wake of AI.

“We are now going to hire non-STEM graduates,” he told Fortune. “I’m going to liberal arts schools and community colleges.”

Even leaders building out AI systems said human-centered skills are becoming more—not less—critical. Daniela Amodei, cofounder of AI firm Anthropic, said studying the humanities will be “more important than ever.”

“The things that make us human will become much more important instead of much less important,” she told ABC News last month. “And what I mean by that is when we look to hire people at Anthropic today, we look for people who are great communicators, who have excellent EQ and people skills, who are kind and compassionate and curious and want to help other people.”