By Lynne Curry
Tish spent fifteen years as a legal assistant. She’d honed her skills and mastered the ins and outs of case files and court scheduling. She knew the quirks of each of her senior partners.
A year ago new software rolled in—AI tools that scanned thousands of pages of case law in seconds, summarized legal documents with eerie precision, and auto-generated legal briefs.
“I loved the AI,” said Tish, “even as I realized it made my job optional. My hours shrank. With two kids heading for college, I had no choice. My former role largely vanished, and I took an online course in legal tech, and landed a job where I handle compliance automation.”
The wakeup call
The ground under the workplace is shifting. AI isn’t on the horizon anymore. It’s here, already automating tasks once done by humans and reshaping industries as it goes. By 2030, roughly 375 million workers worldwide may need to switch occupations because of AI. That’s not a statistic—it’s a wake-up call. AI has entered the workplace fast—and it’s not slowing down. Like Tish, many employees face a choice: adapt or risk being left behind.
Across multiple industries, the changes are visible. AI tools assist radiologists in spotting anomalies, speed up legal reviews, and auto-generate content for marketing teams. In fields where AI software standardizes or digitizes tasks, AI performs the functions entry- and mid-level professionals formerly handled. If your role includes predictable, repeatable duties, automation will touch some part of it—if it hasn’t already.
Which Jobs Are Most at Risk
Roles centered on routine tasks—data entry, standard analysis, basic accounting, report generation—are among the most exposed to AI tools that work faster, cheaper, and around the clock. Software that can generate summaries, schedule meetings, or scan contracts is already doing what many employees once did.
Which Jobs Are Rising?
Demand is rising for professionals who can interpret AI outputs, visualize data trends, and pair machine insights with human judgment. Roles such as prompt engineers, machine learning developers, and data interpreters are expanding. According to LinkedIn’s 2024 Jobs on the Rise report, demand for AI-related roles like prompt engineering grew by over 150% year-over-year.
Machines can’t replace distinctly human skills: emotional intelligence, critical thinking, leadership, creativity, and ethical decision-making.
Adapting Without Starting Over
In a world where AI now drafts reports, analyzes contracts, and even answers customer service calls, no job is immune from transformation. But that doesn’t mean you’re out of options. For employees facing uncertainty, the smartest move is to lean into change with a plan to grow forward.
Reinvention doesn’t always require starting from scratch. Often, it means reframing existing experience through a new lens—pairing what you already know with the emerging demands of the workplace. In a world in which AI tools change and improve weekly and monthly, learning how to learn—and applying that ability and agility across changing roles—might be your most important skill. AI won’t take your job. But someone using AI might. The real question becomes: if your role disappears, what’s your next move?
AI won’t take your job. But someone using AI might. Here’s the question many need to answer—if your role disappears, what’s your next move?
Preparing for a career pivot
It’s not about chasing trends—it’s about preparing for career resilience. Here’s how to develop your action plan:
- Audit your strengths and talents and match them to the potential new and growing fields. You might find LinkedIn’s Emerging Jobs Report, https://business.linkedin.com/talent-solutions/emerging-jobs-report?selectedFilter=all and World Economic Forum’s “Future of Jobs Report”, https://www.weforum.org/publications/the-future-of-jobs-report-2025/.
- Develop a “hybrid skillset”—pair human-centered abilities with tech fluency. To do this, visit AI-related and future proof skill development platforms, available on Coursera, edX and Udemy.
- Research jobs open in AI ethics and policy; cybersecurity and risk management; EdTech and learning design; data literacy and interpretation and digital communications and strategy.
- Use AI to your advantage: tools like ChatGPT can help with mock interviews, resume writing, and researching alternative paths
A career pivot in the age of AI requires you to move beyond your current role and position yourself for long-term relevance. The future isn’t waiting—instead, it’s replete with opportunity for those ready to adapt.
Lynne Curry, PhD, SPHR, SHRM-SCP, authored “Navigating Conflict” (Business Experts Press, 2022); “Managing for Accountability (BEP, 2021); “Beating the Workplace Bully,” AMACOM 2016, and “Solutions 911/411.” Curry founded www.workplacecoachblog.com, which offers more than 700 articles on topics such as leadership, HR, and professional development and “Real-life Writing,” https://bit.ly/45lNbVo. Curry has qualified in Court as an expert witness in Management Best Practices, HR, and Workplace issues. You can reach her at https://workplacecoachblog.com/ask-a-coach/ or https://lynnecurryauthor.com for an amazing reveal of how real-life and the workplace can show up in novels and short stories. © 2025