AI Fears Impact IT Pro Career Plans, Stall Growth
AI adoption may be accelerating across the tech industry, but a growing share of IT professionals say it is creating uncertainty that is slowing career decisions and raising concerns about long-term job security.
A recent report conducted on behalf of Arkansas State University surveyed more than 300 tech professionals nationwide and found that anxiety around AI’s impact on jobs is widespread.
According to the findings, 46% of respondents say they are concerned about AI’s long-term effects, while 34% report putting career growth on hold due to uncertainty—rising to 38% among Gen Z workers. Additionally, 13% believe their current role may not exist within the next decade.
The survey also highlights which roles are seen as most vulnerable, with IT support (49%) and content strategists (37%) cited as highest risk.
At the same time, expectations for automation are increasing rapidly, with 76% of respondents predicting that data entry will be fully automated within five years, underscoring the pace at which AI is reshaping both job functions and workforce planning.
Jourdan Hathaway, chief business officer at General Assembly, says AI is moving faster than the systems designed to prepare people for it.
“Tech professionals who have decades of experience are suddenly being asked to work with tools that they’re told could automate their hard-earned skill sets,” she says. “Many organizations have no roadmap whatsoever for what that means for them personally.”
However, most companies are still struggling to translate AI investments into actual behavior changes.
Hathaway explains they might roll out some new tools and offer an AI training session, but transformation doesn’t come from a course or a new tool.
“Transformation thrives in environments that cultivate adaptability, creativity and strategic thinking,” she says. “That’s why there’s a major training gap contributing to workers’ unease.”
She cautions companies are defaulting to teaching employees how to perform more technically advanced and complex tasks with AI tools, but they’re not articulating the human skills that will grow even more critical, such as human judgement.
IT Roles Exposed to AI
Sara Gutierrez, chief science officer at SHL, says IT roles that are most exposed to AI tend to be those with high levels of routine, repeatability, and well-defined outputs. This includes entry-level coding tasks, QA testing, technical support, and certain infrastructure monitoring roles.
“These functions are increasingly being augmented or in some cases partially automated by AI tools that can execute tasks faster and at scale,” she says.
However, she adds it’s important to frame this as task disruption, not wholesale job loss--even in these roles, the work isn’t disappearing, it’s evolving.
“The risk is highest where individuals remain focused on execution alone, rather than moving up the value chain into problem-solving, system design, or human-AI collaboration,” she says.
Hathaway explains entry-level roles are where disruption is hitting first and hardest. The company’s State of Tech Talent 2026 report found that 61% of organizations are already automating entry-level tech positions, and another 32% say it’s coming soon.
“What that means practically is that the traditional junior-to-senior developer pipeline is breaking,” she says.
She adds tech professionals can create a distinct advantage for themselves by honing the skills that augment AI: judgement, oversight and contextual thinking.
AI Anxiety and Skills Recalibration
Gutierrez says job anxiety tends to increase when task boundaries shift without clear pathways for reskilling or progression.
“In tech, where change is already rapid, AI amplifies that effect,” she says. “People aren’t necessarily afraid of AI itself they’re unsure how to position themselves alongside it in a way that protects their long-term value.”
Hathaway explains AI is becoming the operating layer of work, so sporadic, one-off training no longer cuts it.
“The technology professionals who will thrive are the ones who have developed learning as a habit,” she says. “Learning and skilling aren’t something you can check the box on; it should be constant.”
Ideally, organizations are offering employees continuous opportunities for structured training on the latest technologies, but many technology professionals will likely have to seek out learning opportunities on their own.
“This might look like experimenting with new tools, watching online tutorials or enrolling in formal courses,” Hathaway says.
Gutierrez says the most successful professionals will be those who shift from being task executors to AI-enabled problem solvers. That means developing three key capabilities:
• AI literacy and workflow integration: understanding how to effectively use AI tools to enhance productivity, not just automate tasks
• Critical evaluation: being able to assess AI outputs, challenge them, and ensure accuracy and ethical use
• Adaptive learning: continuously evolving skills as tools and technologies change
Gutierrez points out the differentiator isn’t technical skill alone, it’s the ability to work with AI in a way that creates value.
“Those who can redesign workflows, apply judgment, and guide AI effectively will not only remain relevant they’ll accelerate their career growth,” she says.
