Today’s college graduates face a startling reality. Many of the jobs they were hoping for are rapidly disappearing because of AI (artificial intelligence).
As Mike Rowe of “Dirty Jobs” fame recently observed, “We’ve been telling kids for 15 years to learn to code. Well, AI is coming for the coders.”
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg agrees. He predicts that most Meta code will be written by AI in the next 12-18 months.
The great disruption is here. Many entry-level office jobs — from coders and analysts to researchers and writers — are being eaten by AI.
The unemployment rate for recent college graduates has soared to recession-era levels, even as the overall jobless rates remain low. The weakness in this particular segment of the job market may be a harbinger of the AI tsunami on the horizon. As AI gets smarter and more capable, more complex and experience-dependent jobs are likely to come under pressure as well. And at the speed AI is progressing, that could be a matter of months, not years.
This may all seem downright gloomy, but AI disruption will also create opportunities. And that should encourage students, parents and guidance counselors to open their eyes to the industries that are growing and need people.
The mining industry is just such a place.
Modern mining is at the very leading edge of American reindustrialization. It provides the critical materials and energy that underpin our economic future and national security. And it needs young people.
Thanks to data centers, semiconductors, batteries and electric vehicles, America’s mineral and electricity demand is soaring. Meeting that demand — and doing so responsibly — requires more American production. It also requires more American mining, and the people to make it happen.
Consider copper, the metal of electrification. Global copper demand is projected to nearly double by 2035. By 2050, annual copper consumption is expected to exceed the total amount of copper consumed globally between 1900 and 2021. And that’s just annual demand. In just 25 years, we will need to mine more copper than has been mined in all human history.
For electricity, the story is remarkably similar. U.S. electricity demand is exploding, set to jump nearly 80% by 2050. One recent forecast sees demand jumping 128 gigawatts over the next five years — equivalent to adding 80 million homes to America’s already overstretched electricity grid.
However, at the very moment this demand is soaring, the U.S. mining industry is struggling to find workers. Many of the industry’s best are retiring, or are on the verge of doing so. Tens of thousands of mining jobs need to be filled — jobs that require the tech-savvy, problem-solving skills that young Americans intuitively possess.
From engineers and geoscientists to drillers, drone operators and the drivers needed for enormous haul trucks, modern mining requires an extraordinarily diverse set of skills. It needs diverse people and perspectives. It needs team members, innovators and people looking not just for jobs but also for careers.
Mining is an industry that teaches, builds competency and gives employees the opportunity to get out from behind a desk. And it pays well.
The average wage for U.S. miners is $98,971 a year — fully 30% above the national average. And many mining jobs do not require a college degree, nor are they under threat from AI.
Rebuilding and modernizing America’s industrial base from the mine to the assembly line needs today’s students and job seekers. While AI may be closing the door on some careers, the door to American mining is wide open.
English (US) ·