{"id":110993,"date":"2026-06-12T14:42:02","date_gmt":"2026-06-12T14:42:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/12\/what-do-californias-recent-college-grads-think-about-ai\/"},"modified":"2026-06-12T14:42:02","modified_gmt":"2026-06-12T14:42:02","slug":"what-do-californias-recent-college-grads-think-about-ai","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/12\/what-do-californias-recent-college-grads-think-about-ai\/","title":{"rendered":"What Do California\u2019s Recent College Grads Think About AI?"},"content":{"rendered":"


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That\u2019s no surprise. Recent polling suggests the technology weighs heavily on the minds of those already in the job market<\/a> and those who seek to join it<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Several college graduates from around the state spoke with The California Report Magazine<\/em><\/a> about how they\u2019re navigating the unpredictable economy, and how AI factors into their job search. The testimonies below have been edited for brevity and clarity.<\/p>\n

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Gisselle Ulloa poses with her diploma from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. Ulloa, who plans to be a teacher, said she witnessed the impact of AI on her middle-schoolers in the classroom. (Courtesy of Gisselle Ulloa)<\/cite><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Gisselle Ulloa<\/h2>\n

School:<\/strong> California State Polytechnic University, Pomona<\/p>\n

Major:<\/strong> Liberal Studies<\/p>\n

What are your plans after graduation?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

I plan to be a teacher in the near future.<\/p>\n

How does AI affect you?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

As a recent graduate, it is intimidating to apply to jobs and fail to meet the criteria of artificial intelligence. There\u2019ve been occasions where I feel \u2026 the employer is not even going to gaze at my resume. Of course, jobs don\u2019t come easily, and you have to earn your position. But it\u2019s really difficult to learn to satisfy an algorithm instead of a person.<\/p>\n

With my experience tutoring, I saw the effects of AI, social media and electronics in the classroom.<\/p>\n

I worked with middle schoolers last year. Seeing my students struggle to write paragraphs with a pencil or solve math problems [with] ChatGPT was discouraging. It put into perspective the amount of work needed from teachers and staff to get students to where they need to be.<\/p>\n

Teachers can only do so much. As an aspiring educator, [AI] is a really pivotal tool, and I\u2019m sure it works for bigger things, [like] social media and technology. But I fear it\u2019s going to impact classrooms negatively in the years to come.<\/p>\n

Camalah Saleh<\/h2>\n

School:<\/strong> California State University, Fresno<\/p>\n

Major:<\/strong> Political Science and Communication<\/p>\n

What are your plans after graduation?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I go to China at the end of August to earn a master\u2019s in Global Affairs as a Schwarzman Scholar at Tsinghua University. My goal is to connect international affairs and global affairs to immigration because I want to be an immigration attorney and work on refugee and asylum cases.<\/p>\n

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Camalah Saleh smiles after graduating from California State University, Fresno. She said she initially tried to ignore ChatGPT but realized AI is not going anywhere. (Courtesy of Camalah Saleh)<\/cite><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

How does AI affect you?<\/strong><\/p>\n

When ChatGPT first came out, everyone was talking about it, and I didn\u2019t know what it was. I ignored it. I\u2019m in a field where you need to critically write and be a critical thinker, and it can\u2019t just do your work for you. Then, I realized [AI] is not going away.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve looked at the way it\u2019s going to impact my career. To see lawyers using it is really worrisome because \u2026 there\u2019s a lot of ethical concerns.<\/p>\n

But I need to pay attention to how it\u2019s going to advance. And people need to be literate in AI so that they can analyze what is and is not made by AI.<\/p>\n

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Michelle Yang poses with her diploma at Oracle Park in San Francisco. She said the threat of AI taking over peoples\u2019 jobs is \u201cpretty scary.\u201d (Courtesy of Michelle Yang)<\/cite><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Michelle Yang<\/h2>\n

School:<\/strong> San Francisco State University<\/p>\n

Major:<\/strong> Marketing<\/p>\n

What are your plans after graduation?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

I want to go into event [planning]. Hopefully, within the music industry.<\/p>\n

How does AI affect you?<\/strong><\/p>\n

With most jobs that include administration and planning, AI definitely has or could have the potential to take over certain skills.<\/p>\n

But with events, it\u2019s a very in-person, human interaction type of industry. So, that\u2019s not something I\u2019m worried about.<\/p>\n

Graduating college right now, it\u2019s pretty scary with this threat of AI taking over. We spent so much time in school figuring out what we want to do after college.<\/p>\n

I can decide not to use AI within my life. But as society progresses, especially in San Francisco, AI [will] become more incorporated into society, [and] there might not be a choice.<\/p>\n

Michelle Yang is a Live Events intern at KQED.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Amelia Zai<\/h2>\n

School:<\/strong> UCLA (incoming senior)<\/p>\n

Major:<\/strong> Mechanical Engineering<\/p>\n

What are your plans after graduation?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019ll probably start applying [for entry-level jobs] in the fall. I already know that even without AI, the job market is really difficult.<\/p>\n

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Amelia Zai (Courtesy of Amelia Zai)<\/cite><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

How do you feel about AI?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019m the president of the AI Robotics and Ethics Society at the University of California, Los Angeles. A lot of students here are aware of how AI is reshaping the world. They see it in the news; they\u2019re seeing it in their classes; they use AI to help them understand assignments. I do that too.<\/p>\n

During every discussion, it\u2019s inevitable that the question of whether AI will replace roles in some field comes up. I think it\u2019s less of a competition between AI and people, and more of a competition between people who use AI and people who don\u2019t know how to use AI.<\/p>\n

Because I know that AI is such a powerful tool, I\u2019m trying to use that to my advantage and integrate it into my workflow to make myself a more efficient thinker. It\u2019s the responsibility of universities to ensure that their graduates are competitive. And one way to achieve that goal is to integrate AI.<\/p>\n

Aaron Kim<\/h2>\n

School:<\/strong> UC Berkeley<\/p>\n

Major:<\/strong> Political Science<\/p>\n

Career path:\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Labor\/Union Organizing<\/p>\n

How does AI affect you?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Luckily, in terms of my personal career trajectory, it still feels pretty peripheral. I ended up doing a lot of stuff in the union\/labor world, so AI affects me less. None of the jobs that I was looking for are AI-exposed as much.<\/p>\n

A lot of the organizations I\u2019m interested in are concerned with progressive issues and working people. How would you feel if your union rep is ChatGPT and tries to get you to sign union cards? That\u2019s something AI can never take away. Because so much of organizing is based on building trust, human to human.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n