Good news for students who have decided to double major in college. Stripe co-founder John Collison predicts that late nights, juggled schedules, and careful planning will be valuable in the age of AI.
Collison, who also serves as Stripe’s president, said he was “bullish” on the double major and said it was “going to do incredibly well for the next 10 to 20 years.”
“If you understand software and marketing, you can significantly improve your company’s entire marketing funnel,” Collison told technology talk show TBPN earlier this spring. “What used to take 20 people to dredge all these systems can now be done by one person.”
Collison mentioned the late Charlie Munger, who served as Berkshire Hathaway’s vice chairman for more than 40 years and was Warren Buffett’s business partner.
“Charlie Munger talked about the importance of interdisciplinary and interdisciplinary thinking,” Collison said. “He thinks it’s not that difficult to functionally understand many fields. You can go read a book right now, or you can talk to an AI about it. I think interdisciplinary thinkers will do incredibly well.”
Concerns about job security have led to an increase in the number of students choosing double majors at many U.S. universities, according to an analysis published in the Hechinger Report in November.
A graph compiled by the Hechinger Report, which investigated the increase in double majors at many U.S. universities. Marina Villeneuve/Hechinger Report
Collison also said that “high-level government talent” will also do well in the coming decades.
“The people at Stripe are talking to our customers and they know exactly what we need to do. These are the people who are putting a jolt in their step and trying to make Stripe better. They’re much more empowered because of AI,” he said.
Advances in AI are reshaping the workforce, changing the way companies approach recruitment and the skill sets expected from employees.
While AI optimists say the technology can create new jobs and spur economic growth, some vocal critics believe the opposite. AI’s ability to automate basic, repetitive tasks has raised concerns that technology will completely overhaul entry-level jobs typically performed by humans. Lower hiring rates and layoffs earlier this year have also left some new graduates struggling.
One of the key areas of concern is software engineering, where AI has transformed software engineering by allowing people to write code and programs faster than ever before. But there may be light at the end of the tunnel. TrueUp, a technology job market and recruiting platform, told Business Insider that the number of technology jobs will increase by almost 14% by 2026.
Collison said people who think AI spells the death of software engineering are mistaken.
“Honestly, I think those guys are at a high level,” Collison told TBPN.