Preparing Tech Students for the AI Economy

Last Saturday, I mentored two NTU students (Philips and Jared) on tech education and AI-readiness.

Two concerns came up often.

"Will I still have a job when I graduate?"

Companies are reducing software engineering headcount because of AI. The reality is stark. This means, students now need to raise their bar higher than becoming just someone who can code.

What matters now is solving real problems, automating tasks that create value, and building systems that work. Study well. Master the foundation. Understand why things work.

The students who will thrive are not those who use AI to delegate difficult tasks, but to amplify their problem-solving ability. AI should make you more capable, not more complacent.

"Should I focus on becoming a tech founder?"

It is enticing to follow the path of some dropouts who made a lot of money. They are outliers who happened to be working on the right stuff at the right time and at the right place. For most of us, the environment just does not work in our favor.

90% of startups fail after 5 years. The runway needed to validate a startup before calling it a failure is, most of the time, underestimated. The romantic narrative of dropping out and building the next unicorn ignores the statistical reality most founders face.

My advice: build competence first. Solve problems that exist, not problems you imagine. When the time comes to build something of your own, you'll have the skills, judgment, and network to make it work.

Not easy answers, but hard truths.