Harvard Is Training Us for a World That No Longer Exists

Let’s face it: We’re doomed.

The job market is slowing. Unemployment among the college-educated is rising. Companies — and the United States government — are conducting mass layoffs of their employees.

Even if the apocalypse is not yet upon us, the labor market is clearly undergoing seismic shifts. As the age of artificial intelligence continues to emerge, Harvard must adapt our education to this new reality.

Right now our liberal arts education aims to give students the preparation they need to address complex problems in our ever-changing world. In practice, some concentrations at Harvard focus on the theory, at the expense of the practical skills necessary to win out in the zero-sum game of the job market.

As an Economics concentrator, learning about the macroeconomic concepts that help explain, say, international financial markets enables me to understand various realms of economic policy. But Harvard’s lack of a finance or accounting concentration sets students interested in these fields at a skill disadvantage relative to graduates of peer institutions that offer them. As currently constructed, the Economics concentration offers a useful theoretical foundation for students hoping to enter finance but lags when it comes to teaching the technical skills we need to be successful.

Students concentrating in Computer Science face a similar dilemma. Computer Science concentrators are required to enroll in algorithm-based classes such as COMPSCI 1200: “Introduction to Algorithms and their Limitations,” a course focused on theoretical computer science. While theoretical concepts are important, I wonder whether they should be the focus at a moment when computer science concentrators face such difficult career prospects?

AI continues to dominate, with some companies even proclaiming that within months, AI will write the majority of code used by software engineers. Rather than spending semesters dedicated to learning the theoretical framework, it would be more valuable for students to learn skills directly applicable to the job market like prompt engineering and appropriate ways to integrate AI. If ChatGPT can generate code in thirty seconds, there seems to be little benefit for a student to onerously learn how to write it themselves.

Of course, theoretical concepts are still worth learning. But I’ve heard from friends who study computer science that they turn to clubs or extracurriculars to hone the concrete skills they need to compete in the labor force.

Harvard can’t singlehandedly dull the impacts of AI-related job displacement and high unemployment among the college-educated — but there are a number of steps our University could take that would help.

For Economics concentrators, implementing requirements that focus on teaching financial accounting, fixed income analysis, financial risk management, or investment banking could help students gain skills they otherwise would not acquire from their classes. Plus, it could help address faculty concerns that students value their extracurricular activities more than their studies.

With students worried about their future career prospects and not learning skills that set them up for the future in class,who can blame them for turning to a time-intensive, pre-professional club to make up for the loss?

If Harvard wants to recalibrate academic dedication among students, prevent absenteeism, and lower career anxiety, moving towards tangible skill development in the classroom is a good way to go.

Harvard has the opportunity to evolve our academic focus and adjust it to fit the needs of a changing economy. Introducing more concentration-specific tracks for students to gain skills or integrating certifications into more classes would change our University for the better.

Some critics of this approach may argue that abstraction is at the core of Harvard’s liberal arts focus. While teaching students how to critically think is important, in a labor market facing increasing automation, teaching students how to actually adapt is just as valuable.

At the end of the day, Harvard doesn’t need to end its liberal arts focus — it just needs to modernize the process. Harvard exists to train future leaders. Let’s make sure we equip them with the skills they need to lead well.

M. Austen Wyche ’27, an Associate Editorial editor, is an Economics concentrator in Winthrop House.