AI Skills Now Required in Nearly 1 in 20 Entry-Level Jobs: Report

The graduating class of 2026 is entering a job market that looks nothing like when they started college, and AI is playing a major role.

As of March 2026, 10.3% of internships on the early-career job platform Handshake mentioned AI keywords, including using specific AI tools to enhance their work. Meanwhile, 4.2% of full-time early-career jobs mention them, nearly double the share from a year ago, according to Handshake’s 2026 graduate report.

Roles calling for AI skills run the gamut from engineering jobs — where candidates are expected to “touch [natural language processing], knowledge representation, reasoning systems, and frontend visualization” — to creative roles, like a digital designer opening that involves “combining classical design craftsmanship with the ability to leverage AI technology and deliver innovative solutions for design requests.”

The need for AI skills is more common in some fields, appearing in descriptions for 32% of tech, 7.4% of financial services, and 5.4% of media and marketing jobs. Roles in government, healthcare and education were at near-zero levels before 2024 but are “now seeing their sharpest growth.”

1 in 10 Internships Calls for AI Skills, but Students Want More Support

The share of internships requiring AI skills is outpacing that of full-time jobs, signaling that “employers are wising up to the fact that this new generation of workers bring with them a particular skill and agility around being AI-curious,” says Christine Cruzvergara, Handshake’s chief education strategy officer. “They’re looking to early talent to actually help them build out the processes and the workflows that they’ll need in their organization.”

This year’s graduating class is the first cohort to go through almost the entirety of their four-year college careers with ChatGPT, launched in November 2022, and other AI platforms at their fingertips. 36% say they use AI daily and 49% use it weekly; 15% say they don’t use AI at all.

By and large, these students have been self-taught in AI. Just 28% of rising grads said their school “meaningfully integrated” AI into their programs, and 58% say they’ll need stronger AI skills to succeed at work.

Educational institutions and employers are having to play catch-up. For example, beginning with the freshman class in fall 2026, Purdue University students will need to complete an “AI working competency” requirement to graduate. Even so, “we are not quite prepared for this continued disruption,” says Ali Crawford, a senior research analyst at Georgetown’s Center for Security and Emerging Technology.

Growing Share of College Seniors Are Pessimistic but Think Things Will Improve

Overall, the job market for young professionals is tight. Postings on Handshake between July 2025 and March 2026 were down 2% compared to the same period in 2024-2025 and down 12% from 2019-2020. Employers were advertising for twice as many jobs in 2022 compared to today.

62% of today’s college seniors report feeling pessimistic about their careers, up from 46% in 2024. The tough job market is leading more students to think of alternative ways to launch their careers: 58% are interested in starting a business, and nearly three in four recent grads are considering alternative forms of employment like entrepreneurship, freelancing or gig work.

That being said, 70% of college seniors surveyed say they ultimately believe they can “build the career they want” over the long term, and 59% expect to meet their financial goals. Cruzvergara considers 2026 grads’ view to be short-term pessimistic but long-term optimistic. “That sort of speaks to this particular class’s belief in themselves, that they can figure it out. They’ve taught themselves AI. They’re figuring out how to adapt.”