For the past decade, I've been helping organizations and student groups in New York City prepare for careers in the technology sector. It all started in 2014 with Beyond Coding, an initiative I launched to complement students' tech internships with immersive learning experiences. Through this program, industry leaders welcomed students into their offices and led hands-on workshops on essential job skills like networking, interviewing, resume writing, and professional growth beyond the classroom.

Over the years, this concept has evolved in several ways. First, these core tenets became folded into a more structured work-based learning program within the Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP), offering optional workshops on workplace skills beyond the job itself. More recently, it has taken shape in partnership with Tech:NYC through FutureReadyNYC, an NYC Public Schools initiative that introduces students to a variety of career pathways through real-world work experiences and industry exposure—reaching tens of thousands of students across the city.

One of the biggest shifts we're seeing in tech hiring is the role of AI—not just as a skill requirement, but as a tool reshaping how work itself is done. Since I'm now actively building in this space, I'm seeing things acutely from the ground floor and have been looking for opportunities to share out some of these observations with my broader network.

Last week, I was invited to join Tech:NYC for a session with NYC public school teachers and work-based learning coordinators. Alongside Bryan Lozano, the director of the Tech:NYC Foundation, we discussed the current tech job landscape in New York City, how every company is becoming a tech company, and what educators can do to prepare their students for the jobs of the future.

Rather than sharing the full session, I pulled out a 25-minute segment where I break down entry-level career pathways in tech and how AI is reshaping opportunities.

You can watch it here:

How AI Impacts the Future of Knowledge Work

If you tune in at minute 16:40, you'll hear the last bit which is primarily where I talk about how I see AI as an enabling tool to empower a more diverse set of builders. As I mention, I'm starting to believe that for most engineers, it soon won't be enough to just be a software developer at work.

But I also see this as an opportunity for more of us to lean into the weird niches, hobbies, or interests we have that we can supercharge with technology. For instance, someone interested in gaming could use AI to create and monetize interactive game assets, or an artist could develop AI-generated animations for commercial use. In other words, I believe the future of work is one that is using AI and everything else, not AI or everything else.

The advent of AI is driving one of the largest collective upskilling events in history. This is all still so new, and there are still so many unknowns. But for any of us who straddle two disparate spaces (in my case, emerging tech + educational systems), it's more important than ever to share out observations and ideas for both sides, whenever possible.

If you're building or teaching in this space, I'd love to hear from you. What do you think about some of the ideas shared? What job interests are students gravitating toward? How are you preparing your teams for the next wave of work?