There’s a lot of discourse out there about certain higher education courses no longer being necessary. By this we’re talking about any type of course that you embark upon after high school. It could be a college degree, an online course, etc. As long as you need a high school diploma to qualify for the course, it counts.

With the rise of AI, combined with different views on higher education - a lot of courses are borderline pointless. You’ve got the “traditional” courses focused on things like finance or IT, which are at great risk of being overrun by artificial intelligence. Then you have some of the more arts-based courses - like going to film school - that no longer seem important because people can forge careers without professional training.

You’re almost left fighting on two fronts, so let’s look at some higher education courses that are still easily worth doing:

Frontline Healthcare

If there’s one career that will probably never be at risk of fading away, it’s anything involving healthcare - especially frontline care. By that, we mean any type of job that involves physical contact with patients and individuals in need of help. Nursing careers will always be in demand, as will EMT careers, and so on.

A career in healthcare is always a safe bet, and part of the reason why is that there are never enough people in these jobs. This is a tough line of work, and so some people will drop out, creating spaces for a new wave of workers. Plus, as the population lives longer, the demand for healthcare teams will increase.

Law

Higher education legal courses tick all the boxes you need from a useful course. They lead to well-paid jobs that aren’t likely to be taken over by AI, and these jobs require extensive educational training. You can’t walk into the legal field and become an attorney without gaining some qualifications, so this is something you know is worthwhile.

Most lawyers will go to college to obtain the right degrees, though some will undertake different courses that help them get jobs at law firms. From there, the law firm provides further education and pays for courses in-house so the individual can obtain the right qualifications.

Education

Much like frontline healthcare, jobs in education are always in demand. The country needs teachers - and this mainly focuses on earlier or high-school education. Again, it’s a career that does not have any negative AI impact at the moment, nor will it ever. It’s hard to imagine a world without proper schools and real teachers, no matter how teaching methods might change.

So, that’s one box ticked - and the other is that you need qualifications to become a teacher. It’s not a job you can rock up to and expect to be hired if you haven’t passed certain courses or obtained the equivalent degrees. As a result, these types of higher education courses are still very much in demand and will continue to be worth it for a long time.

Personal Training

Believe it or not, but personal training courses are genuinely worthwhile. Gyms want to hire personal trainers, and people also want to hire them. It’s one of the rare jobs where you can become self-employed after obtaining your qualifications and become genuinely successful. There’s definitely a greater emphasis on staying fit than there ever has been, and most people prefer the one-on-one interaction of a human personal trainer.

Can AI write a training plan for someone? Yes, but if there’s one thing AI is bad at, it’s holding people accountable. You need a human being to tell someone that they’re doing something wrong and encourage them to get back on track. That’s why personal training courses are growing in popularity right now.

Business Administration

You wouldn’t think that business administration degrees would be worth it, but it turns out they are. While it is technically possible for anyone to start a business and grow it without formal qualifications, business admin students are highly sought-after by established companies. They look for people who can lead and manage teams with a deep understanding of how the business world works. This is something you can’t get from an AI tool, so the demand for human beings is very high.

There’s no need to feel a sense of doom and gloom when it comes to higher education. Yes, some courses aren’t worth doing anymore - but that’s always been the case. The rise of AI simply means a few others aren’t worth it, though many more are still very worthwhile. This list is just a small look at what courses are valuable; you’ll find many others out there.