Today’s job market is greeting graduates everywhere with ambiguity. Technology is advancing at a rapid pace, driven by Artificial Intelligence (AI), which, just a few short months ago, was mostly a mysterious concept for Americans. AI is now everywhere, adding to career uncertainty.

Employers of today are seeking changing skill sets from graduates. College as a necessity is losing popularity for many students and their parents, not to mention potential employers. Skilled trades are in demand, but most employers are experiencing shortages of potentially qualified trainees. Paid apprenticeships are not only available, but scholarship money is sitting idle.

Dirty Jobs creator Mike Rowe is sitting on pools of cash, awaiting applications for scholarships to learn such skills as welding, electrical, plumbing, etc. Check out his website mikeroweworks.org, and you will be greeted with this message: “AI-Proof Six-Figure JOBS.” This is an enticing prospect, and Mile Rowe has already demonstrated his sincerity and effectiveness over decades.

Today’s graduates, whether from high school, secondary education, or post-graduate school, are likely not well equipped to manage their future personal financial situations. For decades now, Americans have been undereducated in finance and economics, and the results have not been a pretty sight. Hopefully, that may be changing for the better.

Whether their eventual retirement realities will resemble earlier dreams likely depends primarily on their own lifetime of choices. Sadly, there are no “do-overs.” Individual actions and decisions throughout decades of working and saving direct outcomes for retirement lifestyles.

Today, whether entering the labor market or higher education, this is a time of high uncertainty. As a graduate of any level, you have no say in the conditions you find “on the ground.” Some graduating classes are fortunate to arrive into an economy that welcomes them with open arms and jobs galore. For others, hiring may be suspended for a time. A cyclical economy is to blame, but that is small consolation for unfortunate job seekers during bad times. However, we are not currently in bad times, and opportunities abound.

Our society is in a state of rapid change, which must be approached with flexibility and an open mind. Some universities are receiving applications for Engineering students more than any other discipline. Who saw that coming?

Above all else, graduates should go out into the world with a positive attitude and a very open mind. Congratulations to each and every one of you graduates. Those who embrace AI, and learn as much as they can as quickly as possible, should be rewarded.