The spread of generative artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly reshaping the structure of the labor market. While simple manual labor was once expected to be the first to be displaced by automation, entry-level white-collar workers are now bearing the direct brunt. As AI quickly replaces so-called "entry-level knowledge work" such as coding, document drafting, translation, and accounting, corporate hiring strategies are also changing.
According to Yonhap News on Tuesday, hiring of junior developers with one to three years of experience has noticeably declined in Pangyo, Gyeonggi Province, where Korea's ICT industry is concentrated. AI coding tools such as Microsoft's GitHub Copilot are rapidly handling basic programming tasks, reducing companies' need to hire large numbers of junior staff.
"In the past, we hired many new developers to handle repetitive tasks, but now AI handles much of that," an industry official said. "The standards of the hiring market itself are changing."
"No People to Build AI Factories"… Field Technicians' Pay Climbs
On the other hand, some occupations are becoming more valuable as the AI era unfolds. These are field technical jobs such as electricians, plumbers, and cooling equipment engineers. Running large language models (LLMs) such as ChatGPT requires massive AI data centers (AIDCs), and demand for power, cooling, and facility infrastructure to maintain them is surging.
"The pool of personnel capable of designing and maintaining data center power grids and cooling equipment is itself small," an official from Korea's mobile telecommunications industry said. "No matter how much AI advances, you still need people on site to fix server room leaks or transformer problems."
In the United States and the United Kingdom, more young people are choosing vocational schools over universities. Foreign media have been featuring cases of people in their 20s who entered the workforce early as plumbers, welders, and electricians and earn high salaries.
Professor Geoffrey Hinton, an authority in the AI field, said in a recent interview that "one of the jobs least at risk of replacement even in the AI era is plumbing." Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang also stressed that "to build AI factories, we need an enormous number of electricians and plumbers."
"Machines Calculate, Humans Take Responsibility"… Judgment Remains with People
Experts believe that rather than entire jobs disappearing, roles within occupations are more likely to be reorganized between AI and humans. Repetitive and standardized tasks will be handled by AI, while complex situational judgment and responsibility will remain with humans.
In journalism, AI is increasingly used to draft breaking news and data-driven articles, but the role of building trust with sources, cross-verifying facts, and making final judgments still belongs to reporters. In healthcare, even as AI supports image analysis, final diagnoses and responsibility remain with doctors.
As a result, calls are growing for changes in education. Rather than memorizing coding syntax or knowledge, judgment and problem-solving skills to verify AI outputs and respond to exceptional situations are becoming more important.
"In the AI era, rather than the existing distinction between white-collar and blue-collar workers, those who can work alongside machines, make judgments, and take responsibility will be most highly valued," experts said.
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