⭐ AI Skills: Your Key to Career Opportunity & the Future
By Dr. Perry Drake
I recently held a conversation with Ryan Brennell, a
nationally recognized generative AI educator, consultant, and co-founder of
Rocketing.ai. on the future of artificial intelligence, business education, and
what career opportunity will look like for our students and professionals over
the next decade — and it turned into one of the most thoughtful, energizing
discussions I’ve had all year.
Ryan and I have been talking about AI for months, but this
time felt different. The questions were deeper. The observations were sharper.
And the sense of urgency — and opportunity — was unmistakable.
We covered everything from how AI is transforming marketing, finance, accounting, supply chain, and management, to how young professionals should think about the job market, and even what business schools like UMSL need to rethink in our curriculum.
In this post, I want to share some of the biggest
takeaways from that conversation.
And at the end, you'll find the link to the full live discussion if
you’d like to watch the entire session.
⭐ AI Isn’t Coming — It’s Already
Here
One of the first points Ryan and I aligned on is simple: AI
isn’t the future; it’s the present. Not in the abstract sense — but in the
daily operations of nearly every business discipline.
When we think of “AI,” many people still picture robots or
humanoid assistants. But the reality is that AI is now embedded in:
- The
ads you see online
- How
banks flag fraud
- How
hospitals schedule staff
- How
airlines price seats
- How
companies evaluate supply chain risk
- How
marketers build audiences
- How HR
screens résumés
- How
analysts generate reports
It’s not science fiction.
It’s infrastructure.
Ryan shared how many companies he consults with already use
AI to connect disparate data systems, automate repetitive workflows, or
generate reports that used to take hours or days.
In marketing and social media — something near and dear to
my heart — nearly every platform now uses AI to influence what content is seen,
who it is shown to, and why. And with generative AI tools accelerating
ideation, writing, editing, and analytics, marketers no longer spend the bulk
of their time “doing tasks.” They spend more of their time making decisions.
We aren’t preparing students for a world where AI exists.
We are preparing them for a world where AI is the baseline.
⭐ The “AI Will Take My Job” Fear
Is Misguided — Here’s the Real Risk
There’s a lot of anxiety attached to AI, especially among
students and early-career professionals. We addressed those fears head-on.
Ryan said something that stuck with many listeners:
“AI isn’t going to replace you.
But a person who knows how to use AI absolutely will.”
That is the distinction people must understand.
Jobs are not disappearing; tasks are disappearing.
Workflows are disappearing.
Inefficient processes are disappearing.
But roles are evolving, and in many cases, expanding.
The real risk isn’t AI itself — it’s being unprepared.
Professionals who avoid learning AI tools aren’t maintaining
the status quo.
They’re falling behind faster each month. Not because they lack intelligence or
work ethic, but because they’re not building fluency in the tools that
companies now consider essential.
From accounting to supply chain, the message from employers
is clear:
AI literacy is now part of being professionally literate.
⭐ Human Judgment: The One Skill
AI Will Never Replace
Throughout the conversation, we returned several times to
what I consider the most essential point:
AI is powerful, but it cannot replace human judgment.
Here’s what AI can do:
- Analyze
large datasets
- Generate
first drafts
- Summarize
information
- Recommend
next steps
- Automate
repetitive tasks
But AI cannot:
- Understand
organizational culture
- Weigh
ethical tradeoffs
- Navigate
ambiguity
- Inspire
teams
- Read a
room
- Build
relationships
- Apply
lived experience
- Make
strategic decisions when data is incomplete
Ryan called these “the human advantage stack”, and it
really resonated.
Our students — and today’s working adults — must lean into
curiosity, communication, leadership, ethics, adaptability, and critical
thinking. These are the skills that are not automatable.
The secret is learning how to pair AI’s strengths
with your own.
⭐ What AI Means for Each Major
Business Discipline
One of my favorite parts of the discussion was exploring how
each discipline in the College of Business will be impacted differently by AI.
Here’s a deeper dive into what we covered:
⭐ Marketing: From Tactics to
Strategy
In marketing, AI tools can now:
- Generate
content drafts
- Suggest
SEO keywords
- Analyze
social media trends
- Build
audience segments
- Personalize
email flows
- Predict
customer churn
This is incredible — but it doesn’t eliminate marketers.
It elevates them.
It pushes them toward strategy, creativity, experimentation, insight, and
storytelling.
Students who rely solely on the “creative feel” of marketing
will struggle.
Students who combine creativity with data, analytics, and AI tools will thrive.
⭐ Finance: Faster Numbers, Deeper
Interpretation
AI can produce financial summaries, scenario models, and
variance reports faster than any entry-level analyst.
But the value now lies in:
- interpreting
the model
- questioning
assumptions
- spotting
anomalies
- making
recommendations
Ryan shared that companies increasingly want analysts who
can explain the “why,” not just generate the “what.”
⭐ Accounting: Automation With
Oversight
AI does exceptionally well with:
- reconciliations
- error
detection
- report
drafting
But accountants who understand compliance, regulation, audit
standards, ethics, internal controls, and risk will be in even higher demand.
Why?
Because automation raises the stakes on expert oversight.
It doesn’t reduce it.
⭐ Supply Chain: Predict, Adjust,
Optimize
AI is already transforming logistics:
- demand
forecasting
- inventory
optimization
- route
planning
- supplier
risk analysis
- capacity
modeling
Students who understand problem-solving — who can run
scenarios, think critically, and adapt to disruption — will lead in this field.
⭐ Management & HR: AI Can
Screen — But Humans Lead
AI can help match candidates to roles, assess skill gaps,
analyze performance trends, and support training plans.
But leadership, coaching, conflict resolution, empathy, and
communication remain fundamentally human.
We need leaders who understand how to guide organizations
during change — not just operate systems.
⭐ Education Must Evolve — And
Fast
One of the most important parts of the conversation centered
on what business schools must do to prepare students for this new world.
Ryan and I discussed several things:
✔ 1. AI must be integrated into
every course — not treated as a standalone topic.
Students shouldn’t learn AI the way they learn a language or
a coding class.
They should learn it inside:
- marketing
- finance
- accounting
- supply
chain
- management
- analytics
✔ 2. Project-based learning is
essential.
Students must use the tools, not just hear about
them.
✔ 3. Digital portfolios matter
more than ever.
Employers want to see how students apply AI.
✔ 4. Ethics needs to move from
theory to practice.
Students should understand the responsible use of AI — where
guardrails matter, and where judgment overrides algorithms.
✔ 5. Faculty development is
crucial.
Professors must also learn AI tools to teach them
effectively.
This is a turning point in higher education — and UMSL is
working to be ahead of it.
⭐ The New First Impression: AI
Fluency
Another powerful theme that emerged was how AI literacy is
now a signal to employers.
Just like Excel, communication, or teamwork, AI is becoming
part of what employers look for before interviews even begin.
Hiring managers now ask questions like:
- “How
do you use AI in your workflow?”
- “What
AI tools are you most comfortable with?”
- “Can
you show me examples of how you’ve used AI?”
If students can answer these questions clearly — with
examples — they stand out immediately.
AI literacy is not optional.
It’s part of the professional handshake.
⭐ Small Daily Habits Make the
Biggest Difference
One message we emphasized repeatedly is that adopting AI
does not require massive change or huge time investments.
Ten minutes a day is enough.
Students and professionals can:
- explore
one new tool
- test
one workflow
- write
one prompt
- read
one article
- attend
one webinar
- watch
one tutorial
- try
automating one task
AI rewards curiosity.
And curiosity compounds.
⭐ Closing Reflection: Choose to
Be Ready
As we wrapped up our conversation, we returned to an idea
that Ryan articulated beautifully:
“You’re not competing with AI.
You’re competing with people who use AI.”
And that’s empowering.
Because we all have access to the same tools.
The same opportunities.
The same chance to prepare.
Students, professionals, executives, educators — we’re all
in this together, learning as we go.
My advice is simple:
- Stay
curious
- Stay
open
- Stay
brave
- Learn
continuously
- Use
the tools
- Question
the outputs
- Trust
your judgment
- Be
willing to adapt
The future is coming fast — but so is your opportunity to
shape it.
⭐ Watch the Full Conversation
Here is the link to the complete live discussion, where Ryan
and I dive even deeper into these ideas and take questions from our audience:
➡️
I hope you find it as energizing as we did.
⭐ BONUS: Download the Full
PowerPoint + Explore Certification Resources
To support your learning journey, I’ve made the full
PowerPoint used during the discussion available for download. It includes:
- Key
frameworks
- Recommended
AI tools
- Examples
of AI workflows
- Prompts
and exercises
- Slides
covering trends across all business disciplines
- A
curated resource list for AI education
You’ll also find direct links to several AI certification
and training programs, including:
✔ Google Skillshop
AI Essentials, Digital Marketing AI modules, data analytics
pathways, and generative AI basics.
✔ HubSpot Academy
AI in Marketing, Prompting for Marketers, and certifications
related to automation and content strategy.
✔ LinkedIn Learning
AI literacy tracks, business AI fundamentals, and
role-specific AI courses (marketing, finance, HR, analytics).
✔ IBM SkillsBuild
AI foundations, ethical AI, machine learning introductions,
and business-focused AI pathways.
✔ Microsoft Learn
Copilot training, AI productivity certifications, Azure AI
fundamentals, and applied AI in the workplace.
These resources help students and professionals build
real-world AI fluency — and they pair perfectly with the insights from our
conversation.
⭐ Connect
Dr. Perry D. Drake: drakep@umsl.edu
Ryan Brennell :
ryan.brennell@gmail.com
