Welcome back to Moving from College to Career! In this space, we share practical insights to help you explore career paths and prepare for recruiting.
As always, our goal is usefulness over noise. If there's a topic you're curious about, just reply — we'd love to hear from you.
Today's Tactics: An AI Game Plan for Non-Technical College Students
If you're studying computer science or data science, the path forward with AI feels relatively clear. If you're not, it can feel a lot murkier. In fact, nearly every non-technical student we work with tells us the same thing: they know AI matters for their career, but they’re not sure where to start.
That's what we're here to help with. AI is reshaping how work gets done across every industry, and non-technical students who understand that shift will be better prepared to land the jobs they want and build careers that hold up as the landscape changes. Here are 4 tangible things that should be part of your game plan.
1. Make AI a topic in every professional conversation
Any conversation with a working professional is a networking conversation — a family friend at a dinner, a professor between classes, a speaker at a campus event. When those moments happen, try weaving in one or two of these questions:
- What does AI actually change about how you spend your time day to day?
- Have you noticed headcount or structure changes at your organization or in your industry because of AI?
- What skills do you think will matter most in your field over the next five years?
- What would you tell a student entering your field to focus on, given how fast AI is moving?
You'll walk away with ground-level perspective you can't get anywhere else.
2. Find a technical peer and pick their brain
You probably know someone studying computer science or data science. Buy them coffee and ask them to walk you through what they're working on and how they see it applying to the real world. You don't need to absorb every technical detail. You're building intuition, not expertise. A conversation or two like this can meaningfully shift how you see the landscape.
3. Get hands-on with at least one AI tool if you haven't already
Try using ChatGPT or Claude for something practical: drafting a cover letter, summarizing a long article, or prepping for a networking conversation. The goal isn't mastery. Students who have used these tools in real contexts will interview more confidently and feel less caught off guard when AI comes up in a workplace setting.
4. Find a sustainable rhythm for staying current
The key is finding a source or two you'll actually stick with on a weekly basis, without it feeling like homework. Two we'd suggest:
The Rundown AI is a free daily newsletter covering AI news and tools in plain language. About 5 minutes to read.
Axios AI+ is another free daily newsletter covering how AI is reshaping business and industry in short, scannable pieces. Less about new tools, more about what it all means for the working world.
Pick one and subscribe this week. And if you want to go deeper: this summer, every professional who presents through the Introships program will speak directly to how AI is changing their field. If you want a structured way to explore careers and get a real-world view of AI's impact at the same time, learn more about the program here.
The students who will be well-positioned when they graduate aren't necessarily the ones who went deepest on AI. They're the ones who stayed curious, kept asking questions, and started paying attention early. Follow the tips above, and you'll be doing just that.
Alumni Spotlight: How Introships Opened Doors She Didn't Know Existed
Hanna Rose (University of Northern Colorado '27) came away from the Introships program with something she didn't expect: a network that kept working for her long after the program ended.
In her words: "What I've taken away from the Introships program was my ability to build a network. I was connected with tons of professionals and other students who had similar interests to me and were helping me discover new avenues. You never know who's going to be that important person who helps open doors for you, answer questions, and connects you with other people who might alter your path in life."
We hope you found this helpful. Feel free to reply with questions or feedback, and stay tuned for more from Introships on LinkedIn and Instagram!
Joe Fiveash & Sean Wetmore
