49% Business Leaders Say ChatGPT Skills May Replace College Degrees as Job Requirement

The OpenAI-developed chatbot tool, ChatGPT, has emerged as one of the most relevant technological advancements in recent years.

The service it provides to users has sparked debate about how far artificial intelligence can go in today's society. Roughly 180 million people worldwide use ChatGPT at this moment.

Fresh research from Inteliligent.com has revealed just how vital ChatGPT may be in years to come. A survey was conducted among 800 directors, senior managers, and executives to ask how valuable it would be for young workers to have experience navigating ChatGPT.

The main takeaway from the survey was that 49 per cent of the business leaders believed having experience with the AI chatbot service can be held in higher regard than a college degree.

With nearly half of the business leaders looking to hire people who excel in using ChatGPT, a shift is already occurring in the professional working landscape.

The data also found that around 60 per cent of organisations require applicants for some entry-level vacancies to have experience using the chatbot. For seven per cent of businesses, having ChatGPT experience is non-negotiable and necessary for all jobs.

These vacancies are predominantly in the IT (76 per cent), marketing (48 per cent) and HR (35 per cent) divisions.

The key reasons businesses want ChatGPT expertise among staff include finding greater productivity levels among them (78 per cent), helping increase their knowledge (74 per cent) and boosting their creativity levels (68 per cent).

Speaking to Business Insider, Intelligent.com chief education and career development advisor Huy Nguyen mentioned why business executives seek out employees with AI experience. He voiced: "They're thinking that if people have experience with chatGPT — generative AI — they can come in there and have an immediate impact on the business."

Business leaders believe that workers with an understanding of AI can quickly develop the necessary attributes for a role. Therefore, younger staff may be able to close the skills gap of more senior staff thanks to AI's resources.

One notable reason younger people may be convinced to learn how to use ChatGPT instead of pursuing a college degree is that it comes down to costs. Attending college can be expensive for some, so if being an expert in AI tools is enough to land a steady job, it could become a new route for aspiring youngsters.

A wider pool of candidates will become available by removing the necessity of a college degree in the resumes of applicants and seeking out AI experts.

For vacancies that may require some use of ChatGPT, 88 per cent of business leaders believe it is helpful if a candidate has taken a course in the AI tool.

However, Nguyen feels that employers want applicants to be familiar with AI. He explained: "ChatGPT is still quite new. The course that you took 12 months ago may be irrelevant. And you may not be using ChatGPT in the future — and maybe using something else."

Whilst just under half of the survey respondents value ChatGPT experience over college degrees, 36 per cent of business bosses tend to disagree. Twelve per cent remain undecided on what is more valuable on a resume.

Despite this, it would be wise for aspiring workers to have experience utilising ChatGPT, as 79 per cent of business leaders feel the tool will be increasingly valuable next year.