“The days are over when hiring is planned way in advance — knowing exactly what each person will do,” Kornfeld says. “An individual is in lower demand if they are an expert at one thing — front end, UI, cloud, database, mobile — instead of being able to contribute in multiple different disciplines.”
And there’s potential in nimble generalist groups partnered with AI, argues First Student’s McCormack.
“We’re going to start seeing increased demand for those who can navigate across disciplines and integrate capabilities across data, legal, finance, engineering, and marketing,” McCormack says. “In the future, smaller cross-functional teams, supported by AI agents, will be able to deliver outcomes that once required large, siloed departments. I think specialist roles will start to be less critical because AI now offers immediate access to deep domain knowledge.”
