Mark Cuban Says These 3 College Majors Will Be Worthless by 2030

For most college students, the point of getting a degree is to land a better job after graduation. Presumably, earning more makes it easier to pay for things and cope with increasing bills. Some degrees have always been more valuable than others, at least according to the job market. And as artificial intelligence (AI) breaks onto the scene, which degrees will remain valuable could change.

This guide explores Mark Cuban's predictions on which college majors may be worthless in the coming years.

Computer science

"I'm going to make a prediction," said Mark Cuban in an interview with AOL in 2017. "In 10 years, a liberal arts degree in philosophy will be worth more than a traditional programming degree."

As AI tools improve, they can now handle many of the basic tasks once done by entry-level computer programmers. That's making it very difficult to break into this field right now.

Accounting

With reams of data entry and spreadsheets to analyze, many traditional accounting jobs may not be around in the coming years. That's because AI tools are increasingly able to handle these tasks efficiently.

"I would not want to be a CPA right now. I would not want to be an accountant right now," said Cuban at the SXSW Conference in 2017. "I would rather be a philosophy major."

Finance

A basic finance degree may not get you very far in the future. Since AI can tackle many of the basic financial analysis tasks that entry-level finance employees did, companies are beginning to turn to AI tools instead of hiring someone for the job.

"No finance. That's the easiest thing; you just take the data, have it spit out whatever you need," said Cuban in a recent interview with Business Insider.

Which degrees will become more valuable?

Of course, as some degrees fall in value, others may rise. Here's a look at some of the degrees Cuban thinks may be more valuable in the future.

Liberal arts degrees

"I personally think there's going to be a greater demand in 10 years for liberal arts majors than there were for programming majors and maybe even engineering," said Cuban in a more recent interview with Business Insider.

There's an endless array of liberal arts degrees. A few that might fit the bill include philosophy, English, and foreign languages. Basically, any degree that focuses on building critical thinking skills to help you look at the world through different angles. If paired with AI skills, this could be a powerful combination in the job market.

Artificial intelligence

Some schools are beginning to offer degrees in artificial intelligence (AI) itself. Generally, these programs focus on the underlying components of AI, not simply learning how to use AI tools. Getting involved in this growing field could offer more job security in the future.

"You always want to stay up to speed on robotics, precision medicine, AI, statistics, math is always a good thing to study no matter what," said Cuban on The Jordan Harbinger Show. "But the key, I think, when you're going to college, is just learning how to learn because the only constant is change."

Robotics

Robotics is another emerging field that shows promise, at least in Cuban's opinion. Robots can be used in a wide range of ways, including everything from manufacturing to precision medicine.

"And we've got to continue that with AI and robotics and precision medicine, but we have to invest in it as a country," said Cuban on The Jordan Harbinger Show.

Building skills in the robotics field could lead to more job security than more basic programming degrees.

Bottom line

It's clear that the job market is changing. Although most of us aren't able to go back in time to change our major, we can start getting ahead financially and grow our AI skills to help us weather the changing market.

If you aren't interested in learning how to use AI tools, it's possible that decision will put your job at risk in the coming years and decades.