Sam Altman predicts 2035 graduates will work space-AI jobs

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman predicts that by 2035, Generation Alpha college graduates could bypass traditional office jobs for lucrative careers combining space exploration and artificial intelligence. Speaking on the Huge Conversations podcast, Altman envisions young professionals leaving university to work on missions exploring the solar system, describing these as “completely new, exciting, super well-paid” opportunities that could fundamentally redefine career paths for the next generation.

What Altman envisions: The OpenAI CEO paints a picture where 2035 graduates might board spacecraft for asteroid mining projects as easily as joining a San Francisco tech startup.
• Altman described today’s college graduates as the “luckiest kids in all of history,” suggesting AI will not just disrupt but completely rewire the workforce.
• These future careers would blend space exploration with AI technology, creating opportunities that are “unimaginable just a few years ago.”

The debate among tech leaders: Altman’s optimistic vision contrasts sharply with warnings from other industry executives about AI’s impact on employment.
• Former Google X executive Mo Gawdat has warned that AI could eliminate nearly half of entry-level white-collar jobs within five years, potentially leaving younger generations “scrambling for footing in a volatile market.”
• Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, who leads a major AI research company, similarly predicts AI will cause mass unemployment, though he also suggests it could help people live longer.
• Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang offers a more collaborative perspective, encouraging workers to view AI as “a tutor and collaborator, not a rival” to unlock new career opportunities.

Why this matters: Altman’s forecast challenges fundamental assumptions about work and career development in the coming decades.
• The prediction pushes the concept that future jobs could literally exist beyond Earth’s boundaries, expanding the definition of workplace geography.
• While Generation Alpha—those born after 2010—may benefit from these space-AI careers, Generation Z could face a more turbulent transition period.
• If such careers become reality, education systems, governments, and industries will need to prepare for a radically different workforce structure.

The bigger picture: Altman’s vision underscores how rapidly AI advancement could reshape career possibilities, with some future jobs potentially “measured in light-years” rather than traditional metrics.