People who can put AI to work, responsibly.
Graduates of this program are not programmers. They are the people on your team who can evaluate an AI tool, direct it, build with it on no-code platforms, automate a process without losing oversight, and explain the ethics to everyone else.
What graduates can do
- AI 40Evaluate AI toolsJudge whether an AI tool fits a task, what it gets wrong, and what responsible use looks like in your workplace.
- AI 45Prompt and direct generative systemsConstruct, critique and refine prompts so generative output is fit for purpose, with bias and privacy risks understood.
- AI 60Build assistants and agentsDesign, test and deploy conversational assistants and workflow agents on no-code and low-code platforms.
- AI 65Produce multi-modal deliverablesCombine text, images, audio and video in working prototypes such as captioning, cross-modal search and voice assistants.
- AI 70Automate workflows with human oversightOrchestrate LLMs, retrieval-augmented generation and productivity tools into automation a person still controls.
- AI 80Scope and deliver an integrated solutionTake a real problem from analysis to a deployed, documented prototype with analytics and a professional presentation.
Every course ends in a concrete deliverable, and the capstone ends in a deployed, documented prototype presented to people outside the classroom. See the capstone.
AI at work, by the numbers
What public sources say about demand for the skills this program teaches. Pick a view. These are indicators from government statistics and published research, not outcomes of this program, which has not yet graduated a cohort. Every figure links to its source; the reference list is at the end. Figures checked September 6, 2026.
Employers have adopted AI. Skills are the bottleneck.
In two years, regular use of AI in at least one business function went from just over half of organizations to nearly nine in ten. The same surveys say the missing piece is people who can use it well.
| Survey wave | Using AI in at least one function |
|---|---|
| 2023 | 55% |
| Early 2024 | 72% |
| Mid 2024 | 78% |
| 2025 | 88% |
Sources: McKinsey, 2025; McKinsey, 2025a.
What employers say about AI skills
- 66% of leaders would not hire someone without AI skills Survey of 31,000 people in 31 countries. Microsoft & LinkedIn, 2024
- 71% would rather hire a less experienced candidate who has AI skills Than a more experienced one who does not. Microsoft & LinkedIn, 2024
- 63% of employers name skills gaps as the main barrier to transforming their business Survey of over 1,000 employers. WEF, 2025
- 40% of employers in manufacturing and finance name a lack of skills as the main barrier to adopting AI Over half report a growing need for highly skilled workers. OECD, 2026
AI skills carry a pay premium, in tech roles and outside them.
Postings that ask for AI skills advertise more pay than the same jobs without them, and the occupations that use the program's skills earn well above the all-occupation median.
| Occupation | Median annual wage |
|---|---|
| Data scientists | $120,230 |
| Computer systems analysts | $105,850 |
| Management analysts | $101,860 |
| Market research analysts | $78,760 |
| All occupations | $50,980 |
Source: BLS, 2026c.
Advertised pay premium for AI skills
- 28% higher advertised pay in U.S. postings that ask for AI skills About $18,000 a year more, from 1.3 billion postings. Magrini & Milde, 2025
- 43% higher with two or more AI skills in the same posting Same analysis. Magrini & Milde, 2025
- 62% average wage premium for AI skills across a billion job ads on six continents Up from 57% the year before. PwC, 2026
The occupations that use these skills are projected to grow fastest.
BLS expects AI to add demand for building models, analyzing data and integrating applications into business practice, and to reduce demand in some arts and design, sales and administrative roles. (BLS, 2026f)
| Occupation | Growth 2025–35 | Median wage, May 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Data scientists | 34.6% | $120,230 |
| Computer and information research scientists | 21.8% | — |
| Operations research analysts | 12% | — |
| Management analysts | 10% | $101,860 |
| Computer systems analysts | 8% | $105,850 |
| Market research analysts | 7% | $78,760 |
| All occupations | 3.5% | $50,980 |
Sources: BLS, 2026a; BLS, 2026b; BLS, 2026c.
Computer and mathematical occupations are projected to grow 10.1% over 2024–34, more than three times the all-occupation rate. (BLS, 2026f)
Demand for AI skills has spread well beyond tech jobs.
Half of the postings that ask for AI skills are now outside IT and computer science, and California posts more of them than any other state.
| Labor market | Share of postings |
|---|---|
| Singapore | 4.7% |
| Hong Kong | 3.5% |
| Luxembourg | 3.4% |
| Spain | 3.3% |
| United States | 2.6% |
| Chile | 2.4% |
| United Kingdom | 1.9% |
Source: Stanford HAI, 2026, job-posting data from Lightcast.
| State | AI postings, 2025 |
|---|---|
| California | 170,881 |
| Texas | 80,547 |
| New York | 66,029 |
Source: Stanford HAI, 2026, job-posting data from Lightcast.
Beyond tech
- 51% of postings that ask for AI skills are outside IT and computer science Postings mentioning generative AI skills in non-tech roles grew about 800% from 2022 to 2024. Magrini & Milde, 2025
Los Angeles and Orange County are already a major AI labor market.
The region ranks fourth in North America for AI specialists, computer and mathematical work pays well above the metro average, and the county expects 1.6 million openings this decade.
| Group | Mean hourly wage |
|---|---|
| Computer and mathematical occupations, LA metro | $62.04 |
| All occupations, LA metro | $37.15 |
| All occupations, United States | $33.54 |
Source: BLS, 2026d.
- Growth608,800
- Replacement1,032,000
Source: CA EDD, n.d..
- 4thlargest AI-specialist workforce in North America13,605 AI specialists in Los Angeles and Orange County, behind only San Francisco, Seattle and New York.CBRE, 2024
- 49,771healthcare jobs Orange County expects to add by 2035The county's largest growth sector; aerospace and defense, the clean economy, life sciences and high tech add about 8,000 more.OC COE, 2026
The Los Angeles and Orange County Centers of Excellence publish the regional labor-market research California's community colleges use for program planning. (LA COE, 2025) (OC COE, 2026)
Worldwide, AI is expected to transform far more jobs than it removes.
Employers surveyed by the World Economic Forum expect a net gain of 78 million jobs by 2030; the ILO finds one job in four has some exposure to generative AI, most of it transformation rather than replacement.
| Measure | Jobs by 2030 |
|---|---|
| Created | +170M |
| Displaced | −92M |
| Net | +78M |
Source: WEF, 2025.
| Group | Share of jobs |
|---|---|
| High-income countries | 34% |
| World | 25% |
| Low-income countries | 11% |
Source: Gmyrek et al., 2025.
Latest U.S. jobs report, August 2026. Payrolls rose by 162,000 and unemployment held at 4.1%. The information industry lost jobs. A monthly reading, revised twice; it is context, not a trend. (BLS, 2026e)
References19 sources, APA 7
- California Employment Development Department, Labor Market Information Division. (n.d.). Los Angeles County projection highlights, 2022–2032. https://labormarketinfo.edd.ca.gov/file/indproj/la$_highlights.pdf
- CBRE. (2024, September 4). Los Angeles/Orange County is fourth largest North American market for workforce talent specializing in AI, according to CBRE's annual 'Scoring Tech Talent' report [Press release]. https://www.cbre.com/press-releases/los-angeles-orange-county-is-fourth-largest-north-american-market-for-workforce
- Gmyrek, P., Berg, J., Kamiński, K., Konopczyński, F., Ładna, A., Nafradi, B., Rosłaniec, K., & Troszyński, M. (2025). Generative AI and jobs: A refined global index of occupational exposure (ILO Working Paper 140). International Labour Organization. https://www.ilo.org/sites/default/files/2025-05/WP140_web.pdf
- Los Angeles Center of Excellence for Labor Market Research. (2025). 2025 sector profiles and sector profile dashboard; Data science occupations in Los Angeles County (October 2024). Centers of Excellence for Labor Market Research. https://coeccc.net/region/los-angeles/
- Magrini, E., & Milde, R. (2025, July 23). Beyond the buzz: Developing the AI skills employers actually need. Lightcast. https://lightcast.io/resources/blog/beyond-the-buzz-press-release-2025-07-23
- McKinsey & Company. (2025, November). The state of AI in 2025: Agents, innovation, and transformation. https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/quantumblack/our-insights/the-state-of-ai
- McKinsey & Company. (2025a, March). The state of AI: How organizations are rewiring to capture value. https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/quantumblack/our-insights/the-state-of-ai-how-organizations-are-rewiring-to-capture-value
- Microsoft & LinkedIn. (2024, May 8). 2024 work trend index annual report: AI at work is here. Now comes the hard part. https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/worklab/work-trend-index/ai-at-work-is-here-now-comes-the-hard-part
- OECD. (2026, June 5). AI and skills: What we know so far. OECD Publishing. https://www.oecd.org/en/publications/ai-and-skills_f843b352-en.html
- Orange County Center of Excellence for Labor Market Research. (2026). 2026 Orange County labor market overview. Centers of Excellence for Labor Market Research. https://coeccc.net/region/orange-county/
- PwC. (2026, June 15). 2026 global AI jobs barometer: Two futures for jobs in an AI era. https://www.pwc.com/gx/en/issues/artificial-intelligence/job-barometer.html
- Stanford Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence. (2026). Economy. In The 2026 AI Index report (Chapter 4; job-posting data from Lightcast). https://hai.stanford.edu/ai-index/2026-ai-index-report/economy
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Western Information Office. (2026d, July 9). Occupational employment and wages in Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim — May 2025. https://www.bls.gov/regions/west/news-release/occupationalemploymentandwages_losangeles.htm
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2026a, August 27). Employment projections: 2025–2035 summary [News release]. https://www.bls.gov/news.release/ecopro.nr0.htm
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2026b). Fastest growing occupations; Management analysts; Market research analysts; Operations research analysts; Computer systems analysts. In Occupational outlook handbook (2025–35 projections). https://www.bls.gov/ooh/
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2026c). Occupational employment and wages, May 2025: Table 1. National employment and wage data by occupation. https://www.bls.gov/news.release/ocwage.t01.htm
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2026e, September 4). The employment situation — August 2026 [News release]. https://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.nr0.htm
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2026f). Artificial intelligence, information technology, and employment, 2024–34. The Economics Daily. https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2026/artificial-intelligence-information-technology-and-employment-2024-34.htm
- World Economic Forum. (2025, January). The future of jobs report 2025. https://www.weforum.org/publications/the-future-of-jobs-report-2025/
Where this page and a source differ, the source is right; write to the program director and it will be corrected.
Join the advisory board
Career-education programs at California community colleges are shaped by the employers who hire from them. The advisory board meets to review what the program teaches, which tools it uses, and what the workforce needs next. If you hire for roles that touch AI, or expect to, we want your voice at the table.
Internships and project partnerships
Students in AI 60, AI 65, AI 70 and the AI 80 capstone build for real problems. A partner organization can bring one: a workflow that needs automating, a service that needs an assistant, a document set that needs a grounded question-answering tool. Students scope it, build it with no-code tools, and hand over documentation.
Internships and work-based learning placements are welcome as well.
Contact
Dr. Vincent Calip, program author and director, Computer & Office Studies, Long Beach City College.
Or email vcalip@lbcc.edu.