Baccalaureate results have now been published in Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire and several other countries in the region. In many families, the same question comes up: “Which field should I choose?”

Unfortunately, this decision is still too often driven by habit, trends or family preferences, rather than by an understanding of the profound changes taking place in the job market.

A choice that shapes a career

I speak from experience. With an F3 Baccalaureate (Electrical Engineering), I chose to move into computer science after analysing the major technological shifts that were already taking shape. Looking back, that choice largely shaped my professional path.

Numbers that speak for themselves

Today, the indicators show that this transformation is accelerating:

  • 149 zettabytes of data created in 2024;
  • 394 zettabytes expected in 2028;
  • 78% of stored data is now unstructured;
  • a growing share of content published online is generated by artificial intelligence;
  • bots now account for a major share of global web traffic.

Sources: Rivery, Domo, Wild Code School, Komprise, Next, ZDNet, 01net.

Every sector is affected

These figures go far beyond technology. They signal a profound transformation of every sector: healthcare, finance, agriculture, industry, retail, public administration, education…

In other words, mastering data and artificial intelligence is gradually becoming a strategic skill, whatever one’s profession.

This is not about encouraging every young person to become a data scientist or AI engineer. It is about teaching them to choose a path that takes into account the economic, technological and social realities that will shape the decades ahead.

A shared responsibility

As parents, teachers, professionals and decision-makers, we share a responsibility: to help young people make informed choices, grounded both in their aspirations and in the needs of the world that awaits them.

Choosing a field of study should never be a decision made by default. It should be a genuine plan for the future.

And you: if a young person close to you passed their Baccalaureate today, what criteria would you advise them to consider before choosing a university programme?