While AI stokes career anxiety, more college grads are looking to accounting as a steady, high-paying bet.

The big picture: The stereotypically "dull and tedious" job, Fortune reports, "has struggled for years to attract young talent." But that's starting to change.

By the numbers: Total U.S. postsecondary accounting enrollment rose to roughly 313,400 students in 2025 — up from 293,800 in 2024, according to the National Student Clearinghouse.

• Meanwhile, fall undergraduate accounting enrollment also climbed for the third straight year.

Zoom in: At UCCS, where accounting is offered as an emphasis area within general business programs, 53 such degrees were granted during the 2024-25 school year, up from 37 the year before.

• Yes, but: Enrollment dipped slightly to 154 this spring from 162 a year earlier, per data shared with Axios.

State of play: Colorado College also offers accounting coursework. At Pikes Peak State College, students can pursue an associate degree or certificates in the field.

Between the lines: Rather than replacing accountants, research suggests AI is helping them work more efficiently by taking over the "boring" parts of the job, like routine bookkeeping.

• Furthering the appeal for students: Some colleges report job placement rates above 95% for graduates, with median starting salaries around $80,000, according to Fortune.

The bottom line: "I have not talked to another accounting person who has a degree in accounting who cannot find a job," one recent grad told the outlet.

America's college towns are hot spots of AI usage, according to a new Microsoft report.

The big picture: Every county in the top 15 for AI adoption is home to a college or university.

• Williamsburg, Virginia, tops the list, with nearly 75% of working-age people using AI as of the first quarter of this year.

Zoom in: El Paso County — home to UCCS, Colorado College, Pikes Peak State College and the Air Force Academy — has a roughly 34% AI user share.

• That's the seventh-highest share among all Colorado counties and above both the state average (32%) and national level (31%).

Reality check: While college-aged people are the heaviest users of AI, they're also among its loudest critics, Microsoft president Brad Smith previously told Axios.

More families are outsourcing the hassle of moving students into — and out of — their dorms.

The big picture: Dorm room move bookings nationwide rose 36% in May from a year earlier, according to Taskrabbit data shared with Axios.

• Bookings also jumped 16% during the August-September move-in season compared with the same period in 2024.

And once the boxes are in, the decorating begins.

• "Hobby walls" — displays built around handmade crafts, collections and personal interests — could be the next big dorm decor trend, according to design site Dorm Therapy.

What's next: Residence hall move-in starts Aug. 12 at Colorado College and Aug. 17 at UCCS.

Brad Smith, vice chair and president of Microsoft, is calling out tech leaders for scaring college graduates about AI's effect on jobs.

What he's saying: "Now, [graduates] finally get to enter the workforce and here comes AI?" he told Axios co-founder Mike Allen.

• "Too often, this is being presented to them as something that is going to happen to them, not for them. And I think this is their way of saying: 'Wait a second. Not so fast. We have a voice. We want to be heard.'"

Zoom out: Smith also wrote in a new paper that AI getting booed at this spring's graduation ceremonies should be a "powerful wake-up call for the tech sector."

• "For the past half century, the youngest generation of people and workers has led the way in adopting new digital technologies," Smith wrote. "When people who use a new technology complain about it, we had better take notice."