SThree Research: Scientists and engineers leaving jobs that AI has changed "beyond recognition"

- One in six (16%) have seen STEM colleagues leave after AI changed their work ‘beyond recognition’
- 45% of STEM professionals say their organisation has struggled to replace specialists who left

Scientists and engineers from the world’s largest and most influential STEM economies are voting with their feet as artificial intelligence reshapes their jobs, new research suggests.

One in six (16%) STEM professionals have seen colleagues leave in the past year after AI changed their work ‘beyond recognition’, according to research from global STEM workforce consultancy SThree*.
Rather than simply replacing workers, the findings suggest AI is changing the nature of some technical jobs so much that employees are choosing to leave themselves.

Meanwhile, around one in seven (14%) saw colleagues leave for AI-related reasons linked to reduced career progression, while one in eight (13%) cited unsustainable workloads.

This movement comes at a time when experts are already difficult to replace. Almost half (45%) of STEM professionals say their organisation has struggled to replace specialists who left in the past year.

The findings also reveal wider concern about the pace of change. More than a third (37%) believe their organisation is introducing technologies such as AI too quickly to fully consider the impact on people’s roles.
The effects are already being felt in career pathways, as more than three in ten (32%) say senior employees are doing work previously done by junior colleagues as AI reshapes entry-level roles.

Timo Lehne, CEO of SThree, said: “Competition for specialist STEM skills is already intense. Businesses around the world are competing for specialist expertise just as AI transforms the jobs those people do.
“That makes retention increasingly important. If experienced people no longer see the work, development or progression they signed up for, they can take their expertise elsewhere. For employers, losing that capability can leave a gap that is difficult and costly to rebuild.

“But movement creates opportunity too. As the global talent market becomes more fluid, businesses have a chance to access experienced specialists who may previously have been much harder to reach, including people moving between employers, industries and markets.

“We’re tracking these changes across global STEM markets to help organisations identify the capabilities they need to protect and where the best skills can be sourced next.”

Notes to editors
* All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc. Total sample size was 4,126 STEM employees in the UK, Netherlands, Germany, US and Japan. Fieldwork was undertaken between 10th July – 1st September 2026. The survey was carried out online.

Collectively, our five focus countries account for around half of global R&D expenditure (PPP, 2022; NSF/OECD; UAE estimated from GII/World Bank) and international patent filings (WIPO PCT, 2023), underscoring their role in the global STEM landscape.