With all the hype around AI, one of the most pressing—and under-discussed—questions for students is: what will be left for us when we graduate?
Dario Amodei, CEO of AI firm Anthropic, recently warned that in the next 1–5 years, artificial intelligence could eliminate up to 50% of entry-level white-collar jobs in fields like tech, finance, law, and consulting. He says we could see unemployment jump to 10–20% as companies adopt tools like Claude 4 to perform tasks once handled by junior employees and interns.
While AI has enormous upside—potentially curing diseases and growing the economy—it also poses serious risks if not managed carefully. Amodei criticized both government and industry leaders for failing to prepare, warning that we’re shifting from AI that helps people do their jobs to AI that replaces them entirely.
A recent report from venture capital firm SignalFire backs that up:
Big Tech hiring of new grads is down 50% from pre-pandemic levels.
Hundreds of thousands of tech jobs have been slashed.
In 2024, early-career hires made up just 7% of total Big Tech hiring—a 25% drop from 2023.
And many entry-level tasks are now fully automated, with AI doing what interns and new grads used to do.
Some predict that 50–60% of all jobs could be automated within the next 20 years.
What do you think?
Has the threat of AI replacing entry-level jobs influenced your choice of major or career path?
Has it changed how you're approaching your job or internship search?
Do you feel like AI is already affecting your chances of landing a position after graduation?
