AI Is Gutting Entry-Level Jobs And Gen Z Is Paying The Price, Warns LinkedIn's Aneesh Raman

LinkedIn's chief economic opportunity officer, Aneesh Raman, has issued an alarming warning about the impact of artificial intelligence on entry-level jobs. He outlined how AI is rapidly transforming entry-level work, leaving Gen Z job seekers at risk.

What Happened: In an op-ed for the New York Times, Raman describes how roles for junior software engineers, paralegals and retail associates, which were once meant to train newcomers, are being delegated to AI tools.

"Breaking first is the bottom rung of the career ladder," Raman writes. AI technology is being used to complete basic tasks like debugging code, reviewing documents, and managing customer support in minutes.

According to him, sectors like finance, law, hospitality, and professional services are witnessing their entry-level roles transformed by automation, just as the unemployment rate for college graduates has risen to 30 percent since 2022, outpacing the general population.

This is even though 40% of Gen Z workers are "willing to switch jobs and even take a 2 to 5% pay cut if they were given more opportunities to advance," according to LinkedIn research.

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Why It Matters: "Young adults who experience six months of unemployment at age 22 can expect to earn approximately $22,000 less over the next decade," Raman writes. Without meaningful entry points into the industries of their choice, Gen Z workers without insider connections will confront even higher barriers.

The ripple effects, he says, will be felt throughout society: "When manufacturing jobs vanished across America's heartland, the result wasn't just lost income but also social and political upheaval."

In Raman's view, efforts to upgrade curricula, like American University's AI-integrated business program and a new national community college consortium backed by Intel and Microsoft, might be a way to tackle this growing problem.

On the role of the companies, he says: "They need to redesign entry-level jobs that give workers higher-level tasks that add value beyond what can be produced by A.I.," referring to KPMG and Macfarlanes as examples, where new grads are being assigned sophisticated tasks, leveraging AI as a tool instead of a threat.

Raman's warning comes on the heels of Microsoft's decision to reduce 6000 jobs globally, after CEO Satya Nadella indicated that AI now writes upto 30% of the company's code.

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