The AI Job Crisis: Why Top Graduates Are Struggling to Find Work
The writing has been on the wall for a while now, but seeing a Berkeley professor openly discuss how even his outstanding students can’t find jobs sends chills down my spine. Having spent countless hours at my local coffee shop in Brunswick Street watching my own kid struggle with university applications, this hits particularly close to home.
Let’s be honest - we’re witnessing a fundamental shift in the employment landscape. When I started my career in the ’90s, a university degree was practically a golden ticket to a decent job. Now? Even graduates from prestigious institutions are struggling to get their foot in the door. The tech sector, once the promised land of six-figure salaries and cushy benefits, is showing serious cracks.
The professor’s observation that this trend might be irreversible isn’t just doom-saying - it’s a sobering reality check. At my local tech meetups in the CBD, I’m hearing similar stories from both fresh graduates and experienced professionals. The recent wave of layoffs at major tech companies hasn’t helped, but there’s something bigger at play here.
Artificial Intelligence is rapidly transforming the workplace in ways we barely comprehend. When Google’s CEO mentions that over 25% of their new code is AI-generated, we need to pay attention. This isn’t just about entry-level positions anymore - it’s about the fundamental nature of work itself.
The traditional response would be to suggest upskilling or pivoting to new industries, but that feels like putting a band-aid on a bullet wound. We’re not just dealing with a temporary market downturn - we’re witnessing the early stages of a technological revolution that could make traditional employment models obsolete.
Some suggest Universal Basic Income as a solution, but given the current political climate, I’m not holding my breath. Others recommend learning trades or focusing on “human” skills that AI can’t easily replicate. While there’s merit to these suggestions, they don’t address the broader systemic issues we’re facing.
The real challenge isn’t just about finding jobs for today’s graduates - it’s about reimagining how our society functions when traditional employment becomes increasingly scarce. Looking at my kid’s generation, I worry we’re not preparing them for the reality they’ll face. We’re still teaching them to compete for jobs that might not exist by the time they graduate.
Yesterday, while walking through the State Library, I overheard a group of students discussing their career prospects. Their anxiety was palpable, but so was their resignation to the situation. They’re not naive - they see what’s coming. The question is: do our political and business leaders see it too?
We need to start having serious conversations about the future of work, income distribution, and social safety nets. The window for proactive solutions is closing fast. Either we address these challenges head-on, or we risk creating a society with massive technological capability but widespread economic disparity.
The coming years will be crucial. We can either let these changes happen to us, or we can work to shape them in a way that benefits everyone. But whatever we do, we need to act now. The future our kids will inherit depends on it.