College graduation season is here - caps and gowns, boring speeches and…not many jobs?  

The culprit? AI is now eating the bottom rungs of the career ladder. Recent data points to a troubling (and accelerating) trend:

• Technology and Software Development: Entry-level software engineering job postings dropped by 27% year-over-year, as AI tools like GitHub Copilot and automated testing frameworks reduce the demand for junior devs.

• Media and Marketing: A 32% decrease in entry-level content creation and copywriting roles from 2022. Generative AI tools are now producing ad copy, social media posts, and basic blog content at scale—tasks once reserved for junior marketing hires.

• Finance and Professional Services: 40% of financial firms have paused or eliminated analyst-level hiring in favor of AI-driven analytics tools that perform modeling and reporting faster and at lower cost.

• Customer Service and Support: Entry-level support jobs declined by 30% over the past two years as AI chatbots and virtual agents replaced traditional support roles across sectors.

These aren’t just cyclical contractions—they reflect structural changes in how work is done. 

For senior leaders, this creates a new set of strategic questions: How do we rethink our talent pipelines? How do we preserve the long-term health of our workforce if we're not investing in its beginning? And does the Academy need a rapid pivot to adjust to this new reality? 

For new graduates, first—congratulations. Second, make sure AI becomes an asset, not a threat. That means getting deeply proficient with AI tools and agents—fast.  And for parents?  Go easy on Junior if he comes back home for a few months.