The exact tool that’s robbing Gen Z of entry-level jobs after college is the same one they’re leaning on for career advice.
About a quarter of Gen Z say they’ve followed ChatGPT’s career advice and are glad they did, according to a recent study from Southeastern Oklahoma State University. Of that same group of young professionals, only 3% admit they regret it.
That’s perhaps because they’re taking it with a pinch of salt: When asked how they’d respond if AI warned that their dream job had a poor return on investment, 20% said they’d pursue it anyway. Nearly a quarter said they’d reconsider, while the largest share—41%—admitted they weren’t sure what they would do.
With just a fraction of the young workers wishing they hadn’t used AI in the job hunt, Gen Z has emerged as the generation most likely to turn to AI for career guidance.
How Americans—from Gen Z to boomers—are using AI in their job hunt
More than half of Americans are considering a career change. But Gen Z is leading the trend at 57%—ahead of millennials (55%) and Gen X (50%)—so any way they can get a leg-up in the competitive job market is a plus.
Around 42% of young professionals have used an AI tool to find their career, compared to 34% of millennials, 29% of Gen X, and just 23% of baby boomers. And their reliance on ChatGPT doesn’t stop at just picking where they should kick off their 9-to-5s—it’s also assisting during the entire job hunt.
More than one in three Americans has used an AI tool, like ChatGPT, to help them make general career-related decisions, like deciding whether to relocate for work and prepping for interviews.
About 43% have used it for writing resumes and cover letters, 28% leverage the tech in exploring new roles, and 19% lean on AI to identify high-demand, high-paying jobs. And so far, it seems to be working in their favor; nearly one-fifth of Americans said AI introduced them to a career path they had never considered before.
AI may be pointing Gen Z jobseekers to tech—but the roles are drying up
AI’s role as a de facto career coach is helping individuals of all ages explore new career paths. According to research at Southeastern Oklahoma State University, tech and healthcare are among the most popular fields Americans are exploring with generative AI.
However, for tech in particular, Gen Z may find that opportunities aren’t so bountiful as once promised.
As AI agents take over, Gen Z is facing a shortage of entry-level roles. Hiring for new graduates in the 15 largest tech companies fell by over 50% since 2019, according to a report from VC firm SignalFire. Before the pandemic, new graduates made up 15% of Big Tech hires. Now, that number has dropped to just 7%.
The challenges have gotten so tough that 77% of job seekers are turning to their parents to sit in on interviews with them, negotiate salaries, and solve workplace conflicts.
Yet a staggering 58% of recent graduates are still looking for full-time work, compared to 25% of earlier graduates, like millennials, Gen Xers, and baby boomers before them. Young job-hunters are also three times less likely to have a job lined up out of school.
Tech leaders have had differing opinions on what the future of work looks like for those starting a white collar job out of college.
Billionaire Sam Altman said it’s actually the “most exciting time to be starting out one’s career, maybe ever,” and is envious of young people, saying his early career jobs will look “boring” by comparison. Comparatively, he said, Gen Z will be exploring the solar system and holding jobs with sky-high salaries.
Meanwhile, other leaders such as Dario Amodei told Axios that he believed AI could eliminate half of all entry-level white-collar jobs within five years, a move he said could cause unemployment to spike to between 10% and 20%.
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