I find myself repeating this a few times in recent weeks so might as well write a blog post on this. :)
These days my newsfeed gets bombarded with news for fresh graduates this year having difficulty in getting jobs. Its happening around the world. The first to blame is Trump's tariffs, which I do agree to a certain extent that is the case as it made businesses more cautious of spending, till the situation settle down at least. As an economist, I can tell you tariffs are just temporary at the end of the day and it should not mask the fact that Artificial Intelligence is here to stay rather (Did someone mentioned there is a third AI winter coming?).
LLMs proven that it has now raised the bar of mediocrity. Business owners will sit up and start wondering if they can deploy artificial intelligence into their workflow so they don't have to deal with labor management challenges like work-life balance, union, emotion fallout at work, etc. After weighing the cost-benefit analysis, I will not be surprised, especially in developed economies, AI will make a lot of sense from a capitalist society perspective as compared to hiring humans. This means that folks who are below the bar will be "eliminated" by AI till they have proven that they are either above that mediocrity bar or they have something unique that AI cannot offer at that moment in time.
This sudden raise in the mediocrity bar set by artificial intelligence is likely to have caught the current fresh graduates off-guard, as the university programs is very unlikely to have prepared them for such scenario, given that the current demand for skills set and knowledge will be very much different from the curriculum fresh grads went through, a curriculum that was prepared based on economic circumstances 3-4 years ago.
I foresee that the fresh grads will get impacted in the next, in the best scenario, 4-5 years assuming that the universities quickly update their curriculum to build a workforce with AI in mind. But the very likely scenario is that fresh graduates will be impacted in the next 7 to 8 years, assuming that government put a lot of pressure on universities to update their curriculum.
So what can the soon to be fresh graduates do, since they are midway through the current curriculum? Apologies, I don't think I have a quick solutions but here is what I proposed.
You have to start asking yourself two questions and make sure you have a good answer to that upon graduation or before you kickstart your job search.
First question: Why should a boss hire you and not an Artificial Intelligence?
Second question: Why should a boss hire you and not your peers, since you'll undergo the same curriculum?
Answer these questions well and you are on the right track! No answers for these questions yet? Think harder and faster!
For those that has graduated, I have suggested solutions but they are not quick solutions and requires more effort from you.
1) Gain experience that you know you might not have time to get later. This does not mean travelling only. It means doing jobs that is in high demand perhaps, gain some unique experience that your fellow peers might not get. For instance, stacking shelves at supermarket, be a cashier, wait tables.
Benefits: It makes you empathise, and understand business operations. Gain some income along the way. You get paid while learning.
2) Build up that individual portfolio. Work on projects that will showcase your skills and knowledge. Work and integrate AI into your project. Show that you are able to use the knowledge and skills that you learn, and solve problems!
Benefits: Personal marketing, showcase you are able to integrate AI into your work, a cannot be dismissed work trend. Degree shows you have knowledge, portfolio shows you can apply knowledge and solve problems!
3) Build up your AI Literacy! AI will impact your individual lifestyle and career for the next 10 years at least. You want to keep abreast of what AI can do for your career and what not.
Benefits: Instead of being washed up by AI development, ride the wave of AI progress, use it to your advantage, and you’ll be levelling yourself faster!
Hope the solutions will help you in the longer run!
All the best to the fresh graduates in the next few years. If you have some time from your study, consider undertake the solutions above soon.