Over the last five years, career platform LinkedIn asked nearly half a million people how they feel about their careers. This year, the results are stark: young people are way more pessimistic than all other age groups.
Looking at the headlines, I can’t blame them. I keep reading stories about how hard it is for new college graduates to get their first jobs. Since 2023, job postings for entry-level roles have fallen by more than 35% in the United States, according to some estimates. Data from LinkedIn says 63% of executives surveyed admit that AI will likely take over some tasks that entry-level employees currently handle.
Anecdotally, I see these trends at play with my own kids. My 25-year-old son with a master’s degree found it hard to get a job. His girlfriend – who has two master’s degrees – is struggling to find a paid job in her field. They are part of the “rejection generation”, young adults who send out hundreds of CVs, only to get rejected. It all feels very different than just a few years ago, when my older children were starting their careers.
There are disagreements about how much AI is to blame here, but according to new LinkedIn findings, workers are worried: 41% of professionals say the pace of AI change is taking a toll on their wellbeing.
I wanted to talk about all of this with Aneesh Raman. He’s the chief economic opportunity officer at LinkedIn and recently wrote an opinion piece for the New York Times about the breakdown of the career ladder – and what it means for young people.