Qualm Before the Storm

Parents being confronted with perplexing questions from their kids is nothing new. But today’s parents of college or so aged children are faced with a doozy when it comes to giving advice about entering the rapidly changing job market. Career paths that were recently considered the safest route forward have suddenly turned a corner, and are now heading straight into the oncoming headlights of the AI convoy. When my kids bring up the topic, I suggest that getting career advice from a guy who writes a newsletter with no revenue model might not be the wisest idea. “Maybe you should ask Claude.” Making matters even worse (which is the defining characteristic of 2026), today’s job market is terrible for recent college graduates, and that has almost nothing to do with new technology. “Although AI may be replacing some entry-level jobs on the margins, there is little evidence it is the main culprit — at least not yet. Rather, many economists believe employment challenges for young people with college degrees stem more from the ‘low hire, low fire’ dynamics in the labor market.” NYT (Gift Article): Young Graduates Face the Grimmest Job Market in Years.

+ Aside from becoming a billionaire (they seem to be doing great these days, so why not?), is there a safe spot in the job market of the near future? WSJ (Gift Article): Why Healthcare Is Doing the Heavy Lifting in This Job Market. “Forget the AI hype and the data-center boom. What’s keeping the jobs market afloat these days is Grandma and Grandpa … Strip out the medical sector, and the rest of the American economy is actually losing jobs.”