AI Eliminates Entry-Level Jobs as 4.6 Million Students Missed 2023 Internships
Updated
Updated · Fortune · May 15
AI Eliminates Entry-Level Jobs as 4.6 Million Students Missed 2023 Internships
3 articles · Updated · Fortune · May 15
66% of hiring managers say recent hires are not fully prepared, as AI automates tasks that once trained new workers and weakens the classroom-to-career bridge.
4.6 million students who wanted internships could not get one in 2023, even though 87% of employed graduates say internships helped them land a job.
56% of graduates who feel unprepared cite missing job-specific skills, while 79% of Gen Z say on-the-job learning during post-secondary education is important.
Colleges are being pushed to build experience into coursework, expand co-ops and apprenticeships, and track employment outcomes more closely as employers prize judgment, adaptability and problem-solving.
97% of Northeastern co-op students are employed or in graduate school within nine months, underscoring the article's broader call for educators, employers and policymakers to share early-career training.
Will immersive AI-driven learning truly bridge the experience gap, or will new graduates still face barriers in an automated job market?
Could the rise of AI actually create new types of entry-level opportunities we haven't imagined—if so, what might they look like?
38% of Entry-Level Jobs at Risk: AI’s Disruption of Early Careers and the Urgent Need for New Pathways
Overview
Since early 2023, entry-level jobs in the US have faced a major collapse, especially for young workers. This shift is mainly driven by the rapid rise of artificial intelligence in the workplace. AI agents are now handling many tasks that humans used to do, leading to a sharp decline in entry-level roles. As AI systems become better at automating routine and junior-level work, the need for human workers in foundational business processes drops. Jobs like data entry clerk are especially at risk, with AI expected to impact a large share of these positions, reshaping the early-career job market.