Recent college graduates, their newly minted degrees in hand, are having a hard time landing their first job. What gives? Georgios Petropoulos, a labor economist, explains how rapidly evolving AI technology has quickly altered the job market, especially for young workers seeking entry-level jobs. In this opinion piece, he explains why entry-level jobs matter and proposes changes for how universities and businesses can adapt to these new economic and labor landscapes.

Georgios Petropoulos, “It’s Time to Address the Looming Crisis in Entry-Level Work.” MIT Technology Review, 26 May 2026.

1. Which jobs have seen a slowdown in entry-level hiring, according to Petropoulos? Why? What evidence does Petropoulos give to support his claim?
2. According to Petropoulos, what’s wrong with the advice that young people about to enter the workforce should “learn to code” (¶ 11)? What does he say in response to this naysayer view?
3. How are young people affected by the lack of entry-level jobs? What are the long-term costs of a shrinking job market for young workers? How might businesses be harmed if they outsource entry-level jobs to AI?
4. Read Petropoulos’s essay for how he uses metacommentary to clarify and emphasize his points. Identify one place in his essay where he uses metacommentary well and explain what it does for his argument.
5. Petropoulos thinks higher education should make changes to prioritize “AI fluency” (¶ 17). Others don’t agree. Read (or listen!) to this essay by historian Nils Gilman, in which Gilman argues for the value of broad liberal arts education in the emerging judgment economy. He says that universities “must cultivate the habit of thoughtful reflection, the discipline of testing assumptions and the humility to adjust when the evidence or context shifts” (¶ 37). What do you think? Do you agree with Petropoulos’s view or Gilman’s view about how universities (and students) should respond to the challenges and opportunities of AI in the classroom and in the workforce? Why? In your response, be sure to summarize the two views in your own words.