AI and your first rung · 6 min read
Graduating into AI: a plan for your first year
Entry-level hiring is shrinking in AI-exposed jobs. A month-by-month plan for anyone finishing school or university this year.
The short answer
If you're finishing your studies this year, the first rung is narrower in AI-exposed jobs, so don't compete on the tasks AI does fastest. Spend this year using AI on the real tasks of a job you're curious about, building one finished project that shows that work, and aiming at roles where AI helps people rather than replaces them. Show employers you can check AI's work, not just produce it.
Key takeaways
- Young workers in the most AI-exposed jobs are 19% below trend, mostly through fewer hires.
- Use AI daily on the real tasks of one direction you're curious about.
- Build one finished project that shows you finish and you check.
- Talk about how you catch AI's mistakes in interviews.
- Roles mixing judgement, people and hands-on work have more room.
On this pageThe honest picture
The honest picture
The CEO of one of the biggest AI companies has warned that half of entry-level office jobs could go. The data so far is narrower but real: Stanford finds employment for 22 to 25 year olds in the most AI-exposed jobs is 19% below where it would otherwise be, mostly through fewer hires. Across the whole market, most jobs are still there.
That means two things. Sending the same CV to the same junior jobs as everyone else is harder than it was. And people who can show they work well with AI have something most applicants don't.
Month 1: pick a direction and use AI on it every day
Pick one direction you're curious about. It doesn't have to be a final answer. For a few weeks, use AI on the real tasks of that job: draft the report, summarise the case, clean the dataset, write the code. Keep a note of what it got wrong and how you noticed.
Months 2 and 3: build one finished thing
One project, finished, that looks like the work. Aiming at analysis? Take public data, answer one real question, and show where you checked the AI's numbers. Aiming at marketing? Run a small campaign for a local business or club and report what happened. The project should show the two things employers struggle to find: you finish, and you check.
Month 4 onwards: apply where AI helps people
- Read the job ad for the tasks. If it's mostly drafting and summarising, expect fewer openings. If it mixes judgement, people and hands-on work, there's more room.
- Talk about checking in interviews. "I used AI for the first draft, then found these three mistakes" is a strong answer.
- Look past the obvious. Healthcare, skilled trades and client-facing or regulated roles are where AI mostly helps rather than replaces.
- Don't wait for the perfect role. A first job is a place to learn, not a final answer.
If you're finishing school, not university
The same plan works at 18, on a smaller scale. Use AI on your coursework the way a junior would use it at work: draft, then check and improve. Try a short piece of a job you're curious about, such as a weekend shift, a small project for a relative's business, or an employer's free job simulation. Apprenticeships deserve a serious look, because they pay you to learn on real work, which is exactly the experience that's getting harder to find.
What not to do
- Don't collect certificates instead of finishing a project.
- Don't hide that you use AI. Show how you use it well.
- Don't assume your field is safe or doomed. Look at what the job's tasks actually are.
Test a future job before you train for it
A forecast can tell you which jobs are growing. It can't tell you whether you'd enjoy the work. Laddie, our AI coach, starts from the experience you already have and works through four steps with you:
- Explore: directions your experience carries into, including work that's only now taking shape as AI changes jobs.
- Try: an experiment small enough to finish this week, a small piece of the work itself.
- Learn: note which part you liked and which part you avoided, and keep it as a record of what you tried.
- Apply: when a direction turns into a job post, OffLadder CV shapes your CV for it. What you can't show yet goes back to Laddie as a short lesson, a 15-minute task and a mock interview.
Questions people ask
- Is it harder for graduates to get jobs because of AI?
- In the most AI-exposed roles, yes, mostly because companies hire fewer juniors. Stanford's August 2026 update puts young workers in those roles 19% below trend. Across all jobs, Yale's Budget Lab found no broad disruption.
- What should I learn before I graduate?
- How to use AI on the real tasks of your chosen field, and how to check its output. Then build one finished project that shows both.
- Which graduate jobs are safest from AI?
- Ones that mix judgement, people and hands-on work, such as healthcare, skilled trades, teaching and client-facing roles. Check the tasks in a job ad rather than the title.
- Should I do a master's degree to wait out the AI job market?
- Only if the field you want needs it. A year of study costs money and delays the experience employers ask for. Test the work first, and if a master's still makes sense, choose one with real projects or a placement.
- Should I say I use AI in job applications?
- Yes, specifically. Say what you did with AI, what you checked and what changed. Hiding it looks odd now that most employers expect it.
Exercises are practice, not evidence of career fit or a qualification. How to read our guides and report a correction.
Sources
- Canaries in the coal mine? August 2026 update · Stanford Digital Economy Lab
- Behind the Curtain: A white-collar bloodbath · Axios
- Evaluating the impact of AI on the labor market: current state of affairs · The Budget Lab at Yale
How this page is written
Sources support the factual background, not a guarantee that an exercise predicts career fit. Fictional practice material is labelled. Dates record content updates; no independent expert review is implied. More about OffLadder.