The Career Ladder Is Broken. Now What?

What happens when the career ladder you spent years climbing suddenly collapses beneath you — and the only way forward is to admit the old rules no longer apply, the entry-level positions have vanished, and the future of work looks nothing like what we were promised?

In this raw and unfiltered episode of The Exit Interview | On Air, hosts Shana Ayabe and Kisha Imani Cameron unpack the seismic shifts reshaping the labor market as AI eliminates roughly 16,000 jobs per month, according to Goldman Sachs. From BCG's report concluding that AI will reshape more jobs than it replaces to Yale researchers revealing that entry-level roles are quietly disappearing before new graduates can even get a foothold, this conversation breaks down what's really happening to professionals at every stage of their career — and why no one is safe.

From coders and financial analysts to customer service reps and even surgeons, the jobs we once believed were recession proof are now being disrupted at a pace the market can't sustain. The traditional career ladder — student, doer, manager, decision maker — is being gutted from the middle out. Entry-level workers can't get experience. Mid-level professionals are being squeezed out. Senior leaders are facing age discrimination after decades of tenure. And the entire system is collapsing in real time.

This episode explores:

Why AI is eliminating the middle of the career ladder and what that means for everyone

How entry-level positions are vanishing before new graduates can build foundational skills

The brutal reality that both inexperience and overexperience are now liabilities

Why traditional job titles and hierarchies are becoming obsolete

The shift from experience-based hiring to skill-based hiring and what that actually means

How companies are overcorrecting from COVID overhiring and why mass layoffs might backfire

Why the future of work might look more like communal living and generational households

The case for human-centered experiences and why in-person events might be the next gold rush