Why This 21-Year-Old Isn't Worried About Robots Taking Her Job

School's Out Saturdays on the AGI Podcast

The most important conversations with the people shaping tomorrow—one lesson at a time. Educators, students, and ed-tech innovators join Jason Padgett to explore preparing students for their future, not our past.

Episode Summary:

A Purdue industrial engineering senior reveals how she's landing job offers through strategic networking, using AI to create fake newsreels for cybersecurity training, and why she believes the real career threat isn't automation—it's refusing to learn.

Guest:

Audrey Russell | Senior at Purdue UniversityIndustrial Engineering Major | Six Sigma & Data Analytics Certified

Guest Links:

Audrey on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/audrey-russell-a7929725b/

Edwardson School of Industrial Engineering: https://www.linkedin.com/company/purdueie

Website: https://engineering.purdue.edu/IE

Key Timestamps:

[02:15] Why networking beats AI-written resumes

[05:30] Amazon's 600,000 job automation plan

[08:45] The Luddites: How tech resistance killed England's superpower status

[11:20] Europe and China are winning the automation race

[14:00] Gen Z's AI divide: Study tool vs. cheating device

[18:30] TikTok brain rot vs. Instagram's staying power

[23:45] Creating AI newsreels for corporate cybersecurity exercises

[28:00] Why ChatGPT's pivot to adult content makes business sense (unfortunately)

[31:15] The AI hype cycle: Are we headed for a crash?

[35:40] Junior positions vanishing—where will future leaders get experience?

[40:20] Alpha School's $50K model vs. public school AI reality

[43:50] Why soft skills matter more when robots do the technical work

[46:30] Will 30% of workers with AI replace the other 70%?[49:00] Getting more women into tech leadership roles

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