August 27, 2025 • 12 mins
In today's work-related headlines, Pete Newsome from 4 Corner Resources shares the results of a new Stanford study that proves AI is hurting young workers, a tech company that's paying junior AI staff $1,000,000, why workers have FOBO (fear of becoming obsolete), and LinkedIn's claim that professional networks are more trusted than AI and search engines. Also: find out where the word "salary" comes from!
News Articles:
1. https://digitaleconomy.stanford.edu/publications/canaries-in-the-coal-mine/
2. https://www.wsj.com/tech/ai/ai-jobs-entry-level-salary-ab2a11c0?mod=hp_lead_pos9
3. https://hrdailyadvisor.com/2025/08/26/the-rise-of-fobo-why-workers-are-eyeing-ai-proof-careers/
4. https://news.linkedin.com/en-us/2025/networks--not-ai-or-search--are-the--1-trusted-source-amid-infor
🧠WANT TO LEARN MORE? Be sure to subscribe and check out 4 Corner Resources at https://www.4cornerresources.com/
👋 FOLLOW PETE NEWSOME ONLINE:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/petenewsome/
Blog Articles: https://www.4cornerresources.com/blog/
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Pete Newsome (00:03):
This is Cornering the Job Market.
For August 27th, I'm Pete withFour Corner Resources.
Sharing the work-relatedheadlines you need to know today
, including how 25-year-olds canmake a million dollars a year,
why some workers have a fear ofbecoming obsolete and LinkedIn
says workers should trustLinkedIn.
I know that's a shocker.
We'll get to that in a minute,but first there's a new Stanford
(00:24):
study called Canaries in theCoal Mine Six Facts About the
Recent Employment Effects ofArtificial Intelligent and.
I could talk for hours aboutthis, because this is
fascinating.
This is really hard and fastdata that shows what's happening
, and what it tells us is thatAI isn't just transforming work,
but it's cutting off the bottomrung of the career ladder for
(00:45):
entry-level workers, and youreally can't deny that once you
see this data.
So I'll go through the factsquickly.
Fact one employment for 22 to25-year-olds in AI-exposed jobs
has dropped 13% since late 2022.
Ai-exposed jobs I really likethat term.
There's so many new terms thatwe encounter almost on a daily
(01:07):
basis lately, but this one, Ithink, is relevant and should
stick around AI exposed jobs andto me, that is jobs that are at
risk of being fully displacedby AI.
So these are fields likesoftware development and
customer support, where AI canreally automate routine tasks.
And we've known this was coming.
I've been saying it's alreadyhere, but now the data really
(01:31):
supports that.
The second fact is that olderworkers and now older is
relative here, they classifyolder as those over 25, in the
same roles seem to be doing justfine.
Their employment is stable oreven rising in some cases.
So its study indicates it's nota general downturn, it's really
concentrated on entry-levelemployees.
(01:51):
Fact three the distinction comesdown to automation versus
augmentation.
So in jobs where AI can fullyreplace human effort, that's
where young workers are seeingthe decline.
But in roles where AI augmentshuman performance, those
declines don't appear.
Now I think this is reallytelling as well.
I mean, david Sachs, the AIczar, has gone on record a few
(02:13):
times saying that he doesn'treally think AI is at risk of
replacing jobs.
One of his quotes is it'sactually very hard to replace a
human job entirely.
I think it's easier to replacepieces of it, and this study
shows that statement reallydoesn't hold up.
These jobs are being replacedentirely.
So it's not just aboutaugmentation, it's about full
(02:34):
automation taking place.
Fact four it's not just aboutcompany-wide slowdown.
So the study indicated that youcan't really blame just what's
happening with companies as awhole.
This is specific to theentry-level young workers out
there.
Fact five wages haven't taken ahit, so compensation is
basically flat, and the studyfound that AI's first effect is
(02:57):
reducing head count, not cuttingpay.
And then fact six is thispattern holds everywhere.
They looked at well beyond justtech companies.
They looked at remote jobs,compared different industries
and the story is the same.
It's systemic and it's reallybeen growing since about 2022.
So what they shared was thatthese six facts provide early,
(03:19):
large-scale evidence consistentwith the hypothesis that the AI
revolution is beginning to havea significant and
disproportionate impact onentry-level workers in the
American labor market.
So what does that mean?
Well, it means AI isn't justabout streamlining tasks, it's
reshaping who gets theopportunities in the first place
, and the Gen Z workers are theones who are being squeezed out
(03:40):
right now.
This is scary, because ifthere's no entry-level pipeline,
where will the next generationof skilled workers come from?
This is a massive challenge foreveryone involved, from
educators to employers and, ofcourse, the policymakers.
You can argue whethergovernment should be involved in
any of this, but it is going tohave such an impact on all of
us over time.
(04:01):
I'm not happy that this ishappening.
It's inevitable that it'shappening.
But I'm happy we're seeing thishard and fast data being
reported now, because you can'tdeny this transformation anymore
.
So if that's the bad news, atleast for young workers.
Meanwhile, in the Wall StreetJournal there's an article that
is titled these AI skilled20-somethings are making
(04:23):
hundreds of thousands a year.
It says that entry-level AIprofessionals saw a 12% increase
in salaries from 24 to 25 andare advancing to management
roles at twice the rate of theirpeers in traditional technology
fields.
So I guess if you are using AIand that is what your career and
job consists of you're going tobe in good shape.
(04:44):
I mean, what a tale of twopolar opposite scenarios, right?
But some of the numbers thatthey're reporting is really
staggering.
I mean.
It says entry-level roles in AIand machine learning
specifically, are paying between$190,000 and $260,000 in base
salary alone.
I mean, think about that.
Those are massive numbers thatwe've just never seen before.
(05:08):
Now Ali Godsi is the CEO ofDatabricks, if I pronounce that
right.
He says that they definitelyhave junior people making a big
impact and they're getting paida lot.
Under 25, you could be making amillion.
I mean, that is a direct quotefrom the CEO of this company,
who's a data analytics softwarecompany the CEO of this company,
(05:30):
who's a data analytics softwarecompany.
But he also said which Ithought was curious that they
can't.
He said we can't for the lifeof us get the more senior people
to adopt it.
Why not?
I mean, that's strange to methat if you are an experienced
professional and you have achance to use AI, especially if
it's going to help you makesignificantly more money, I just
don't know why you wouldn't,especially if it's going to help
you make significantly moremoney.
I just don't know why youwouldn't, especially for a
(05:50):
technology company.
But that's what he said, atleast at his organization.
So look, ai fluency is not aluxury anymore.
I think that's what this data,or this article is telling us,
in addition to the data from theStanford study.
You better get in the game.
If you're not, and if you're anolder worker, that's no excuse.
I mean, you have to evolve, youhave to stay current and
(06:14):
relevant.
That's always been the case.
But, specifically with AI, youdon't have a choice.
It is here, it's not coming.
It's here Now.
There's a completely other sideof the coin with this.
I mean these articles on AI arejust there's too many of them
to keep up with, so I'm reallytrying to just grab the top ones
each day.
But in the HR Daily Advisortoday, there's an article titled
(06:35):
the Rise of FOBO why WorkersAre Eyeing AI-Proof Careers.
I mean, if there's an AI-proofcareer out there, I'm unaware of
it.
I think that's a naive view totake.
That may be beside the pointfrom this article, but look, ai
is certainly not something youcan ignore.
(06:57):
So trying to AI-proof yourcareer is a bit of a dangerous
path to go down, in my opinion.
But FOBO have you heard thatone yet?
Fear of becoming obsoletethat's what this article is all
about, and there were someinteresting stats that I pulled
out from it.
One is that 21% of workers saythey've lost a job or know
someone who has, due to AIdisruption.
That's a big number.
(07:18):
One out of five know someonewho's lost a job or have lost
themselves.
I think that's a bit of astretch.
Probably.
Maybe I mean it's coming, it'shere, but one out of five,
that's a lot.
Another stat was that 37% ofworkers are actively learning AI
skills to stay relevant.
I mean, that seems low to me,right?
So the first one seemed high,this one seems low.
(07:39):
Only 37% should be 100%, andshame on you if you're not
taking that upon yourself tolearn AI because it's free.
You're not taking that uponyourself to learn AI because
it's free.
Just get a chat GPT account,get on Grok, get on Gemini.
I mean those are three of thebig ones, but there are no
shortage of ways and places togo teach yourself AI skills, to
(08:00):
remain current with what's goingon in the job market.
And again, I don't feel foranyone who's not willing to help
themselves in that regard.
But 28% of the people surveyedsaid they plan to shift into
careers they believe to be AIproof.
I don't know what those are.
Good luck, one out of four ofyou that we'll see how that
(08:21):
plays out for you, but Iwouldn't stick your head in the
sand with AI, far from it.
And then, finally, 18% feardisplacement, even in roles that
haven't yet been automated.
That's low.
I think we should all feardisplacement if we're not taking
steps to prevent that fromhappening.
There is no question in my mindthat I think all of these
(08:42):
headlines today show that thereare going to be big losers and
big winners as AI becomes moreprevalent across all industries
and all jobs, all roles.
I don't know any that won't beimpacted.
I'm sure you can come up withsomething obscure, but I would
assume the worst, and then youwon't be surprised and you can
(09:03):
do something about it.
Prevent you being on the badside of this deal.
So, whatever you're doing today,my advice, my strong advice to
anyone who's in the workforce,is to figure out how AI can
supplement what you're doing.
It can improve what you'redoing.
How you can use it to be moreeffective, more efficient in
your job.
That, to me, is the key tostaying relevant in all of this.
(09:26):
And then, finally, for today,linkedin.
Linkedin says that the numberone trusted source for
professionals isn't AI or searchengine.
It's their professional network.
So, according to LinkedIn, 43%of professionals trust their own
network for advice at work morethan those relying on AI tools
(09:48):
or search engines.
Well, I hope those you'retrusting aren't competing for
the same job as you.
Look, we all have people in ourlives we trust, but I don't
know if our network as a wholeis more reliable than hard facts
and data.
I'd caution against that.
But this article today also saysthat 64% of people surveyed say
(10:09):
colleagues help them makedecisions faster and with more
confidence.
Yeah, I buy into that.
That makes sense.
51% of professionals saylearning AI feels like another
job.
I guess, but it's learning anew job if what you're learning
is a whole lot easier than whatyou're doing today.
I mean, there's no one using AIthat I'm aware of to make
things more challenging anddifficult.
(10:29):
Quite the opposite.
So don't overreact to it.
Yes, it's happening, it'sinevitable, but by paying
attention, you'll be much betteroff.
I know I keep saying that todaya lot, but that is the message
that's really important foreveryone to understand.
And then the survey said that33% feel embarrassed admitting
limited AI knowledge, and sothey stay away from talking
(10:52):
about it altogether.
Well, that's not going to help,right?
And for the last time today,I'll say that do your own
research.
The tools are free, and it'snot just asking AI to teach you
AI, although you could get onYouTube, right.
There's a wealth of informationavailable there and no shortage
of people who will tell youeverything you need to know, and
(11:16):
it's all free.
And then, finally, I'll evensay LinkedIn is a good source
for this.
There's a lot of great peopleto follow on that.
I typically don't promoteLinkedIn a lot because LinkedIn
does enough of that on their.
I typically don't promoteLinkedIn a lot because LinkedIn
does enough of that on their own.
They don't need any help fromme, but there is some good that
comes out of that site for sure.
So take advantage of those freeoptions that are out there so
you don't have to be embarrassedor hesitant to talk about AI.
(11:37):
Teach yourself.
So those are your headlines, andclosing today with your fun
fact did you know the wordsalary originates from the Latin
word sal, which means salt.
Roman soldiers were sometimespaid in salt.
Who knew that?
I did not know that.
It was a valuable commodity atthe time, of course, and that
has ultimately led to the phraseworth one's salt.
(11:58):
So I love hearing where phrasescome from, the ones we use just
in our daily lives all the timeand really don't think of it.
But being paid in salt, are youworth your salt?
Roman soldiers may or may nothave been, but that's how they
were paid a long, long time ago.
So there you go Be worth yoursalt or make sure you're getting
paid worth your salt.
Whatever you're doing, have agood rest of your day.
(12:20):
Thanks for listening.
Please like, subscribe andoffer any feedback or comments.
Love to hear them and I'll talkto.
This is Cornering the Job Market.
For August 27th, I'm Pete withFour Corner Resources.
Sharing the work-relatedheadlines you need to know today
, including how 25-year-olds canmake a million dollars a year,
why some workers have a fear ofbecoming obsolete and LinkedIn
says workers should trustLinkedIn.
I know that's a shocker.
We'll get to that in a minute,but first there's a new Stanford
(00:24):
study called Canaries in theCoal Mine Six Facts About the
Recent Employment Effects ofArtificial Intelligent and.
I could talk for hours aboutthis, because this is
fascinating.
This is really hard and fastdata that shows what's happening
, and what it tells us is thatAI isn't just transforming work,
but it's cutting off the bottomrung of the career ladder for
(00:45):
entry-level workers, and youreally can't deny that once you
see this data.
So I'll go through the factsquickly.
Fact one employment for 22 to25-year-olds in AI-exposed jobs
has dropped 13% since late 2022.
Ai-exposed jobs I really likethat term.
There's so many new terms thatwe encounter almost on a daily
(01:07):
basis lately, but this one, Ithink, is relevant and should
stick around AI exposed jobs andto me, that is jobs that are at
risk of being fully displacedby AI.
So these are fields likesoftware development and
customer support, where AI canreally automate routine tasks.
And we've known this was coming.
I've been saying it's alreadyhere, but now the data really
(01:31):
supports that.
The second fact is that olderworkers and now older is
relative here, they classifyolder as those over 25, in the
same roles seem to be doing justfine.
Their employment is stable oreven rising in some cases.
So its study indicates it's nota general downturn, it's really
concentrated on entry-levelemployees.
(01:51):
Fact three the distinction comesdown to automation versus
augmentation.
So in jobs where AI can fullyreplace human effort, that's
where young workers are seeingthe decline.
But in roles where AI augmentshuman performance, those
declines don't appear.
Now I think this is reallytelling as well.
I mean, david Sachs, the AIczar, has gone on record a few
(02:13):
times saying that he doesn'treally think AI is at risk of
replacing jobs.
One of his quotes is it'sactually very hard to replace a
human job entirely.
I think it's easier to replacepieces of it, and this study
shows that statement reallydoesn't hold up.
These jobs are being replacedentirely.
So it's not just aboutaugmentation, it's about full
(02:34):
automation taking place.
Fact four it's not just aboutcompany-wide slowdown.
So the study indicated that youcan't really blame just what's
happening with companies as awhole.
This is specific to theentry-level young workers out
there.
Fact five wages haven't taken ahit, so compensation is
basically flat, and the studyfound that AI's first effect is
(02:57):
reducing head count, not cuttingpay.
And then fact six is thispattern holds everywhere.
They looked at well beyond justtech companies.
They looked at remote jobs,compared different industries
and the story is the same.
It's systemic and it's reallybeen growing since about 2022.
So what they shared was thatthese six facts provide early,
(03:19):
large-scale evidence consistentwith the hypothesis that the AI
revolution is beginning to havea significant and
disproportionate impact onentry-level workers in the
American labor market.
So what does that mean?
Well, it means AI isn't justabout streamlining tasks, it's
reshaping who gets theopportunities in the first place
, and the Gen Z workers are theones who are being squeezed out
(03:40):
right now.
This is scary, because ifthere's no entry-level pipeline,
where will the next generationof skilled workers come from?
This is a massive challenge foreveryone involved, from
educators to employers and, ofcourse, the policymakers.
You can argue whethergovernment should be involved in
any of this, but it is going tohave such an impact on all of
us over time.
(04:01):
I'm not happy that this ishappening.
It's inevitable that it'shappening.
But I'm happy we're seeing thishard and fast data being
reported now, because you can'tdeny this transformation anymore
.
So if that's the bad news, atleast for young workers.
Meanwhile, in the Wall StreetJournal there's an article that
is titled these AI skilled20-somethings are making
(04:23):
hundreds of thousands a year.
It says that entry-level AIprofessionals saw a 12% increase
in salaries from 24 to 25 andare advancing to management
roles at twice the rate of theirpeers in traditional technology
fields.
So I guess if you are using AIand that is what your career and
job consists of you're going tobe in good shape.
(04:44):
I mean, what a tale of twopolar opposite scenarios, right?
But some of the numbers thatthey're reporting is really
staggering.
I mean.
It says entry-level roles in AIand machine learning
specifically, are paying between$190,000 and $260,000 in base
salary alone.
I mean, think about that.
Those are massive numbers thatwe've just never seen before.
(05:08):
Now Ali Godsi is the CEO ofDatabricks, if I pronounce that
right.
He says that they definitelyhave junior people making a big
impact and they're getting paida lot.
Under 25, you could be making amillion.
I mean, that is a direct quotefrom the CEO of this company,
who's a data analytics softwarecompany the CEO of this company,
(05:30):
who's a data analytics softwarecompany.
But he also said which Ithought was curious that they
can't.
He said we can't for the lifeof us get the more senior people
to adopt it.
Why not?
I mean, that's strange to methat if you are an experienced
professional and you have achance to use AI, especially if
it's going to help you makesignificantly more money, I just
don't know why you wouldn't,especially if it's going to help
you make significantly moremoney.
I just don't know why youwouldn't, especially for a
(05:50):
technology company.
But that's what he said, atleast at his organization.
So look, ai fluency is not aluxury anymore.
I think that's what this data,or this article is telling us,
in addition to the data from theStanford study.
You better get in the game.
If you're not, and if you're anolder worker, that's no excuse.
I mean, you have to evolve, youhave to stay current and
(06:14):
relevant.
That's always been the case.
But, specifically with AI, youdon't have a choice.
It is here, it's not coming.
It's here Now.
There's a completely other sideof the coin with this.
I mean these articles on AI arejust there's too many of them
to keep up with, so I'm reallytrying to just grab the top ones
each day.
But in the HR Daily Advisortoday, there's an article titled
(06:35):
the Rise of FOBO why WorkersAre Eyeing AI-Proof Careers.
I mean, if there's an AI-proofcareer out there, I'm unaware of
it.
I think that's a naive view totake.
That may be beside the pointfrom this article, but look, ai
is certainly not something youcan ignore.
(06:57):
So trying to AI-proof yourcareer is a bit of a dangerous
path to go down, in my opinion.
But FOBO have you heard thatone yet?
Fear of becoming obsoletethat's what this article is all
about, and there were someinteresting stats that I pulled
out from it.
One is that 21% of workers saythey've lost a job or know
someone who has, due to AIdisruption.
That's a big number.
(07:18):
One out of five know someonewho's lost a job or have lost
themselves.
I think that's a bit of astretch.
Probably.
Maybe I mean it's coming, it'shere, but one out of five,
that's a lot.
Another stat was that 37% ofworkers are actively learning AI
skills to stay relevant.
I mean, that seems low to me,right?
So the first one seemed high,this one seems low.
(07:39):
Only 37% should be 100%, andshame on you if you're not
taking that upon yourself tolearn AI because it's free.
You're not taking that uponyourself to learn AI because
it's free.
Just get a chat GPT account,get on Grok, get on Gemini.
I mean those are three of thebig ones, but there are no
shortage of ways and places togo teach yourself AI skills, to
(08:00):
remain current with what's goingon in the job market.
And again, I don't feel foranyone who's not willing to help
themselves in that regard.
But 28% of the people surveyedsaid they plan to shift into
careers they believe to be AIproof.
I don't know what those are.
Good luck, one out of four ofyou that we'll see how that
(08:21):
plays out for you, but Iwouldn't stick your head in the
sand with AI, far from it.
And then, finally, 18% feardisplacement, even in roles that
haven't yet been automated.
That's low.
I think we should all feardisplacement if we're not taking
steps to prevent that fromhappening.
There is no question in my mindthat I think all of these
(08:42):
headlines today show that thereare going to be big losers and
big winners as AI becomes moreprevalent across all industries
and all jobs, all roles.
I don't know any that won't beimpacted.
I'm sure you can come up withsomething obscure, but I would
assume the worst, and then youwon't be surprised and you can
(09:03):
do something about it.
Prevent you being on the badside of this deal.
So, whatever you're doing today,my advice, my strong advice to
anyone who's in the workforce,is to figure out how AI can
supplement what you're doing.
It can improve what you'redoing.
How you can use it to be moreeffective, more efficient in
your job.
That, to me, is the key tostaying relevant in all of this.
(09:26):
And then, finally, for today,linkedin.
Linkedin says that the numberone trusted source for
professionals isn't AI or searchengine.
It's their professional network.
So, according to LinkedIn, 43%of professionals trust their own
network for advice at work morethan those relying on AI tools
(09:48):
or search engines.
Well, I hope those you'retrusting aren't competing for
the same job as you.
Look, we all have people in ourlives we trust, but I don't
know if our network as a wholeis more reliable than hard facts
and data.
I'd caution against that.
But this article today also saysthat 64% of people surveyed say
(10:09):
colleagues help them makedecisions faster and with more
confidence.
Yeah, I buy into that.
That makes sense.
51% of professionals saylearning AI feels like another
job.
I guess, but it's learning anew job if what you're learning
is a whole lot easier than whatyou're doing today.
I mean, there's no one using AIthat I'm aware of to make
things more challenging anddifficult.
(10:29):
Quite the opposite.
So don't overreact to it.
Yes, it's happening, it'sinevitable, but by paying
attention, you'll be much betteroff.
I know I keep saying that todaya lot, but that is the message
that's really important foreveryone to understand.
And then the survey said that33% feel embarrassed admitting
limited AI knowledge, and sothey stay away from talking
(10:52):
about it altogether.
Well, that's not going to help,right?
And for the last time today,I'll say that do your own
research.
The tools are free, and it'snot just asking AI to teach you
AI, although you could get onYouTube, right.
There's a wealth of informationavailable there and no shortage
of people who will tell youeverything you need to know, and
(11:16):
it's all free.
And then, finally, I'll evensay LinkedIn is a good source
for this.
There's a lot of great peopleto follow on that.
I typically don't promoteLinkedIn a lot because LinkedIn
does enough of that on their.
I typically don't promoteLinkedIn a lot because LinkedIn
does enough of that on their own.
They don't need any help fromme, but there is some good that
comes out of that site for sure.
So take advantage of those freeoptions that are out there so
you don't have to be embarrassedor hesitant to talk about AI.
(11:37):
Teach yourself.
So those are your headlines, andclosing today with your fun
fact did you know the wordsalary originates from the Latin
word sal, which means salt.
Roman soldiers were sometimespaid in salt.
Who knew that?
I did not know that.
It was a valuable commodity atthe time, of course, and that
has ultimately led to the phraseworth one's salt.
(11:58):
So I love hearing where phrasescome from, the ones we use just
in our daily lives all the timeand really don't think of it.
But being paid in salt, are youworth your salt?
Roman soldiers may or may nothave been, but that's how they
were paid a long, long time ago.
So there you go Be worth yoursalt or make sure you're getting
paid worth your salt.
Whatever you're doing, have agood rest of your day.
(12:20):
Thanks for listening.
Please like, subscribe andoffer any feedback or comments.
Love to hear them and I'll talkto.
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