November 6, 2025 • 7 mins
LISTEN and SUBSCRIBE on:
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/watchdog-on-wall-street-with-chris-markowski/id570687608
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2PtgPvJvqc2gkpGIkNMR5i
WATCH and SUBSCRIBE on:
https://www.youtube.com/@WatchdogOnWallstreet/featured
As artificial intelligence transforms the workplace, white-collar jobs may be the next on the chopping block. From accounting firms to Wall Street, automation is replacing entry-level roles once seen as career stepping stones. Host Markowski compares today’s AI revolution to past waves of industrial change—when farms and factories shed millions of jobs—and warns that the “creative destruction” cycle is far from over. But he also shares advice for young workers on how to stay indispensable: build real-world skills, learn how to make money for your boss, and never underestimate the value of human connection.
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/watchdog-on-wall-street-with-chris-markowski/id570687608
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2PtgPvJvqc2gkpGIkNMR5i
WATCH and SUBSCRIBE on:
https://www.youtube.com/@WatchdogOnWallstreet/featured
As artificial intelligence transforms the workplace, white-collar jobs may be the next on the chopping block. From accounting firms to Wall Street, automation is replacing entry-level roles once seen as career stepping stones. Host Markowski compares today’s AI revolution to past waves of industrial change—when farms and factories shed millions of jobs—and warns that the “creative destruction” cycle is far from over. But he also shares advice for young workers on how to stay indispensable: build real-world skills, learn how to make money for your boss, and never underestimate the value of human connection.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
The Watchdog on Wall Street podcast explaining the news coming
out of the complex worlds of finance, economics, and politics
and the impact it we'll have on everyday Americans. Author,
investment banker, consumer advocate, analyst, and trader Chris Markowski.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
Will Ai eat white collar jobs? And I keep thinking
of pac Man.
Speaker 3 (00:23):
Yeah, they are going to eat many white collar jobs.
Speaker 2 (00:29):
We're starting to see it now.
Speaker 3 (00:33):
Bill Galson had a great piece on this recently and
basically talking about the amount of money that the tech
firms are spending, have spent, and are going to spend
and developing various different data centers.
Speaker 2 (00:49):
This has happened before. It's happened before.
Speaker 3 (00:53):
When large corporations and industrial capitalism began to surge in
the late nineteenth century, about half the nation's workforce was engaged.
Speaker 2 (01:01):
In agricultural work.
Speaker 3 (01:03):
By twenty twenty three, the share working and agriculture had
fallen about one point six percent. Nineteen fifties, non farm
manufacturing accounted for about one third of the US workforce,
compared with about eight percent this year. In each case,
it's innovation accounted for this reduction. Again, these things happened
(01:28):
slowly where there were new sources of employment that were
available to absorb these jobs. We've seen some stories lately,
have talked about them here on the program, storing the
Wall Street Journal. Companies bet they can grow without hiring.
They think that AI is going to pick up the
slack and automate more processes.
Speaker 2 (01:50):
Yes, that's the case. Again.
Speaker 3 (01:52):
I am going to be you know, talk about my
business and what I do and the amount of people
that it took to run a business like ours back
in the nineteen nineties compared to what I can utilize today.
It's night and day sinn day. People laugh, people laugh,
(02:12):
they don't believe it. I don't have a secretary. I
don't use AI, I don't use chat boxes. But I
don't have a secretary. I really don't need it anyway.
The job losses that we've seen, okay again, a lot
of them being replaced by AI. We talked about Wall
(02:33):
Street and a lot of the grunt work. A lot
of it, quite frankly, was just bs, in my opinion,
nonsensical hazing type stuff that the big firms used to
put on kids just to mess with them and work
them ridiculous hours, kind of like approving grounds. A lot
of that's going away, So those jobs are going away.
Speaker 2 (02:53):
But then what you end up with is who's on deck,
who's up next.
Speaker 3 (03:00):
Was speaking with a high level corporate accountant last week,
one of the big firms outside out of Boston.
Speaker 2 (03:09):
Gentleman with high school with and he's way up there
on the ladder and he's basically explaining that, yeah, AI
can do a lot of what they used to have
young people doing there at the firm.
Speaker 3 (03:27):
He has to drive the bus. He knows all the
you know, the various different tricks and bells and whistles
that AI doesn't when it comes to accounting. And we
got in that conversation, well, you know what happens when
you can't do this or don't want to do this anymore,
Who's going to take your spot? That's a bit of
(03:48):
a concern as well. We talk about the numbers fifty
eight percent of college grads, fifty percent college grads within
the past year they can't.
Speaker 2 (03:58):
Find a job.
Speaker 3 (04:00):
A lot of the data is there, the National Association
of Colleges and Employers reporting that while the class of
twenty twenty five submitted more job applications, in the class
of twenty twenty four received fewer offers. Again kid going
to be able to find a good job. There was
(04:22):
a loss of five point seven million manufacturing jobs in
this country between January two thousand and one and January
of twenty ten. And they're saying that discontent that surrounded
that led to various different upheavals in the country. Galston says,
the Tea Party, I'm saying, no, had nothing to do
(04:44):
with that. They said some of this dissatisfaction led to
Donald Trump running in twenty sixteen. And now they're saying
it's the white collar turned to bear the brunt of
economic dislocation. Yes, and no, okay, lot of fat out there,
A lot of fat out there in the white collar world.
Speaker 2 (05:04):
Has been a lot of fat in the white collar world.
You don't really see that on assembly lines. You just don't.
Speaker 3 (05:10):
You know, a lot of the BS jobs human resource nonsense. No, sure,
I mean, it's it's there, it's there. We're you know,
saying that. You know, back in the day on Wall
Street was you know, ten ten percent of your staff
does ninety percent of the work. And a lot of
the big firms as well, they do a culling on
a regular basis, and don't tell me we can't get
(05:30):
rid of a lot of middle management. This is nothing
new in the movie office space. For example, a great
film nineteen nineties up they bringing the bobs in what
exactly do you say you do here? And again that's
not new, And I think Bill Galston's piece understands that
I've been trying to explain the youngsters out there. You
(05:52):
better have great interpersonal skills. And when you're when you're
deciding out of college, unless mom and dad, okay, can
afford to just flip the entire bill, be smart.
Speaker 2 (06:06):
Be smart.
Speaker 3 (06:09):
Take as many college classes in high school as you
possibly can. If you're in a situation where that's not
the case, load up on that go to school that
you can afford. Those credits will transfer. Try to graduate
a shorter period of time as you possibly can, and again,
get out there, wait tables, work in the service industry,
(06:30):
develop those inner personal skills. It's important be able to
run a business. Learn how to run a business. All
of these things are invaluable. Kan If you can make
show your boss some way, shape, mat or form that
you are making them money, then they're going to keep you.
(06:53):
That's the reality. There's still gonna be a lot of
scare tactics with all these things moving forward, And yes
we'll new job be created, but of course we've explained
creative destruction jobs will be destroyed too. Watchdog on Wall
Street dot com
The Watchdog on Wall Street podcast explaining the news coming
out of the complex worlds of finance, economics, and politics
and the impact it we'll have on everyday Americans. Author,
investment banker, consumer advocate, analyst, and trader Chris Markowski.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
Will Ai eat white collar jobs? And I keep thinking
of pac Man.
Speaker 3 (00:23):
Yeah, they are going to eat many white collar jobs.
Speaker 2 (00:29):
We're starting to see it now.
Speaker 3 (00:33):
Bill Galson had a great piece on this recently and
basically talking about the amount of money that the tech
firms are spending, have spent, and are going to spend
and developing various different data centers.
Speaker 2 (00:49):
This has happened before. It's happened before.
Speaker 3 (00:53):
When large corporations and industrial capitalism began to surge in
the late nineteenth century, about half the nation's workforce was engaged.
Speaker 2 (01:01):
In agricultural work.
Speaker 3 (01:03):
By twenty twenty three, the share working and agriculture had
fallen about one point six percent. Nineteen fifties, non farm
manufacturing accounted for about one third of the US workforce,
compared with about eight percent this year. In each case,
it's innovation accounted for this reduction. Again, these things happened
(01:28):
slowly where there were new sources of employment that were
available to absorb these jobs. We've seen some stories lately,
have talked about them here on the program, storing the
Wall Street Journal. Companies bet they can grow without hiring.
They think that AI is going to pick up the
slack and automate more processes.
Speaker 2 (01:50):
Yes, that's the case. Again.
Speaker 3 (01:52):
I am going to be you know, talk about my
business and what I do and the amount of people
that it took to run a business like ours back
in the nineteen nineties compared to what I can utilize today.
It's night and day sinn day. People laugh, people laugh,
(02:12):
they don't believe it. I don't have a secretary. I
don't use AI, I don't use chat boxes. But I
don't have a secretary. I really don't need it anyway.
The job losses that we've seen, okay again, a lot
of them being replaced by AI. We talked about Wall
(02:33):
Street and a lot of the grunt work. A lot
of it, quite frankly, was just bs, in my opinion,
nonsensical hazing type stuff that the big firms used to
put on kids just to mess with them and work
them ridiculous hours, kind of like approving grounds. A lot
of that's going away, So those jobs are going away.
Speaker 2 (02:53):
But then what you end up with is who's on deck,
who's up next.
Speaker 3 (03:00):
Was speaking with a high level corporate accountant last week,
one of the big firms outside out of Boston.
Speaker 2 (03:09):
Gentleman with high school with and he's way up there
on the ladder and he's basically explaining that, yeah, AI
can do a lot of what they used to have
young people doing there at the firm.
Speaker 3 (03:27):
He has to drive the bus. He knows all the
you know, the various different tricks and bells and whistles
that AI doesn't when it comes to accounting. And we
got in that conversation, well, you know what happens when
you can't do this or don't want to do this anymore,
Who's going to take your spot? That's a bit of
(03:48):
a concern as well. We talk about the numbers fifty
eight percent of college grads, fifty percent college grads within
the past year they can't.
Speaker 2 (03:58):
Find a job.
Speaker 3 (04:00):
A lot of the data is there, the National Association
of Colleges and Employers reporting that while the class of
twenty twenty five submitted more job applications, in the class
of twenty twenty four received fewer offers. Again kid going
to be able to find a good job. There was
(04:22):
a loss of five point seven million manufacturing jobs in
this country between January two thousand and one and January
of twenty ten. And they're saying that discontent that surrounded
that led to various different upheavals in the country. Galston says,
the Tea Party, I'm saying, no, had nothing to do
(04:44):
with that. They said some of this dissatisfaction led to
Donald Trump running in twenty sixteen. And now they're saying
it's the white collar turned to bear the brunt of
economic dislocation. Yes, and no, okay, lot of fat out there,
A lot of fat out there in the white collar world.
Speaker 2 (05:04):
Has been a lot of fat in the white collar world.
You don't really see that on assembly lines. You just don't.
Speaker 3 (05:10):
You know, a lot of the BS jobs human resource nonsense. No, sure,
I mean, it's it's there, it's there. We're you know,
saying that. You know, back in the day on Wall
Street was you know, ten ten percent of your staff
does ninety percent of the work. And a lot of
the big firms as well, they do a culling on
a regular basis, and don't tell me we can't get
(05:30):
rid of a lot of middle management. This is nothing
new in the movie office space. For example, a great
film nineteen nineties up they bringing the bobs in what
exactly do you say you do here? And again that's
not new, And I think Bill Galston's piece understands that
I've been trying to explain the youngsters out there. You
(05:52):
better have great interpersonal skills. And when you're when you're
deciding out of college, unless mom and dad, okay, can
afford to just flip the entire bill, be smart.
Speaker 2 (06:06):
Be smart.
Speaker 3 (06:09):
Take as many college classes in high school as you
possibly can. If you're in a situation where that's not
the case, load up on that go to school that
you can afford. Those credits will transfer. Try to graduate
a shorter period of time as you possibly can, and again,
get out there, wait tables, work in the service industry,
(06:30):
develop those inner personal skills. It's important be able to
run a business. Learn how to run a business. All
of these things are invaluable. Kan If you can make
show your boss some way, shape, mat or form that
you are making them money, then they're going to keep you.
(06:53):
That's the reality. There's still gonna be a lot of
scare tactics with all these things moving forward, And yes
we'll new job be created, but of course we've explained
creative destruction jobs will be destroyed too. Watchdog on Wall
Street dot com
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