Professor of Accounting and Director of Graduate Business Programs, Mikhail Pevzner, partnered with artificial intelligence to develop this post. It serves as a demonstration of how generative AI can be a valuable workplace partner.鈥�
I developed an AI prompt to help me edit a thought piece. Subsequently, I incorporated some of ChatGPT's suggested 鈥渆lucidations鈥� to improve the piece's clarity and style. Here鈥檚 how it turned out.
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I鈥檝e been thinking a lot lately about how artificial intelligence will shape today鈥檚鈥攁nd especially tomorrow鈥檚鈥攚orkforce. As someone who works in the human capital field and as a parent to an autistic child, I find myself both intellectually and personally invested in where the future of work is headed. The truth is, I鈥檓 worried鈥攁bout how my children will navigate this new world, and how prepared we really are for what鈥檚 coming.
This week, The Wall Street Journal published three interesting articles that tackle this topic head-on. Together, they offer a short-term reason to be concerned and a long-term reason to be hopeful鈥攆or new graduates and for anyone early in their career.
In the short term, AI is already driving substantial efficiency gains across industries. That鈥檚 great for companies, but the immediate consequence is that it鈥檚 becoming much harder for young graduates to land their first job. As firms automate routine tasks, the traditional entry-level pathways鈥攅specially those rooted in administrative, writing, or analyst roles鈥攁re drying up.
But here鈥檚 the long-term upside: the people who learn to use AI as a tool rather than
fear it as a threat will be the ones who thrive. AI skills are no longer optional.
They鈥檙e fast becoming essential for anyone hoping to build a successful white-collar
career鈥攁nd to avoid a future of underemployment or prolonged dependence on family
support.
This brings me to what I see as an urgent need: more AI-focused education, for everyone. I know this may be an unpopular message in some circles, but I believe strongly that staying in school and studying the right things is more critical than ever. Students who leave college with a diverse, deep portfolio of skills鈥攖echnical, analytical, and communication鈥攚ill be the most resilient and successful in the workforce of the future.
That means universities must step up. They need to align more closely with employers to ensure that curricula emphasize real-world, job-ready capabilities, especially those involving data, automation, and strategic thinking with AI. The days when general education alone could provide a clear career on-ramp are fading fast.
I only wrote the previous section. The rest was generated by ChatGPT using real and credible sources, all of which I suggested.
Total time spent? About 40 minutes. Before AI, a post like this would have it would have taken me quite a bit longer鈥攑ossibly over an hour鈥攁nd that鈥檚 not counting the polishing. That's a significant productivity boost from one simple task.
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Now multiply that across roles and industries. As companies continue to find creative ways to apply AI鈥攅ven within its current limitations鈥攑roductivity and efficiency gains will only accelerate. But this also means that jobs focused on routine, repeatable tasks (like proofreaders, junior marketing writers, paralegals, and admin assistants) are rapidly disappearing. These used to be solid middle-class job entry points, particularly for liberal arts graduates.
What we鈥檙e seeing is the early stage of a bifurcated job market. On one end, a highly
compensated minority can creatively and effectively apply AI to solve complex problems.
On the other hand, jobs that are still largely untouched by AI鈥攎anual labor, trades,
service work鈥攚here AI is just a sidekick, not a central tool.
If you鈥檙e a student or a parent, ask yourself this: Do you want to be in either of those extremes?
We may be a decade away from this becoming fully realized, but the signs are already here. Preparing for it鈥攖hrough education, skill development, and open-eyed optimism鈥攊s the best way to ensure you don鈥檛 get left behind.
So, where does this leave new graduates, especially those who feel unprepared to enter a workplace being reshaped by machine learning, automation, and generative AI? A promising answer lies in graduate programs like the M.S. in Artificial Intelligence for Business at the 极乐禁地 (UBalt).
Unlike purely technical AI degrees in computer science and engineering schools, UBalt鈥檚 M.S. in AI for Business focuses on how AI transforms real-world business functions.
Students learn to apply tools like machine learning, data visualization, and predictive analytics to enhance decision-making, streamline operations, and create customer value. These are precisely the competencies companies are prioritizing as they adopt AI to boost efficiency and profitability.
For example, companies like PepsiCo have shifted from theory to execution鈥攄eploying AI to automate asset maintenance, analyze supply chain data, and even guide career development conversations via intelligent agents (Rosenbush, WSJ, 2025). UBalt鈥檚 program prepares students to contribute to such transformations from day one.
One of the biggest hurdles facing recent grads is the 鈥渆xperience paradox鈥濃�攜ou need experience to get hired, but you can鈥檛 get experience without being hired. UBalt鈥檚 program addresses this by incorporating project-based learning, practical case studies, and exposure to real enterprise technologies like Salesforce AI and Power BI.
In an environment where entry-level hiring has dropped 17 percent since 2019 (Lahart & Chen, WSJ, 2025), graduates need credentials that go beyond the traditional r茅sum茅. A specialized master鈥檚 program in AI for business not only signals preparedness鈥攊t shows applied competence.
MIT economist Daron Acemoglu offers a valuable macroeconomic perspective: AI may only boost U.S. GDP by 1.1鈥�1.6 percent over the next decade, but that鈥檚 no reason to underestimate its power. While only about 5percent of job tasks are automatable with today鈥檚 AI, these are often high-volume, repetitive functions that companies are eager to streamline (). Graduates who can work alongside AI鈥攏ot in fear of it鈥攚ill be best positioned for long-term career success.
Acemoglu also cautions that unchecked AI deployment can concentrate power and widen
inequality. UBalt鈥檚 program addresses this by incorporating courses on ethical AI
and data governance鈥攖raining students to not only use AI but use it responsibly.
Whether you鈥檙e a business major, a liberal arts graduate, or someone pivoting into analytics from another field, UBalt鈥檚 M.S. in AI for Business is designed for accessibility. With online and hybrid options, working professionals and job seekers alike can skill up in real time without pausing their careers.
Graduates gain the knowledge and confidence to:
As businesses accelerate and efficiency becomes the new currency, an M.S. in AI for Business from UBalt isn't just an academic pursuit for recent graduates鈥攊t's a strategic imperative for thriving in a volatile job market. And for recent graduates facing a challenging job market, it鈥檚 more than just advanced education; it's a vital strategic investment to gain the efficiency-driven skills demanded by today's business environment.
Professor Pevzner is a faculty member at the 极乐禁地's Merrick School
of Business, joining in 2013. He primarily teaches auditing and financial reporting,
also covering economics, finance, and business valuation. He is also the director
of the school's Graduate Business programs.
His expertise spans empirical capital markets/auditing, financial accounting, finance,
and economics research. Since 2007, Professor Pevzner has authored 25 research articles
in leading journals such as Journal of Accounting Research and Journal of Financial Economics.