Experts agree that AI is not eliminating all junior roles, but it is pushing fresh graduates to enhance their skills and demonstrate what machines cannot replicate: human judgment.
K Sudhiksha, 23, a communications graduate, experienced this shift firsthand during her six-month public relations internship, which ended abruptly after three months. Officially, the company cited restructuring, but she suspected AI played a significant role.
Ms. Sudhiksha revealed that much of her work involved using AI tools like ChatGPT to generate first drafts of press releases and summarize weekly news coverage. She and her colleagues were encouraged to rely on AI to complete tasks more quickly.
"I was spending most of my time running prompts on ChatGPT. We were all encouraged to do it. I could do my tasks faster, but it also made me feel creatively stunted."
Despite warnings to fact-check AI outputs, the heavy reliance on AI made her feel the internship lacked the creative, hands-on experience she sought.
Three months into the internship, her role was made redundant, reflecting broader changes in how AI is impacting entry-level job structures.
"While there were warnings to carefully fact-check the output generated by ChatGPT, the experience felt hollow as I hoped for a more creative process to flex my own brain muscles."
The case illustrates how AI is transforming entry-level roles, demanding new skills and adaptability from fresh jobseekers.
AI is reshaping entry-level jobs by automating routine tasks, requiring new graduates to upgrade their skills and highlight uniquely human abilities like judgment and creativity.