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This week: AI at Work, a special series from The Charlotte Ledger
The rise of artificial intelligence is poised to shake up the nature of work. In this weeklong series, The Charlotte Ledger looks closely at the trends and talks to experts to explore what’s happening, where it’s headed, what it means for the future of jobs in Charlotte — and what you can do.
MONDAY: Jobs on the line: Whose jobs are most at risk, and how does Charlotte stack up?
TODAY: The entry-level squeeze: Young workers face a tough job market and wonder if AI is to blame
WEDNESDAY: The backlash: As companies rush into AI, a wary public is raising doubts about trust and jobs
THURSDAY: Blue-collar boom: As AI threatens office jobs, more workers are turning to the trades — where demand is high and automation is low
FRIDAY: Navigating the AI era: Experts say workers who adapt early — and lean into human skills — will have the edge
Despite fears that AI is wiping out entry-level jobs, college career experts say those roles are still safe — for now
Students at a career fair at Johnson C. Smith University in Charlotte last September. Entry-level jobs feel harder to find these days. (Photo: Christian Varnado/Johnson C. Smith University)
by Lindsey Banks
Frank Peraza is something of an outlier. He’s graduating from UNC Charlotte this spring at just 20 years old — but he also has a tech job lined up as a solutions architect with Amazon.
But even with that success, he says, breaking into the job market didn’t feel easy.
“Honestly, I feel like the number of … positions overall has declined,” Peraza said. “Especially within software engineering… I feel like AI has taken away some of those entry-level roles, but not even that. It’s just the fact that with AI, the bar has been raised so much higher.”
Peraza says the real challenge was the job application process itself. He completed several long, automated coding assessments with little to no human interaction. No feedback or conversations — just submissions into a system and silence.
“It doesn’t feel very human,” he said.
Peraza’s experience is just one example of the growing concern among college students entering the workforce: In a world increasingly shaped by artificial intelligence, is there still room for beginners?
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