Artificial intelligence has undoubtedly contributed to society in the early years of adoption, but it has also threatened many functions. So far, frontline jobs such as fast food and trucking have been swallowed up by AI, but there are fears that this emerging technology could eliminate even the highest-paying and highly skilled jobs.
Take entry-level Wall Street banking jobs, for example. According to a recent publication, aspiring junior analysts could be in danger of losing their jobs to AI New York Times report. Major companies are reportedly even considering cutting two-thirds of hiring as Wall Street relies more on AI, several people familiar with the matter said. The New York Times. This includes people who work at the most reputable companies, including Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley. These companies did not respond to requests for comment from Fortune.
The junior analyst position at major banks is highly coveted – mainly because of the salary and the career path it provides new employees. These employees are typically tasked with researching financial trends, valuations and economic data to evaluate the risks of new investments. But in practice, the role involves many tedious and repetitive tasks, such as updating charts in pitch decks and comparison charts for business valuations.
Entry-level Wall Street jobs will only become more competitive
Industry employees have seen AI technologies implemented in their workplaces for years to answer financial, risk and process questions, says Michael Ashley Schulman, partner and chief investment officer at financial services firm Running Point Capital Advisors. Fortune. Schulman was previously a vice president at Deutsche Bank, which was mentioned in the New York Times report on AI replacing entry-level jobs on Wall Street.
“The easy idea is that you just replace juniors with an AI tool,” says Christoph Rabenseifner, Deutsche Bank’s chief strategy officer for technology, data and innovation. The New York Times, although he added that people will still need to be involved in the decision-making process.
Schulman predicts that AI won’t necessarily eliminate all Wall Street-level jobs, but that the technology will fundamentally redefine its role.
“In its current state, AI will not eliminate entry-level Wall Street jobs, but it will reduce the number of heads needed to accomplish the same task,” Schulman says. “The entry-level job can transition from a data collector to a data checker, so the AI hasn’t missed anything or can dig deeper into the gold nuggets exposed.”
In turn, future Wall Street workers will “look a little more like computer, statistics and data science majors,” he says. “Although creativity, business and economic acumen will still matter.” A “keen understanding of what makes companies tick” is needed before these employees can reach the top of their new analyst classes on Wall Street and ultimately rise through the ranks.
Redefining entry-level Wall Street jobs
While AI can certainly help streamline routine tasks, including data collection and surface-level analysis, the technology still doesn’t have the same level of judgment as human workers, says Tim Bates, professor of practice at the College of the University of Michigan. of Innovation and Technology that focuses on AI, explains Fortune.
“Rather than replacing jobs, AI is reshaping them, evolving entry-level roles beyond their traditional contours and emphasizing skills that AI cannot easily replicate,” said Bates, former Chief Technology Officer of Lenovo and General Motors.
Bates says current students still vying for these coveted entry-level jobs — which can pay up to $126,000 per year, according to Glassdoor — should study the capabilities of AI during their college years, including data interpretation, strategic decision-making and customer management. Still, it’s likely that landing one of these Wall Street jobs will only get harder.
The shift toward AI implementation “will likely intensify competition, underscoring the need for recent graduates to strengthen their resumes with specialized skills and perhaps look to industries where AI integration is pioneering new roles and opportunities,” says Bates. For current students vying for a position on Wall Street, Bates also recommends looking at jobs in the fast-growing fintech sector, as well as consulting and business strategy.
To be sure, others believe that the effects of AI implementation in the industry could be shorter-lived.
“No matter how good an AI model is, there are always risks involved that the financial sector will have to assess very carefully,” says career coach and TED speaker Michelle Enjoli. Fortune. “I think that in the short term, AI will mainly be used as a tool to help employees collect information [and] it will take some time for the testing and validation process to be completed to determine if it can fully replace an employee.”
For graduates concerned about the effects of AI on their employment prospects, Enjoli recommends staying as informed as possible about the latest developments in the technology.
“AI is another inevitable disruptor that will give employers a reason to realign their needs,” she says. “I encourage every current and future employee to stay informed about AI and its implications for their industry so they can prepare accordingly to add value regardless.”