They have degrees, expertise and years of experience – but can’t find work. For many Americans, AI training has become a last refuge in a brutal job market
When Patrick Ciriello lost his job and couldn’t find work for nearly a year, his family’s foundation crumbled.
“You hear about people who hit rock bottom,” Ciriello told the Guardian. “Well, I was there.”
For most of his career, the 60-year-old with a master’s degree in information management designed software systems for banks, universities and pharmaceutical companies. But a series of economic shocks – the dot.com crash, the 2008 financial crisis and the Covid pandemic – cost him jobs, sometimes forcing him to dip into his savings and retirement funds. Each time, he eventually found another role.
That changed at the start of 2023. After losing a job building industrial printer heads, Ciriello sent out hundreds of applications for IT support roles, customer service positions and even a deli counter job at a local supermarket. He didn’t get a single offer.
