Feel strongly about these letters, or any other aspects of the news? Share your views by emailing us your Letter to the Editor at [email protected] or filling in this Google form. Submissions should not exceed 400 words.I refer to the article, “Singapore graduates settle for half pay in brutal jobs market” (June 27).Three years ago, I left academia for the corporate world. I had spent years writing my PhD thesis and lecturing. However, the precarity of the academic job market motivated me to develop an alternative career.Today I lead research projects, mentor younger colleagues and work alongside engineers who put knowledge I once taught into practice. I felt lucky to be employed. However, the same path now looks much harder for the graduating students I used to teach.What separated us was the rapid adoption of AI in the workplace within that short period of time. Employers now invest less in hiring and training. The work that gave young people experience is replaced by AI which completes them in seconds. In fact, grunt work like drafting meeting notes, collating information and cleaning data spreadsheets is more valuable than completing the tasks themselves. They imparted intangible qualities such as work ethics and responsibility and helped build relationships.Hard work and curiosity can be rewarded with trust, opportunities and career progression. Remove entry-level roles, and you remove the training ground for the next generation of professionals.