RESEARCH
The Class of 2026 isn't afraid of AI. They're counting on it.
We surveyed 1,000 graduating business students. 80% say AI is cutting entry-level jobs. 67% think AI skills will earn them more anyway.
WHAT'S INSIDE:
A generation walking into a job market that doesn't exist yet.
The grunt work that defined early-career sales for decades is now automated. Cold outreach, list building, prospecting. Tomorrow's entry-level hires know this. They're walking in more AI-fluent than their managers, with higher salary expectations, into fewer roles than ever.
We surveyed 1,000 of them to understand what's coming.
Inside the report:
- What graduates expect to earn, and why
- The grunt work disappeared.
- How the learning curve is reversing
- What it means for sales orgs hiring in 2026
- Demographic breakdown and methodology
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80%
say AI is cutting entry-level jobs
67%
expect AI skills to raise their salary
73%
use generative AI more than 2x per week
61%
expect to match or surpass their boss in AI skill
Key Findings
Four shifts shaping the Class of 2026
01
The learning curve reversed.
For the first time, new graduates expect to arrive with more relevant technical capability than their managers. 23.7% expect to be more AI-skilled than their boss.
02
The roles AI is killing first.
49.5% want to work in sales. But the entry-level grind they were warned about no longer exists. Cold outreach, list building, prospecting are automated.
03
AI is already embedded.
73.2% use generative AI more than twice a week. 56.7% have changed how they apply for jobs. 37% have shifted their career focus.
04
The hiring model is broken.
Graduates are more AI-capable than ever. Companies are automating traditional entry-level work. Hiring models haven't caught up.