🖥️ Silicon Valley Is Getting Older: Gen Z Workforce Shrinks as AI Eats Entry-Level Jobs

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The age profile of Silicon Valley’s tech giants is shifting dramatically. According to Fortune citing Pave data, the share of Gen Z employees (ages 21–25) in major tech firms has dropped from 15% to just 6.8% in two years, while the average employee age has jumped from 34.3 to 39.4 years.

What’s Happening?

Entry-level jobs are vanishing. Companies are cutting junior roles as automation and AI handle more routine tasks.

Older workers are staying put. Experienced employees, especially in management, remain essential since leadership and strategy are still beyond AI’s capabilities.

As Matt Schulman, CEO of Pave, explains: “There’s still a lot of human input at the leadership level.”

️ Long-Term Risk

While AI boosts efficiency, experts warn this trend could slow innovation over time:

With fewer young workers entering today, there may be a talent gap in 10–20 years when today’s mid-levels move into leadership.

Without a pipeline of fresh talent, innovation could stagnate.

What Young Professionals Need Now

To stay competitive in an AI-driven era, young workers must:

Be obsessively focused on mastering the latest AI models.

Learn to fine-tune and adapt models for specialized tasks.

Build credentials: Employers increasingly value certifications and course diplomas over traditional degrees or years of experience.

The message is clear: AI is reshaping not only products but the very structure of Silicon Valley’s workforce. For young talent, the future belongs to those who can train the machines, not be replaced by them.