PhD Graduate in Chemical Engineering Struggles to Find Employment Despite Strong Academic Record

Key summary

Jack Wise, a chemical engineering PhD graduate from Princeton University who completed his degree in 2024, has applied to over 2,300 job positions without securing employment. According to The Wall Street Journal, Wise initially sought roles in science and software engineering before expanding his search to include food preparation and frozen poultry sales, receiving no responses. A recent Gallup survey from August indicates that only 34% of Americans believe it is a good time to seek quality jobs, while the latest employment report showed figures lower than expected. Economists describe the current labor market as 'Low-hire, Low-fire,' where companies are hesitant to hire new staff or lay off existing employees. A Pew Research Center survey from September found that over 70% of Americans expect AI to reduce the overall number of jobs. New research from the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond suggests that workers displaced by AI-replaceable tasks have significantly lower chances of finding new employment compared to a few years ago. Additionally, Greenhouse surveys indicate that over 60% of job seekers in the US were interviewed by an AI system last year. Wise attempted to bypass these systems by contacting companies directly, but many still directed him to apply via their websites. His mother, Dr. Holly Carverth, reviewed his applications and found no obvious issues. In January, Wise secured a part-time role at Mercor, a startup valued at $10 billion in 2025 that has worked with OpenAI and Anthropic, teaching AI about engineering concepts. He earned $70 per hour for this role but faced increasing periods of unemployment, leading Mercor to terminate his contract via Slack in mid-March. Wise is now considering pursuing a law degree, taking the LSAT in November, and attempting to start his own business using AI to design drones for weed control. In October, he checked on an application submitted to Los Alamos National Laboratory in 2024, which remained in 'under review' status for two years before being filled.