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JPMorgan Chase is trying to use AI to cut down its headcount.

At the company’s annual investor day on Monday, JPMorgan’s CEO of consumer and community banking, Marianne Lake, 56, gave a presentation predicting that AI would allow the bank to reduce employee numbers by 10% in the operations and account services departments. The operations division processes statements and payments, while the account services unit manages day-to-day transactions.

Related: JPMorgan Says Its AI Cash Flow Software Cut Human Work By Almost 90%

Lake, who runs Chase Bank and its credit card business, said that 10% was a modest estimate — the bank would most likely “deliver more” in headcount reductions.

“I would take the over on this projection and bet that we will deliver more,” Lake said, per Business Insider. She did not disclose a timeline for when the workforce reductions would occur or which roles they would impact.

^{Marianne Lake. Photographer: Jin Lee/Bloomberg via Getty Images}

JPMorgan’s Chief Financial Officer, Jeremy Barnum, 52, disclosed at the same investor day event that the bank would spend less than $95 billion on hiring this year as AI makes operations more efficient. That’s a drop from $200 million in hiring efforts in 2023 and $100 million in 2024.

“We’re asking people to resist headcount growth where possible and increase their focus on efficiency,” Barnum stated, per BI. “It’s not just the amateurs who are helped by these [AI] tools. It’s amazing stuff, and we have high hopes for the efficiency gain.”

JPMorgan’s headcount has grown in recent years, swelling over 20% from 255,350 employees in 2020 to over 317,000 in 2024. At the same time, the bank’s net income has doubled from $29.13 billion in 2020 to a record-high $58.5 billion in 2024.

Related: JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon Isn’t Worried About AI Taking Over Jobs — Here’s Why

Who will take over as JPMorgan CEO?

At JPMorgan’s investor day, investors were eyeing the executives who could possibly take over the CEO position from Jamie Dimon when he retires within the next four years.

According to The Wall Street Journal, Lake is a top contender for the CEO spot. She started at the bank as an accountant and eventually became Chief Financial Officer from 2013 to 2019, before being promoted to her current position.

The other two CEO hopefuls are reportedly the co-heads of JPMorgan’s corporate and investment bank, Doug Petno, 59, and Troy Rohrbaugh, 55.

Petno started as an investment banker at JPMorgan before eventually becoming the CEO of commercial banking from 2012 to 2024. Rohrbaugh joined JPMorgan in 2005 as a managing director and was previously the head of Macro Markets, which includes the bank’s foreign exchange and emerging markets businesses.

Related: JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon Shares Four Tips for Leaders

Dimon said on Monday at the investor event that he still intends to retire as CEO within the next four years, though he and JPMorgan have yet to publicly announce a successor.

“What we’ve told you is that the board has intent… to be thinking about succession, and we should be doing that,” Dimon said, per Barron’s.

Dimon has led the bank since 2006. JPMorgan shares have skyrocketed by nearly 200% over the past five years.

In 2022, JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon called cryptocurrency “decentralized Ponzi schemes” at a U.S. House Financial Services Committee hearing. “I’m a major skeptic on crypto tokens, which you call currency, like Bitcoin,” he said at the time.

But on Monday at JPMorgan’s annual investor day, Dimon said that JPMorgan Chase, the U.S.’s largest bank, will allow its clients to buy Bitcoin, per CNBC.

Related: JPMorgan Chase Says AI Could Cut Headcount By 10% in Some Divisions: ‘We Will Deliver More’

“We are going to allow you to buy it,” Dimon said. “We’re not going to custody it. We’re going to put it in statements for clients.”

^{JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon delivers a speech during the Global Markets Conference, ahead of the Choose France summit, in Paris, on May 15, 2025. MICHEL EULER/POOL/AFP | Getty}

Rival Morgan Stanley has allowed clients to buy bitcoin ETFs since August 2024.

Dimon has long cited the risks of bitcoin, including money laundering. At Davos last year, he called it a “pet rock” that “does nothing.”

Related: ‘This Has to Stop’: JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon Outlines How to Run a Successful Meeting

But that doesn’t mean he is going to hold other people back from making their own financial choices.

“I don’t think you should smoke, but I defend your right to smoke,” Dimon said. “I defend your right to buy bitcoin.”

Since President Trump first announced new tariffs on U.S. trading partners in April, with frequent revisions ever since, American businesses of all sizes have been caught in a whirlwind of uncertainty. For entrepreneurs relying on foreign suppliers, sudden spikes in raw material costs can force a frantic reevaluation of longterm strategies and pricing models. These constantly shifting tariffs have upended months, even years, of planning across operations, production, supply chains, and competitive positioning, leaving many entrepreneurs stuck in near paralysis.

Most imported products face a baseline duty of at least 10%, but that number is subject to change with little warning. Trump announced much larger reciprocal tariffs on dozens of countries in April before instituting a 90-day pause. Trump also raised tariffs on China to 145% before lowering them back to 30% for most Chinese goods for at least 90 days starting in May. To handle the tariff whiplash and survive in today’s volatile political and economic climate, you need to navigate constant uncertainty and adjust to frequent disruptions. If you’re not able to pivot quickly as changes arise, you may have to pass rising costs onto consumers, putting your business at risk of losing them entirely.

Related: Walmart Is Raising Prices, According to the Company’s CEO. Here’s When.

To stay ahead of these constant changes, business owners need to regularly explore a range of “what-if” scenarios. For example, if tariffs rise on a key supplier, how quickly should I adjust prices? Or, what are my options for switching to a supplier in a country with lower tariffs? With so many moving parts, AI can make this easier. Tools like ChatGPT make it simple to start using AI for financial modeling and supply chain analysis —helping you stay agile while navigating unpredictable tariffs.

How small businesses can use AI for smarter scenario planning and future-proof decisions

Earlier in my career, I helped large oil companies and financial institutions optimize their supply chains for better efficiency and lower costs. Traditionally, creating these models required complicated Excel spreadsheets and some proficiency in mathematics. Not only has AI made the modeling process more accessible, even for non-technical business owners, but it has also provided business owners with an essential tool for scenario planning that is adaptable in real time.

Tariffs are fundamentally unpredictable, especially today, so AI can’t predict what tariffs will be tomorrow, next week or next month. It can, however, help your business prepare for the unknown and make smarter decisions faster by running dozens of those “what-if” scenarios in seconds. That’s why it’s best to understand and use AI as an optimization model instead of a one-time solution.

Here’s how the optimization model works and how you can use it to build a pricing and procurement strategy that will help your business stay on top of 2025 tariffs:

Step 1: Provide your AI tool with data

Start by entering the key details into your AI tool—some of which your Large Language Model (LLM) may already know. An LLM is a type of AI that understands and creates human-like text by learning from vast amounts of writing.

Include information like:

• Current and projected tariff rates
• Domestic and international costs of goods
• Inventory holding periods
• Revenue per unit

This data is likely already available in your balance sheet, which you can quickly upload to your AI tool like ChatGPT or source through simple research. The AI’s goal is to optimize for a combination of these variables that yields the highest profitability at the lowest cost at any given point.

Related: What Is a Tariff? Here’s an Overview of the Basics.

Step 2: Use AI to model supply chain alternatives

AI can scan trade databases and tariff announcements in real time, constantly updating teams in need. As tariffs fluctuate and updates are tracked, your optimization model will shift and evolve.

For example, if tariffs rise and the cost of overseas products increases, you may look to purchase goods domestically and ask your AI system to recommend sourcing alternatives. AI can even compare the benefits, drawbacks and long-term implications of sourcing from various countries.

While AI can’t provide specific pricing or shipping estimates, it drastically reduces the time it takes to evaluate new options. Once you find the rest of the information you need, by researching online or calling the suggested companies directly, feed it into your model to update your strategy in real-time.

Step 3: Use AI to explore multiple scenarios and identify the best path forward

Beyond just helping with sourcing decisions, AI can also recommend how much you can raise your prices to stay profitable without driving customers away. For example, your business might absorb a 5% to 10% tariff increase through modest price hikes, but a 15% increase could start to push customers away. AI can simulate different pricing strategies to help you find the perfect balance for your unique situation.

Ask your AI tool questions such as:

• How much would I lose if tariffs remain between 10% and 15% over the next 60 days?
• When does buying from international suppliers become economically unviable?
• How much would I need to raise prices if tariffs increase to 20%?
• What’s the best price increase to keep my revenue steady while covering costs?

AI can help pinpoint various thresholds and calculate your options. These actionable insights can be life-saving for businesses lacking the time, energy and resources for trial and error.

Think of AI as a personal financial analyst that works around the clock and costs a fraction of a human hire. Regardless of your business, integrating AI into your operational toolkit and interacting with it daily can help you prepare for an unpredictable market.

While the future of tariffs remains uncertain, their impact is very real today. Instead of freezing up from uncertainty or making hasty decisions, AI empowers business owners to stay proactive and ready for whatever comes next.

Digital ad spending is projected to reach $870.85 billion globally by 2027, but the average conversion rate across 18 major online retail verticals is just 1.85%.

This number highlights a harsh truth — no matter how much traffic you drive to your site, you can’t market your way out of a bad product or service.

Entrepreneurs often focus on two main marketing goals — attracting visitors and converting them into customers. But without a solid foundation, even the most creative marketing campaigns will eventually hit a wall.

At Digital Silk, we’ve worked with hundreds of mid- to large-sized brands, and time and again, we’ve seen this truth play out — no amount of beautiful design or high-traffic ad campaigns can compensate for a weak product.

Think about it — if your offering is weak, no marketing gimmick can create lasting growth.

You might attract visitors with compelling ads or even have an award-winning website, but if your product or service doesn’t meet expectations, you’ll struggle to earn their loyalty, generate referrals or achieve meaningful revenue.

Related: It’s Time to Break the Cycle of Cheap, Disposable Junk — Here’s How Entrepreneurs Can Lead the Way

Traffic and conversions only work if your product delivers

Driving traffic and capturing conversions are important marketing goals, but they can only succeed if what you’re selling meets or exceeds expectations.

In my experience, many businesses believe that marketing is the cure for their sales struggles, when the real bottleneck often lies in the customer experience. Even strong ad campaigns will fall flat when users are disappointed by your products and services.

Yes, first impressions matter — 88% of consumers are less likely to return to a site after a poor experience, but even a flawless website can’t hide a weak offering for long. If your product doesn’t solve a real need or deliver on promises, customers will lose trust, and no amount of retargeting can win it back.

Imagine running a restaurant with poor food quality. Despite how beautiful your website looks or how well you optimize your local SEO and targeted ads, if customers have bad experiences, it will lead to negative reviews and lost revenue.

Before investing heavily in marketing, ask yourself: Does my product or service truly deliver the value that would make someone want to recommend it?

Related: Discover How Product Quality Can Distinguish Your Brand From Competitors

Why a strong product is your best marketing tool

Consumers today have more options and information at their fingertips than ever before.

According to a Gartner survey, 77% of B2B buyers said their last purchase was very complex or difficult. People are cautious. They expect the quality of what you’re offering to match your marketing promises.

Having a strong product or service provides several benefits:

• Organic word-of-mouth marketing: Satisfied customers tend to share their positive experiences. They refer friends, share on social media and leave glowing reviews — all of which serve as authentic, cost-free marketing.
• Lower customer acquisition costs: If your customers are happy and stick around, you spend less on constantly bringing in new ones.
• Stronger brand reputation: Trust and reputation are earned by consistently delivering on promises, not by clever slogans.

From my experience, no marketing strategy, no matter how well-funded, can make up for customer disappointment. I’ve worked with brands that were spending six figures monthly on traffic acquisition, but until they fixed issues within their products, they couldn’t scale profitably.

Consider Starbucks, for instance. It transformed from a simple coffee shop into a renowned experience brand. Customers don’t just buy coffee — they invest in the atmosphere, service and consistency. This is why Starbucks enjoys outstanding customer loyalty, since its marketing focuses more on storytelling than straightforward selling.

Building a strong foundation requires creating a product that naturally fosters loyalty, which is the true catalyst for lasting brand success.

Related: Customer Experience Will Determine the Success of Your Company

How to ensure your product is marketing-ready

Before ramping up your marketing efforts, take a moment to honestly evaluate what you’re offering.

Start here:

• Seek real feedback: Go beyond surveys. Engage in conversations, analyze support tickets and read online reviews. Look for recurring themes rather than isolated comments.
• Benchmark against competitors: Evaluate how your product stacks up in terms of quality, pricing, experience and customer support.
• Fix issues first: If customer feedback repeatedly points to the same problems, prioritize improvements before increasing your marketing budget.
• Create a “wow” experience: Amaze your customers in unexpected ways, whether that’s through better onboarding, quicker delivery or more personalized service.

One approach I like to use is combining qualitative customer feedback with behavioral data, like heatmaps, exit rates or abandonment reports. This helps you understand not just what customers are saying, but also how they’re behaving, enabling you to tailor their experience more effectively.

Top companies that invest in customer experience outperform their competitors by three times in shareholder returns. Investing in experience has become a proven driver of growth and a strong competitive advantage.

Take Airbnb as an example. The company shifted its focus from merely listing properties to prioritizing guest experiences. It achieved this by providing streamlined bookings, personalized support and memorable stays. As a result of this commitment, Airbnb has evolved into a global brand, generating $11 billion in 2024.

Related: Developing a New Product? Here’s How to Make It a Hit Success

Build something worth marketing

At its core, marketing can only amplify the truth about your business — it cannot rewrite it. Make sure you are building something truly worth marketing. When your product or service genuinely solves problems and delights customers, every marketing channel you invest in will work harder and more effectively for you.

In fact, 73% of consumers cite customer experience as a crucial factor in their purchasing decisions.

Focus on delivering real value and watch your marketing efforts turn from struggle into momentum.

The first time I hosted a Prompt Party, I didn’t call it that. I was just trying to keep my five-year-old busy on a rainy Friday evening.

He wanted to make a video where our dog, Calvin, cooked up scrambled eggs with green onions. So we opened Sora, typed in a prompt and watched a pixelated masterpiece come to life. It was weird. And wonderful. And most of all, it was ours.

That was the spark.

Since then, we regularly gather for what’s become a tradition: Prompt Parties. They’re our family ritual where imagination leads, AI follows, and joy is the goal, not the output.

Related: Don’t Be Afraid Of AI — Your Fears Are Unfounded, and Here’s Why

Why we started Prompt Parties and why they stuck

Like many parents working in tech, I’ve had to confront some big questions:

• How do I introduce AI to my kids without overwhelming them?

• How do I make it feel like a tool, not a threat?

The answer, I’ve learned, is play.

Our Prompt Parties are casual. Pancakes optional. We brainstorm ideas, type in prompts and generate AI videos or images together using tools like Sora. Then we laugh, critique, remix and sometimes fall down rabbit holes of absurdity.

One week, the prompt was:

“Create the most photorealistic close-up of a blister pack of 8 pills, but instead of pills, there are tiny, adorable octopuses in different colors and textures. Each octopus is fully visible in side view, squished gently into its compartment like a soft gummy, but looking cheerful and content.”

The result? “Happy Octopus Pills.” A serotonin hit disguised as AI art. Feel free to try these on your own; I’d love to see what the output is.

That same day, my son Kai asked if Calvin (our side-eyeing dog) could wear a top hat and judge people like a Victorian aristocrat. We obliged:

“Dog side-eyeing like it knows your secrets. Make the side eye more intense. Have him wearing a top hat and human clothes.”

We’ve made LEGO towers with real-life bears in clown makeup. We’ve explored haunted castles and invented cereal mascots. There are no rules. Just prompts and possibility.

The science behind silliness

Shawn Achor, the positive psychology researcher behind The Happiness Advantage, argues that happiness isn’t a luxury; it’s a precursor to performance. Joy improves creativity, resilience and cognitive ability.

And guess what?

AI makes joy accessible in entirely new ways. It rewards curiosity, makes ideas tangible and bridges the gap between imagination and execution.

For kids, it’s magic. For adults, it’s a masterclass in thinking differently.

When we turn AI into play, we reduce the fear factor. We shift the narrative from “this tech will replace you” to “this tech can collaborate with you.” And that’s a lesson worth learning early.

Related: Here’s What Sora, OpenAI’s Text-to-Video Creator, Can Really Do

Building AI literacy without the creep factor

Let’s be real: Some parts of AI feel a little dystopian. Deepfakes. Chatbots impersonating humans. Kids don’t need all of that.

What they do need is agency.

Here’s how we keep Prompt Parties joyful and grounded:

• Use bounded, kid-safe tools. We use Sora, not Midjourney. And we steer clear of tools that generate ultra-realistic humans or open-ended chat. We don’t ever use images of them or real people.

• Stay involved. Every prompt goes through me. We sit side by side. If a result feels off, we talk about it. Not with fear, but with curiosity.

• Celebrate their ideas. Whether the prompt results in a perfectly rendered image or a total flop, we cheer the attempt. It’s not about what the AI makes. It’s about what they imagined.

• Turn screen time into story time. Most creations begin as drawings, stories or re-enacted scenes with stuffed animals. This feeds into active play and imagination later. AI is the spark, not the endpoint.

What Prompt Parties have taught me

I started this as a way to teach my kids about AI. But I’ve learned just as much in the process.

• Originality beats polish. The octopus pill pack wasn’t technically perfect. But it made us laugh, think and feel. That’s the metric that matters.

• Emotions drive retention. A child who gets to play with AI will remember how it works far more than one who just reads about it.

• We’re not raising consumers. We’re raising creators. The real win isn’t AI literacy, it’s creative confidence. When kids learn they can steer technology, not just consume it, you change the trajectory of how they’ll interact with the world.

A surprising takeaway: Creativity is a form of courage

Here’s what I didn’t expect when we started Prompt Parties:

The courage it takes for a child to say an idea out loud before they know how it will turn out. To imagine something no one’s ever seen. To press “generate” without knowing what they’ll get back.

That’s not just play. That’s bravery.

And it reminded me: Creativity isn’t about talent. It’s about permission. Permission to be original. To be ridiculous. To be seen.

Related: 3 Ways Parents and Educators Can Guide Children’s Responsible Use of GenAI

These parties aren’t just building AI fluency. They’re building resilience, voice and self-trust.

Because the world they’re growing up in won’t just reward knowledge. It will reward perspective. The ability to think differently, speak clearly and imagine what doesn’t yet exist.

And that starts with a question: What if?

Each Friday, we ask a simple question: What do you want to create today?

That question has generated more laughter, connection and creative spark than anything else I’ve tried as a parent.

So, if you’re wondering how to bring AI into your home without the creepy vibes, start there.

Give your kids the prompt (and the permission) to play.

Because teaching them how to be curious, thoughtful, joyful humans in an AI world might just be the most powerful lesson of all.

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As a consultant, chaos was a problem I had to solve. As a founder, it’s the air I breathe.

I entered the startup world armed with what I thought was the ultimate toolkit: a consulting background. Years of strategy decks, stakeholder management and cross-functional collaboration taught me how to turn chaos into structure and solve problems fast. I thought I had seen it all.

But I quickly realized that the transition from consultant to founder wasn’t so much a pivot — it was a free fall. See, consultants and founders couldn’t be more different. Consultants are trained to be perfect, founders need to be scrappy. Consultants are trained to eliminate chaos, founders need to thrive in it. Consultants have a safety net, founders don’t.

Related: Are You Ready to Be a CEO, a Founder or Both? Here’s How to Know

Let’s dive right in.

This is what consulting did prepare me for:

1. Finding structure in chaos: I am stating the obvious here, but it is essential for founders to be able to execute on their vision; and to do that effectively, founders need structure. Something as simple as creating an organized folder structure — which coincidentally was my first task as an associate — can go so far as securing your term sheet with investors when they ask for the data room during the due diligence process. Being due diligence-ready isn’t just about having your documents in order; it’s about demonstrating transparency and building confidence with potential investors.
2. Thinking on the spot: As a founder, it feels like you’re in the middle of the ocean and you need to swim your way back to shore. Consulting prepared me for that. I remember being chucked into remote environments to explain technical workflows to non-technical people — in my third language nonetheless. Thinking fast and adapting your message to whoever’s in front of you isn’t just useful — it’s how you create openings. It’s how you pitch before your product is ready. It’s how you get a meeting before there’s anything to show.
3. Burning the midnight oil: Let’s be real, consultants — at least, the good ones — are machines and can be extremely productive. Founders are part of a world where being busy includes attending a lot of conferences, exhibitions and the post-event functions that come with them. Consultants can rarely afford such luxuries. Crunchtime is real and forces them to converge their efforts on work. Knowing when to lock in and say no is crucial as a founder.

This is what consulting did not prepare me for:

1. Building and failing fast: Most founders and visionaries fall into the fallacy of building an end-to-end super solution that promises to be the holy grail of their customers — myself included. Enter the pivots. Your startup does not succeed when it builds out your vision — that is often just a very expensive dream. It succeeds when you find out what your customers are willing to pay for as quickly as possible. As Eric Ries puts it in The Lean Startup, the key is learning what customers actually want – not what you think they should want.
2. Storytelling as an art: In my first days as a founder, I walked into a potential client’s office long before I had a product or even a live website. I took the consulting route and brought a strategy deck with me. I got destroyed that meeting. Off the bat, it sounds like a mistake — but it was the best decision I could have made. I took note of the feedback and acted on them immediately. Get out there, pitch your idea and ask for feedback! Feedback helps you figure out what sticks, what doesn’t and how to sharpen your message until it cuts through.
3. Learning how to network: I did more networking in my first year as a founder than I did during my eight years as a consultant. Let that sink in. I thought I was networking as a consultant, but I was really just moving within the same orbit. As a founder, the galaxy is yours to explore. From day one, you find yourself networking with fellow founders from all walks of life, angel investors, venture capitals, tech builders, community leads — you name it. And the best part is, they don’t care about your CV. They care about your energy, passion and convinction. A study by Queen Mary University of London found that the quality of a startup’s network significantly impacts its chances of success, often more so than initial funding or team size.

Related: Are You Thinking Like a Founder? 4 Principles Every Successful Team Should Follow

In the end, the transition from consultant to founder was less about applying what I knew and more about unlearning what I thought I knew. And if you’re willing to unlearn, embrace different perspectives, take constructive criticism, to be honest with yourself and to move fast without all the answers — you will find yourself growing in ways no corporate job could ever offer.

Corporate tax rates, the percentage of a company’s profits that it pays to the government, can widely vary from state to state. Most states (except six: Nevada, Ohio, South Dakota, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming) charge a local corporation tax on profits of $100,000 on top of the federal rate of 21%.

But which state charges the most? To find out, U.K.-based finance site, BusinessFinancing.co.uk, created a hypothetical company and applied every state’s tax rules using data from Big Four firms, Deloitte and PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Related: 4 Tax Strategies Every High-Earning Entrepreneur Needs to Know for 2025

The fake company was public, in the tech sector, and had a revenue of $1 million. It also had five to nine employees, made a profit of $100,000 a year, and had a 10% profit margin. The owner’s salary was $59,000.

Based on this data, the study found that Minnesota businesses would pay the most, about 30.8% on profits of $100,000 (or $30,800) on top of the federal amount. Illinois would pay the second highest, about 30.5%. California (29.8%), Delaware (29.7%), and Massachusetts (29%) rounded out the top five.

Related: How Much Money Do You Need to Retire Comfortably in Your State? Here’s the Breakdown.

The lowest tax payment was about $21,000 on profits of $100,000. Six states tied for the lowest (besides the six that don’t charge anything, of course). Ohio, Nevada, South Dakota, Texas, Washington State, and Wyoming all were tied for the lowest.

The report also looked at global trends and found that the country with the highest tax rate for small businesses was Guyana. The business the study created would have had to pay $40,000 on profits of $100,000.

The countries with the lowest taxes on small businesses were the Bahamas (which charges a small license fee), Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates, which, per the study’s model, did not charge corporate tax on profits of $100,000.

Related: Hidden Fees Cost U.S. Small Businesses $153 Billion Each Year — Here’s How to Make Sure You Don’t Lose a Dime

Majoring in nutrition, art history, or philosophy could set you up for more employment success than majoring in a STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) field like chemistry or physics.

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York tracked the unemployment rate for recent college graduates ages 22 to 27 and found that it hit 5.5% in February, above the 2.6% rate experienced by college graduates of all ages.

The bank published data that month showing that some college majors were more affected by unemployment than others. According to the bank, the college majors with the lowest unemployment rates for the calendar year 2023 were nutrition sciences, construction services, and animal/plant sciences. Each of these majors had unemployment rates of 1% or lower among college graduates ages 22 to 27.

Art history had an unemployment rate of 3% and philosophy of 3.2%, each below the national average nationwide unemployment rate of 4.2% in April.

Related: Goldman Sachs CIO Says Coders Should Take Philosophy Classes — Here’s Why

Meanwhile, college majors in computer science, chemistry, and physics had much higher unemployment rates of 6% or higher post-graduation. Computer science and computer engineering students had unemployment rates of 6.1% and 7.5%, respectively.

Still, those fields were among the most highly compensated. Both computer engineering and computer science had median early-career annual earnings of $80,000, one of the highest out of any discipline. In comparison, art history majors earned $45,000 per year while philosophy majors made $48,000 and nutrition majors $75,000. All three fields had higher salaries than the median personal income in the U.S. in 2023, which was $42,220.

Over 32% of computer science college graduates went on to obtain master’s degrees or higher, compared to 48% of art history and nutrition students, and 58% of philosophy majors.

Most students who majored in chemistry or physics also obtained graduate degrees. Nearly 68% of physics and 66% of chemistry students in college decided to pursue and receive higher degrees. Physics graduates were among the most highly compensated, with median annual earnings of $70,000. Chemistry lagged behind with a median yearly pay of $55,000.

Related: These 3 Professions Are Most Likely to Vanish in the Next 20 Years Due to AI, According to a New Report

Companies are increasing their recruitment of humanities majors to obtain diverse perspectives. Last year, BlackRock’s chief operating officer, Robert Goldstein, spoke at a conference about the investment company’s need for humanities majors, even though the firm focuses on finance and technology.

“We have more and more conviction that we need people who majored in history or English, in things that have nothing to do with finance or technology,” Goldstein said. “It’s that diversity of thinking and diversity of people and diversity of looking at different ways to solve problems, that really fuels innovation.”

According to Federal Reserve Bank of New York data, history majors and English majors each made around $45,000 in median annual earnings, with an unemployment rate of around 4.6%.

Goldman Sachs’ Chief Information Officer, Marco Argenti, also noted last year that a standard engineering degree might not suffice anymore, particularly as AI learns to write high-quality code. Argenti suggested that it may be necessary to pair a computer science degree with an additional degree in philosophy.

In April, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella stated that the company’s engineers are using AI to write 20% to 30% of code, while Google CEO Sundar Pichai said on an earnings call that Google was using AI to write “well over 30%” of new code.

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