Help me settle this debate.

There was recently a post on here by a bright young guy about how it felt staring into the abyss, so to speak, and confusion about what next steps to take, knowing you really only get one shot. Quite a few others commented about how they're in a similar situation, but there was no consensus on how to proceed, given a shortened timeline (however long it may be). And given there are far more lurkers than posters, I suspect there are lots of people with these concerns but no concrete answers.

The canonical, impact-maximizing solutions are to "spread awareness" and "learn to code and work your way into a lab", which could have worked in the past, but seem to fall short today. With a non-target degree, proving your merit seems infeasible. Furthermore, it's not clear you can upskill or lobby or earn to give fast enough to contribute anything meaningful in time.

If the hour really has come, and contributing to the cause is unlikely, self-preservation becomes the goal. Western social safety nets (and culture in general) require immense future incomes that are far from guaranteed; "we used to be happy as farmers" is true, but avoids the problem. The jury's out on exactly how long we have, but I think whatever percentage you put on, say, AGI by 2027, it exceeds the threshold for a rational actor to make big changes. A new plan is needed.

There doesn't seem to be any conventional defense against shortened timelines. The advice given by the people will benefit from the incoming tidal wave of automation - the managers, the team leads - has ranged from "work on what you're interested in" to "I'll be retired when that becomes a problem." In the old world, it was okay to spend on grad school or try things out, because you had your entire life to work for a salary, but we face the real possibility that there's only a few years (if that) to climb out of the bucket.

Frankly, it's a little thrilling to consider this, in a Wild West, "the action is the juice" way. But there's a needle that needs to be threaded.

What's the best path forward? Specifically, what can a young adult without target credentials (but the drive and ability to punch in that weight class) do to stay afloat? We go back and forth on this, our group of college seniors.

One faction asserts it's still possible to scramble up the career ladder faster than the rungs get sawn off; artific...

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