My kids are high school age. It's hard to convey the deep existential dread their generation has about the future.

* They are growing up in a climate that is worse than any prior generation had and getting worse.

* In the US, they are growing up in a time with less upward mobility and more economic inequality than the previous several generations had.

* Trust in social institutions and government is crumbling before their eyes.

* Blue collar jobs are already gone and white collar jobs have no certainty because of AI. Almost all of the money has already been sucked out of artistic professions and what little is left is quickly evaporating because of AI.

Imagine you're 17 like my daughter and trying to decide what to major in in college. You want to pick something that you think is likely to give you some kind of decent career and sense of stability. What do you pick?

Because, I'll tell you, she asks me and I have no fucking idea what to say.

How about professions that require licensing to practice (civil engineering, accounting, insurance, actuarial science, law, medicine, pharmacy, nursing), or work in the government sector (defense, military, municipal/state/federal agencies)?