This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Jiaona Zhang, the CPO at the AI software company, Laurel. She previously worked in product at Airbnb, WeWork, and Linktree. Since 2018, she has taught an annual graduate-level class in product management fundamentals at Stanford, in-person and online. She is in her late 30s and lives in the San Francisco Bay Area. The following has been edited for length and clarity.
When I started teaching in 2018, computer science graduates were finding great, well-paid jobs at top companies. Students could expect to earn a base salary of $120,000 with equity on top.
But over the past two years, the pathway of studying CS, doing a giant interview loop when big companies come to campus, getting in, and working your way up the company seems to be getting obliterated. I‘ve noticed those entry-level offers drying up and students gravitating to smaller startups or entrepreneurship.
The hard, mundane things students learn in computer science and the tasks a software engineer does at the junior level are now being done by AI. You can build a product in a day or an hour, even if you aren’t super technical. In many cases, entrepreneurs can capture so much value at an unprecedented pace.
It’s no longer just about whether you chose the right major and got on the right path. Over the next 10 years, I think the emphasis will shift away from what you’ve studied toward what you’re building.
Students are doing a lot of soul-searching. They’re asking themselves what problem they really want to work on, or whether they want to be a founder. Anyone can do anything, so what do you really want to do?
I’m looking for workers who are builders with curiosity and drive
Students don’t need to master every single AI tool out there. Instead, they need to hone their skill set to spot opportunities. One of the reasons I think students are interested in my Stanford product course is because I teach how to understand the user and build unique insight into a market or problem. If you’re able to identify a user group and work out what problem they’re experiencing, your product is more likely to hit the bull’s-eye.
When I interview candidates at Laurel, I have them share their screen and walk me through how they use AI, and ask what they’re building and when they last replaced tedious manual work with AI. A candidate’s level of agency is highly related to how good an employee I think they will be. Technology has leaped forward, and it’s really going to benefit those who are curious.
It’s not about being technical, but about being a builder, meaning you have curiosity and drive, and do the thing without waiting to be told. Those are the ingredients of success for the next generation.
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