This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Sophia Sun, 29, from San Francisco. The following has been edited for length and clarity. My first job out of college was at Microsoft, where I worked as a program manager and product manager from 2018 to 2023. In January 2023, I left my Big Tech job to work for a creator commerce platform. There, I developed an AI product, which led to me landing a senior AI role at Microsoft in July 2024. In the current job market , AI feels like the