The Aftergrad Weekly #09
Decoding the Future, AI Chatbots, and the Death of Hobbies
Welcome to The Aftergrad Weekly, a curated media bundle to keep you informed, inspired, and entertained. Every Tuesday, we share a selection of articles, something to watch, an interesting quote, and links worth consuming.
Good morning, Aftergrads. We hope you’ve been having a hot girl or hot boy summer. Thriving. Not just surviving, right? That’s the idea anyway. It’s been a little bit since we’ve connected with you on a consistent basis. Please accept our sincere apologies. Victoria and I got busy with life and planning for this new chapter as we’re no longer living together in Dallas or D.C.
Moving forward, you can expect an issue of The Aftergrad Weekly every Tuesday morning delivered directly to your inbox or Substack app. Mark your calendars. And download the Substack app to fully experience the newsletter on your mobile device.
Let us know how you enjoyed this one. We’ve updated the format to maximize the value we share with you as we continue to create for the podcast and write for the newsletter. Stay tuned for a longer update from us where we talk about next steps for the Aftergrad brand.
Also…
To anyone who’s navigating the job search process and struggling to stay motivated, I just want to say that I see you. I too have been applying for roles and finding it extremely difficult to even secure an interview. It’s tough out here. But I know that if we just stay vigilant, opportunities will soon present themselves.
— Robert
AND I QUOTE
“It’s a shame that we’re forced to make decisions that dictate our life when we’re too young to know we’re making them.”
— Industry, S2 Ep. 2
QUIZ
On the Future of Work with Insights from Forbes
Check if you got the right answer by scrolling to the bottom of the newsletter where we share some additional insights on this trend.
RECOMMENDED READING
The Death of Hobbies by Eve Upton-Clark via Business Insider
Are hobbies dead? According to Business Insider, they might be. Many Americans have a side hustle, and more and more people feel like they need their hobbies to play a specific role in their life other than bringing them pleasure and joy.
A hobby, by definition, is an activity done regularly in one's leisure time for pleasure. But in recent years, expectations have shifted: The fun activities we used to do to fill our spare time should be productive, even profitable. With platforms like Etsy and Instagram, every hobby can become a side hustle. Do you have a penchant for vintage fashion? Why not sell your finds on eBay? Are you a keen photographer? Did you know you can make money from that? In the US, 49% of people under 35 claim to have a side hustle alongside their full-time job. That means that after a 40-hour workweek, rather than knitting a scarf or relaxing with a book for the fun of it, almost half of young people are turning those activities into income.
But Wylde — and many others like him — experienced an all-too-common downside that can come with trying to turn a hobby or personal interest into a side hustle: Monetization can be hard work, and starting a business doesn't always work out. A hobby is no longer a hobby when deadlines are imposed and it requires you to file your own taxes — that's a job. In the post-nine-to-five economy, hobbies have been killed off and milked for cash — but in the rush to turn a passion into a profitable enterprise, the fire a person has for that activity can be snuffed out.
Read the full article here.
RECOMMENDED VIEWING
The Future Of on Netflix
Technology and its applications to business and life are constantly advancing. As shown in The Verge’s docuseries about the future of everything, which makes a number of predictions about the future of gaming, death, and fashion — among multiple other industries — the ways in which society is evolving and innovating around technology will have huge impacts on the next generation and beyond.
NEW EPISODE
S2 Ep. 12: Decode the Future, Part II (w/ Elizabeth Ann Gilbert)
In Part 2 of this conversation about the future, we close out the season with a special guest. Victoria’s younger sister, Elizabeth Ann Gilbert, joins us to talk about her postgrad plans after graduating from West Point a few months ago. Together, we reflect on the bittersweet emotions associated with finishing an undergraduate degree and contemplate the potential impacts of speculative futures in work, education, and society. We’ll be back for Season 3 in Fall 2023.
PERSONAL NEWS
Colleges Are Dying, Long Live Higher Education by Matt Klein and Robert Cain via ZINE
I wrote an essay on the future of higher education with Matt Klein, Head of Global Foresight at Reddit, for his Substack newsletter ZINE. — Robert
LINKS WORTH CONSUMING
For the week of July 31, 2023
🎞 Fuse is a growing collection of creative references and digital entertainment where new links are posted weekly. Founded in 2017, the platform is itself a reminder to discover original content beyond social media platforms.
🤖 AI Chatbots Are The New Job Interviewers
🌍 Kids Tell Us What They Think 2050 Will Be Like
☘️ Linking The Green Veins Of Europe is a photo essay featured via NOEMA that highlights how humans in Europe are trying to protect nature and preserve Earth’s biodiversity.
👀 Why Gen Zers are looking to Europe to achieve their American dream
🏥 Condition Center is a resource for accurate and approachable information about your personal health created by POPSUGAR. It contains a series of explanations on various diagnoses sourced directly from medical experts and reputable sources.
Subscribe to The Aftergrad Newsletter for free to receive these roundups, advice columns from Dear Aftergrad, essays on Postgrad Diary, and much more directly in your inbox.
Until next time,
Your fellow aftergrads, Robert & Victoria
P.S. See below for some additional media we’ve been consuming. And don’t forget to read the brief explainer for the quiz we shared.
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The correct answer is A — 2x. Companies with remote or hybrid policies appear to be hiring people at about twice the rate of employers that are fully in office, according to a new analysis by Scoop, a hybrid work management software company. Furthermore, over the last 12 months, fully flexible companies and hybrid employers have grown their headcount by 5.6% and 4.1%, respectively, while full-time in-office organizations have only grown by 2.6%. Gleb Tsipursky also analyzes why hybrid work is here to stay for the foreseeable future.
Interesting outline for a newsletter. I’m anxious to see how it goes.
I would like to have a little more info on the author’s background to content like health, before spending too much time reading something they wrote on it.
Not being critical, just my preference. Otherwise, I appreciated your offerings!