What this report tells you
The career direction report combines three honest data signals into one read-out.
- Pay range for your current role. US national medians from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2024 release (published April 2025; the May 2025 release is scheduled for May 15, 2026 and we will refresh then). Specific OES occupation cited per role. Pay varies by region; multiply by 1.15-1.4 for high-cost-of-living US metros.
- AI displacement risk. Low, low-medium, medium, medium-high, or high. Anchored on Goldman Sachs Research's April 2026 labor market analysis. Goldman finds AI is currently displacing roughly 16,000 US jobs per month on net (25,000 lost to substitution offset by 9,000 added through augmentation), with Gen Z and entry-level white-collar workers taking the brunt. Goldman's base case projects 6-7% of US workers displaced over a roughly 10-year adoption window, lifting unemployment by about 0.6 percentage points. Corroborated by OECD AI exposure index research. Low = under 25% of tasks AI-exposed. High = over 50%.
- Three adjacent roles you likely qualify for. The career ladder in the tool maps each role to its most natural adjacent roles (one rung up, one column over). The fit percentage is the percentage of typical skill signals for the adjacent role that appear in your resume.
How to read the recommendation
The report ends with a stay-or-move recommendation based on your role's AI risk, market trend, and fit percentage to adjacent roles. It is direction, not gospel. Your individual circumstances (financial obligations, geography, life stage, risk tolerance) decide what to actually do.
If your top adjacent fit is 60% or above, you usually meet the keyword threshold for postings in that adjacent role. Tailor your resume to a specific posting and apply. If the fit is 30-60%, you have most of the foundation but need to add 2-4 specific skills or certifications first. If it's under 30%, the role is a stretch and probably not the right next step from where you are today.
What this report cannot tell you
It cannot tell you the chance of being hired. Hiring decisions involve interview chemistry, internal politics, hiring freezes, and dozens of factors not on your resume. Any tool that claims a "hireability percentage" is making up the number. We deliberately don't.
It cannot tell you whether you should leave a stable role with great coworkers and good benefits to chase higher pay. That's a life decision, not a data decision.
It cannot give role-specific guidance for every occupation. Our career ladder currently covers 46 common roles across tech, business, healthcare, and trades. We expand it over time.
Sources
Pay data: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2024 release (published April 2025). The May 2025 release is scheduled for May 15, 2026.
AI exposure framing: Goldman Sachs Research, April 2026 labor market analysis. Goldman's economists report AI is currently reducing monthly US payroll growth by roughly 16,000 jobs on net and project 6-7% of workers displaced over a roughly 10-year AI adoption window. Earlier baseline framing from Goldman Sachs (Briggs and Kodnani, 2023) and OECD AI exposure index publications.
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