But The Information reported that behind the scenes, Huang, 61, is concerned with future-proofing Nvidia, telling colleagues he doesn't want it to meet the same fate as former tech titans Cisco and Sun Microsystems.
Having launched in 1999 as a maker of GPUs for gaming systems, Nvidia has had its stumbles over the years, The Information reports, including a failed attempt at software for self-driving cars.
There's no imminent sign of a slowdown for Nvidia's white-hot chips that are largely powering the AI boom.
But a glimpse at the histories of fallen tech companies illuminates just how quickly fortunes can turn.
Cisco shares plunged when the dot-com bubble burst
Severalanalysts have drawn parallels between Nvidia and Cisco, which also trafficked in hardware that fueled its day's transformative technology.
Cisco sold routers and other networking hardware during the dot-com bubble. It went public in 1990 and saw its stock crest in 2000, briefly becoming the world's most valuable company with a $569 billion market cap.
Sound familiar?
But then the bubble burst. Data centers built by telecom companies went untapped, and Cisco's hardware went from revolutionary to commonplace.
The company announced layoffs in 2001, and by October 2002, its share price had plunged 90%, according to Investor's Business Daily. While shares have never reached peak levels again, the company continues to operate.
Sun had a $200 billion valuation — and was later acquired for a fraction of that.
Another cautionary tale Huang reportedly heeds is Sun Microsystems.
"He tries to remind people not to get 'Sunned,'" a Nvidia employee told The Information.
The server and computer manufacturer experienced a similar ascent to Cisco during the dot-com bubble, with CEO Scott McNealy and programmer Bill Hoy emerging as celebrities of the tech industry, according to Forbes.
Sun's operating systems were an early hit and eventually led the company to a peak market cap of $200 million in 2000, according to Marketwatch.
But eventually competitors caught up — and Sun failed to pivot to the lucrative software space, The Information reports.
The Information reports Huang is seeking to avoid the same fate by diversifying Nvidia's business beyond chips, including with cloud server rental and software businesses.
Nvidia AI Enterprise, for instance, is an operating system that trains AI. Whether history repeats itself remains to be seen.
R.J. Fenton, 40, opted to reskill as a plumber after she became a single mom during the pandemic.
R. J. Fenton
R. J. Fenton built a career in media for years before she decided to add a plumbing qualification to her portfolio.
After being laid off from her job and becoming a single mom, she decided to take on a new challenge.
She turned to plumbing as a way to supplement her income and regain self-confidence.
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with R.J. Fenton, 40, about how she opted to reskill as a plumber after she became a single mom during the pandemic. The following has been edited for length and clarity. Business Insider has verified her previous and current employment.
Over the past 18 years, I've built a career in publishing and media. I started in audio publishing, working at Amazon's Audible and later becoming head of development at a TV production company.
Then, the pandemic hit, and my life trajectory changed.
In August 2020, I was laid off from my job, and a couple of days later, my husband left me.
To add to the shock, I found out weeks later that I was pregnant. We'd been trying for children for a few years and had unfortunately suffered two miscarriages in our fertility journey, so finding out I was pregnant was a piece of joy amid a very trying time.
My pregnancy was surprisingly calm. I tried applying for a few jobs but soon gave up, as sleep deprivation left my energy levels on the floor. I gave in to the idea of leaning on some of my savings and taking statutory maternity pay during the pregnancy and the first year of my daughter's life while continuing to do some volunteer mentoring.
The main struggle came after my daughter was born, as I tried to navigate being a single parent with only a small amount of family support.
I registered with the job center in mid-2022 when my daughter turned 18 months old. I needed to return to a career for financial reasons and to boost my self-esteem.
The job center introduced me to theConnecting Communities scheme,where I could receive £500 ($640)toward a chosen training course. That's when I decided to do something completely different: retrain as a plumber.
Within weeks of applying, I found myself in a drafty workshop in the South East of England, undertaking a weeklong plumbing accreditation course.
She was the only woman on the 10-person plumbing course.
R. J. Fenton
A trial-by-fire
I was the only woman on the ten-person course, and it's safe to say I felt out of my comfort zone. I'd barely done any DIY before, and the tutor had us soldering and bending metal pipes from day one.
I felt embarrassed that I couldn't distinguish a hacksaw from all the other saws laid out before me.
It was definitely a trial-by-fire, but by the end of the week, I felt a real sense of accomplishment.
As a new mom and a single parent, you can feel that your capability is in doubt. Sleep-deprived and mentally exhausted, I felt disconnected from myself. Despite the intensity of the course, learning a new practical skill allowed me to engage a new side of my brain, and I couldn't get enough.
Six months later, I took another course to obtain a Level 2 plumbing diploma. I was lucky enough to receive a full bursary from the City & Guilds Foundation, a charity that offers vocational training.
This course upped the ante: it was six weeks long, and I'd be in the workshop most days from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. It was a mixture of classroom and manual learning followed by nine academic exams. Once again, I was the only woman on the twelve-person course.
It was a lot to manage: I was getting three to five hours of broken sleep each night with my daughter, then having super intensive days where I'd be heavy lifting and using a threading machine on heavy-duty iron pipes.
Outside my comfort zone
Most people were surprised when I opted to reskill in plumbing maintenance instead of returning full-time to my previous career.
It might sound crazy to have chosen to dedicate my time to a new pursuit so far removed from my previous career. But I was at a point where I had to prove to myself that I could do something that was out of my comfort zone.
As a new parent, sometimes you feel your sense of self falter. I didn't have a partner or a full-time job to give myself a sense of continuity, so achieving something I'd never even imagined doing gave me a lot of pride.
People were surprised she chose to add plumbing to her portfolio career.
R. J. Fenton
From training to setting up my own business
While doing my training, I was still maintaining my freelance work as a media consultant, using the network and skills I'd built up over 18 years.
I was working a contract job for a literacy nonprofit, and thankfully, they allowed me to take six weeks off to complete the plumbing course.
After the course, I started by practicing my skills close to home. I live in a new development building that contains around 150 flats. All the residents have a WhatsApp group where they ask around for contacts in the trades or ask other residents for advice on home maintenance.
I shared with them that I was about to become a qualified plumber and immediately had around four jobs booked.
That pushed me to become self-employed in plumbing and do this alongside my media work, which forms the basis of my income.
I work the two jobs side-by-side, and I'm a little taken aback that I can charge clients the same rate as a newly qualified plumber as I do as a media consultant with 18 years of experience.
The thing I like about the trades is that people know they have to fork out a certain amount for an in-demand service, so you don't get as many clients cheekily asking you to do extra work for free.
How I manage my time and income
I began combining my two careers earlier this year when I became a spokesperson for TaskHer, a platform that matches female tradespeople with clients.
Some female clients prefer a woman tradesperson. But also a number of male clients have told me they've felt embarrassed to admit to a male tradesperson that they can't fix a problem themselves.
I currently carve out one day a week for plumbing work — I concentrate on smaller maintenance, so I can do around four to six jobs within a day. I get the satisfaction of solving problems for my clients as well as bringing home a decent wage.
Right now, being self-employed is the best option for me while my child is below school age. I need a bit of work-life balance, and working for myself means I can go to a morning fitness class or go out for lunch on occasion.
The plumbing work gives me good flexibility, and I'm very aware that it is a way of future-proofing my career in case the rise of AI makes elements of my media work redundant.
To some extent, I've always been a bit of a hustler. I love having these two wildly different careers and blending them together. It means that I don't get bored.
I don't want my trade knowledge to end at plumbing. Next, I'm planning to start a new course in carpentry and joinery to continue expanding my skill set.
I want to show my daughter and other women in the trades that there are many options out there to design your own portfolio career.
Isabella Ambrosio's maternal aunt adopted her four years after her mother died.
Courtesy Isabella Ambrosio
My mom died just before I turned 8 and my maternal aunt adopted me years later.
We got off to a rough start, but I accepted her help when I saw she wasn't trying to replace my mom.
I'm so grateful for the life she gave me.
My mother died unexpectedly 10 days before my 8th birthday. She had been sick for less than a month before eventually succumbing to her illness. She was warm, bright, funny, and smart, and my time with her was unbelievably short.
I lived with my biological father for four years after my mother's death before I was removed from his care and ended up in the Department of Children and Family Services' custody.
While living with him, I became withdrawn, distrustful, and completely uncommunicative. Once in the custody of DCFS, I was diagnosed with major depressive disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder. After a month in the custody of the state, my maternal aunt, Elizabeth, was granted guardianship when I was 12 years old.
Isabella Ambrosio's adopted mom Elizabeth, left, and mom, right.
Courtesy Isabella Ambrosio
I was resistant to her help at first
She tells the story like it was yesterday — she received a call from DCFS asking whether she would be my guardian, and she literally raised her hand while on the phone and said, "I'll do it." I moved in with her and her 17-year-old son, John, on August 1, 2013. She was divorced from her ex-husband, Cary, and had another 26-year-old son, Tim, who no longer lived at home.
At first, it was just the three of us. It wasn't exactly smoothsailing — I hadn't really been parented in four years, and though we'd always been close, I think I was subconsciously afraid of her replacing my mother. I was resistant to a lot of her help for a long time.
Elizabeth contacted Cary and asked if he wouldn't mind spending some time with me so that I would have a paternal figure in my life. He agreed, and I began spending weekends at his house like I was the kid of a divorced marriage. My cousin, John, didn't go with me, so I had one-on-one time with him. And while I was spending time with Cary, he and Elizabeth eventually started dating again.
They remarried in 2014, and Cary moved back in. He said he never stopped loving Elizabeth, even while they were divorced, and I was as good of a reason as any as to why they got back together. However, I was still struggling with my connection with Elizabeth, even though I enjoyed spending time with Cary — though I'd always wanted a replacement for my biological father, I'd never wanted a replacement for my mother.
Isabella Ambrosio was adopted by her maternal aunt, Elizabeth.
Courtesy Isabella Ambrosio
She assured me she wasn't trying to replace my mom
Elizabeth sat me down one day and asked me if I was afraid of her replacing my mom. I said yes, and I can remember her response as clear as day.
"I'm not trying to replace your mother. She was my sister. But I promised her I would look after you. Are you in or are you out, kid?" she said.
And I realized then that all I'd needed was for her to acknowledge that my mom was still my mom and that she could never be replaced. I softened to her then, and I was finally all in. Calling Cary and Elizabeth "Mom" and "Dad" felt quite natural afterward.
There was still an adjustment period after the realization, though. I had a hard time believing I was safe and loved and that I had nothing to worry about — that I could be a child. I also had to learn that wasn't my job to worry about the electricity being on, whether there was enough food for dinner, or if there was gas to heat water for a shower.
But my parents were patient. They took me to therapy, helped me talk through my feelings and break out of bad habits, cared for and loved me, and nurtured me while still pushing me to be capable of the things they knew I could do. It took a lot of work, both on their behalf and mine.
I'm forever grateful for my mom's decision to take me in, and even more grateful that she loved me just as my biological mother would have wanted her to. Even though she had two kids already, there was still enough room for me in her heart. She has loved me like her own, and while she hasn't replaced my mother, she has honored her memory just by being her.
I live in Ireland now, and my parents retired from Illinois to Tennessee, after spending two short years in Ireland with me. Now, I see them once every two years if I'm lucky. But when I am home, it truly feels like home. My parents gave me a life I could have never dreamed of before they took me in. They gave me a chance to be me. I couldn't have done it without them.
Chris Elle Dove is set to retire early, two decades after declaring bankruptcy.
Chris Elle Dove
Chris Elle Dove, once bankrupt, is set to retire early with over $1.5 million net worth.
She transitioned from earning $50,000 a year as a professor to investing full-time.
Her strategy includes living minimally, investing in real estate, and keeping spending low.
Chris Elle Dove, 52, declared bankruptcy at age 29 in 2001 and survived off government benefits and side hustles to provide for her two kids. She had recently lost her husband and was struggling to be a good mom while finding more stable work.
Two decades later, she and her second husband have a total net worth of over $1.5 million and are set to retire early in their 50s.
After years of earning between $50,000 and $60,000 as a professor, Dove was convinced by her husband — who is in the military and had maxed out his retirement accounts — to invest full-time. Investing, alongside income from real estate and financial consulting, allowed her and her husband to be on track to become FIREs — or those who have reached financial independence and retired early.
"It was a long time before I got back on my feet, and I have no intention of ever being in that situation again," Dove said.
A rocky financial start
Dove was raised in an upper-middle-class family that went on two vacations a year, and she did extracurriculars from cheerleading to horseback riding to ice skating.
"I didn't even think about not going to college," Dove said. "I only thought about what college."
Her parents never openly discussed money, but she knew they kept a strict budget. They taught her about managing money, such as by giving her a pre-paid credit card in high school for clothes that she had to budget.
She had her first kid at 20 and her second at 24, putting her bachelor's degree on hold — it took her 17 years to finish her degree. At one point, she held three jobs — teaching ballroom dancing, bartending, and shoveling mulch for a landscaping company.
While raising her kids, her husband developed a brain tumor that left him sick for years. The medical bills piled up, and most weren't covered by their insurance. She also had student loan debt that she put on the back burner.
Her husband died at 28 when her kids were 7 and 3.
Dove didn't have much time to grieve, though. She worked so many hours to support her kids she would get sick. After a car accident that led to a hospital stay, she declared bankruptcy.
With little money to her name, relying on Social Security survivor benefits, she moved with her two kids to a town in Western Illinois. She bought a $50,000 home, paying $200 a month in mortgage payments. She maintained her dance teaching position, privately tutored, and was a research assistant.
"I always felt like a failure, like I should be providing for my kids the way I was provided for," Dove said. "I was never able to do that. I was just trying to make it to the next paycheck."
Getting back on her feet
In a stroke of luck, she got the opportunity to teach sociology courses at a community college, which paid her $34,000 a year in 2006. Her salary rose to $56,000 a few years later. Having plenty of vacations and more stable hours allowed her to be more present in her kids' lives, though money was still a stressor. She made extra income from advising campus clubs.
"We kept the wheels on the bus, but we never got ahead," Dove said.
She barely had money in her retirement accounts and hadn't invested much for her kids' futures. All she could think about was squeezing enough money out of her next paycheck to take her kids to a museum.
"I honestly spent most of my life not caring about money unless I had an emergency expense and I couldn't pay for it," Dove said. "I thought money was probably something that corrupted people, and I just didn't have a very positive opinion of money."
Her second husband, whom she met in 2015 and married in 2021, had maxed out his retirement accounts and saved much of his income. They agreed she would take off a few months to write children's books and see if it was financially sustainable. Once it became clear this career switch wasn't viable, she began investing after her husband convinced her she would be good at it.
"I pushed back because I didn't think it was rewarding. I didn't think I would feel like I was contributing to society in a meaningful way as an investor," Dove said.
Reaching financial independence
She sold her car and invested that money in the stock market, starting with buying a share of Berkshire Hathaway, then diversifying her portfolio.
"One of the biggest realizations for me is that I used to think you needed more money to be wealthy, but now what I've learned is you can have a ton of money and still live paycheck to paycheck," Dove said. "You can make a very small amount of income and live within your means and live stress-free and happy and build wealth."
She knew she couldn't start her financial independence journey alone, and her more financially savvy husband helped her get on track. On a national parks trip, they decided they would do whatever they could to retire early and spend more time exploring the world without worrying about money.
She read dozens of books and articles about financial markets, completed graduate degrees in financial planning, and became a Certified Financial Behavior Specialist. She modified her investing strategies to fit her personality, schedule, and risk tolerance. She and her husband started with $240,000 invested in retirement accounts, as well as about $80,000 in equity. Within the first four years, they doubled their investments twice.
In her mid-40s, she paid off her student debt, which she considered a huge milestone. It was the first time she could start saving money and max out her 401(k).
She and her husband adopted a minimalist lifestyle, starting by adopting a "one in, one out" rule — for every shirt she bought, she would sell one. They prioritized experiences over gifts and significantly increased savings, only purchasing what they needed.
Over the last four years, she estimates they've saved over 40% of their income — and about 60% if including investments from home sales. Still, she said they're not overly frugal and spend on fitness, food, and hobbies like bikes.
She created an "intense and intimidating" spreadsheet to track everything coming in and going out. She added sections for emergency savings, investments, net worth, and their "slush fund" of purchases above $500.
They pivoted to moving 20% of her husband's base income, 100% of her income, and at least 50% of bonuses into investments. Her husband's military pension, which is inflation-adjusted, has also taken some weight off the planning process.
"In addition to paying ourselves first, we've adopted the 'give every dollar a job' approach. At the end of each month, any 'extra money' is assigned to either slush, emergency, or it's invested," Dove said.
Dove didn't want to work even more hours, which would force her to sacrifice time with her kids, so she made more with less. They recently bought a home for $96,000 in Bloomington, Illinois, just as State Farm moved their headquarters and home prices fell, then sold their house right as Rivian came in and prices rose.
This encouraged her to dabble in real estate investing, putting their mountain home up on Airbnb. The home was almost immediately booked out each week for eight months.
Dove has published four children's picture books and spends her days writing, facilitating workshops, and working as a financial coach. She is also an angel investor in some startups. Ultimately, she hopes to retire early to spend more time with loved ones and set them up for success.
"Although we have not hit our FI number yet, we will reach our target amount by our target date with just what we contribute from my husband's income," Dove said. "That has paved the way for me to chase my many dreams."
Are you part of the FIRE movement or living by some of its principles? Reach out to this reporter at nsheidlower@businessinsider.com.
Business Insider spoke with a longtime front-end manager about what the day-to-day is like.
Costco has more than 600 warehouses across the US, and each one depends on hundreds of employees performing a range of jobs each day.
Among those workers, few have more customer-facing responsibilities than front-end managers,whose duties extend from the parking lot to the back of the sales floor and almost everything in between.
Business Insider spoke with an assistant front-end manager in Texas who has been with the company for more than 20 years to learn what the day-to-day is like. BI has verified his identity but is not naming him as he is not authorized to speak to the media.
From starting in the food court to a stint as a supervisor on the membership desk, he says he's seen just about everything.
"I had a customer who didn't know that you had to refrigerate a cheesecake, so he brought it back literally as a brick of mold and wanted his money back," the manager recalled. "We did the refund."
Now, as an assistant front-end manager, he oversees a team of five supervisors and anywhere from 25 to 50 hourly workers, and is tasked with handling almost everything from the sales floor to the registers to the parking lot.
The inside of a Costco, previously photographed by Business Insider.
Talia Lakritz/Business Insider
A typical day starts when he wakes up around 7:30 a.m., quickly gets showered and dressed, and arrives at the warehouse as it's opening around 9:45 a.m.
"I'm the guy who's there to run the business," he said. "Very much managing the people and the situations that you run into throughout that day."
"Every day is consistent, insofar as it's inconsistent," he added.
Inventory moves quickly in a warehouse, and it's up to the front-end manager to keep a close eye on levels and make sure there is enough staff clocked in to keep things running smoothly in the aisles and the checkout lanes.
Plus, if another team needs extra support, it's often up to him to assign someone to help.
"Everyone goes to the front end, because we have the largest amount of people," he said. "If something goes sideways and your department needs help, you come to the front end."
Around 1:30 p.m., he hands over the reins to the evening manager and steps into a support mode through the afternoon rush until his shift ends at 7:30 p.m.
Asked what his favorite thing about working at Costco is, and his response was quick and clear: the team.
"It doesn't matter what building you're at, or what building you go to, you always find good people to work with," he said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un drove a Russian Aurus limousine during their meeting in Pyongyang, North Korea, on Wednesday, June 19, 2024.
Gavriil Grigorov/AP
Russian President Vladimir Putin made his first to North Korea in 24 years.
Putin gifted North Korean leader Kim Jong Un a second Aurus Senat limousine during the visit.
The drive offered the leaders an opportunity to showcase their strengthening relationship, which Kim said on Wednesday had reached "a new high of alliance."
Video footage shared on Telegram showed Putin behind the wheel of the Aurus, which he also gifted to his North Korean counterpart, Russian state media reported, citing Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov.
Putin gifted another luxury Aurus to Kim in February of this year, adding to the leader's large collection of luxury vehicles, which also includes a Maybach, a Mercedes-Benz, and a Rolls Royce — all of which were likely smuggled into the country in violation of UN sanctions, Reuters reported.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un.
KCNA via Reuters
Putin is also said to have gifted Kim a tea set and a dagger during his recent visit.
The Aurus Senat was unveiled in 2018 by the State Research Center of the Russian Federation. It is used as Putin's official state car.
According to the Aurus Motors website, the Senat limousine is "the embodiment of the dignity and power inherent in the Russian character. A car that combines excellent driving performance, immaculate comfort and unrivalled passenger safety."
An Aurus Senat on display.
Newspress
The vehicle is powered by a 598 horsepower, 4.4-liter, twin-turbo V-8 engine and can go from 0 to 60 mph in six seconds. It has a top speed of around 155 mph.
Like the US president's Cadillac state car — which is nicknamed "The Beast" — the Russian Senat is bulletproof and bombproof. The Aurus can also be fully submerged in water and has steel-reinforced tires.
The Aurus Motors website describes the Aurus Senat as "the most protected luxury car in the world."
The interior of an Aurus.
REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov
In 2021, Reuters reported that an Aurus with basic features would cost 18 million rubles, which is just over $200,000 today.
A senior Russian official said last month that Russia would start producing Aurus cars at a former Toyota factory in Saint Petersburg later this year, Russian state news agency TASS reported.
In September 2022, Toyota announced that it had decided to stop vehicle production in its Saint Petersburg plant "due to the interruption in supply of key materials and parts."
Employment for software developers has dipped from pre-pandemic levels.
Landing high-paying tech jobs could take longer.
Glassdoor's Daniel Zhao said it could be tough "finding a job that pays as well" for experienced developers.
You're not going to be able to write a few lines of code to solve this problem.
A new ADP Research Institute report shows employment for software developers has declined from January 2018. Data elsewhere show fewer opportunities for people to fill software development and tech roles after the US labor market is no longer as hot as it was a few years ago.
"The tech job market has undeniably slowed since the end of 2022, cooling after a few years of rapid hiring during the pandemic recovery," Daniel Zhao, Glassdoor's lead economist, said in a written statement. "Rising interest rates, the end of pandemic-era trends and a slowing economy overall has crimped demand for tech workers."
"That being said, employment in the tech sector has fallen less than 2% since its peak in December 2022 and is still 21% higher than March 2020," Zhao said.
Nela Richardson, ADP's chief economist, told Business Insider that the software developer isn't "an out-of-date occupation," but it could take longer to land work given it has "become a very efficient occupation" where fewer workers are likely needed.
"You may not, as a young tech worker in this industry, get recruited straight away out of university or learn straight away from your first job, or that there may have to be a little bit more grinding, a little bit more of a normal labor market in terms of new hires," she said.
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The change in software developer employment could partly be attributed to changes in consumer spending during the pandemic. "There was a slowdown in software developer hires in 2020, and then we had a couple bounce backs, and I think that's reflective of how the pandemic really spurred this increase into digital service offerings," Richardson said.
Job-search platform Indeed has its own running index ofjob postings for the software development sector. Nick Bunker, economic research director for North America at the Indeed Hiring Lab, told BI, "it's unlikely we'll see levels of demand like we saw in '21, in '22 for software development anytime soon."
Still, Bunker said demand for these jobs is healthy, and these are still well-paying gigs. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median annual wage for software developers was $132,270.
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"The depressed state of postings for software development jobs could be a possibly cyclical story or short-term story," Bunker said. "Maybe this is just interest rates are still very high, and a lot of employers are looking to be very cautious when it comes to hiring because a lot of those firms overhired in '21, and maybe they're just being very patient now."
Challenges for experienced workers seeking a better-paying gig and for new graduates
Zhao also noted "weak" sentiment in the tech sector and noted this could be because "waves of new graduates have been racing to enter the tech industry over the last decade as tech employers have offered high pay for newly minted software developers."
Zhao said, "even for experienced software developers at the top of the market, the issue may not be difficulty finding a job at all, but rather difficulty finding a job that pays as well as their previous one. Swallowing a pay cut is a tough ask for software developers who were earning top dollar just a few years ago."
Data from Handshake, a platform where students can look for work, suggests a cooler demand for software developers or engineers.
"There was a 29% decline in software developer/engineer jobs created" on the Handshake network when comparing the period between June 2023 and May 2024 to the year before, Randy Tarnowski, senior manager of research and education insights at Handshake, said in a statement.
Tarnowski said that software engineering roles "received a large share of 2024 computer science graduates' applications," but the share of applications has fallen by a few percentage points from the class of 2023.
"Instead of software engineering roles, the class of 2024 computer science grads are submitting more of their applications to other roles, including data science and analysts, computer hardware, information security, computer systems engineering, and financial and investment analysts roles," Tarnowski said.
For people making job decisions amid the strong but cooler job market, Bunker suggested thinking about long-term prospects instead of simply how demand is looking at the moment.
That is, a sector might not be "as flashy" or offer as great of compensation as it had been. However, Bunker added some of the "shine might have come off some of these jobs, but they're still well paying and have a good long-term outlook."
Have you made a career change from or to software development or another tech job? Reach out to this reporter to share at mhoff@businessinsider.com.
These cusper Zillennials are twice as wealthy as their geriatric millennial peers.
Many of them are living at home and staying single longer.
I've been writing about millennials since 2018 when they were 22 to 37 years old. Entering adulthood during the rise of social media and online shopping, coupled with some unique economic challenges, put this cohort in the limelight.
People were fascinated by what the kids were up to. The millennial stereotypes of brunching on avocado toast and living with their parents longer had the world especially intrigued — who was this generation that seemingly couldn't grow up?
Well, they have grown up. The eldest millennials turn 43 this year, according to the Pew Research Center's definition, and the majority of the generation has entered peak milestone years of homebuying and starting families.
Soon, the generation will age out of their 20s entirely and leave young adulthood behind. The youngest of the generation, born in 1995 and 1996, turn 28 and 29 this year, and just under 9 million 20-something millennials remain, per the US Census. This cohort falls into cusper territory, those born between generations, and are part of the larger "Zillennial" microgeneration.
Not quite millennial, not quite Gen Z, these late 20-somethings are shaped by the pandemic happening early on in their careers and initial wealth-building years. In some ways, they're actually faring better than their older millennial peers, and their struggles point to larger cracks in America's social support systems.
A bridge in the workplace
Diana Elliott, vice president of programs at Population Reference Bureau (PRB), told Business Insider that one's late 20s have always been peak years to establish careers. However, these particular late 20-somethings saw the pandemic shorten their typical in-office experience more than the rest of their generation. They were only 24 and 25 at the time, in the workforce for just a few years, and they fear it gave them an uneven footing in the labor force.
"They feel this has negatively affected their ability to learn the soft skills that come from working in an office and may lead to missing out on growth opportunities," Gabby Davis, a career expert at Indeed and younger millennial herself, told Business Insider. But Davis said Indeed research shows they don't want to go back into an office full-time. While return-to-office mandates have the potential to push them away, she says the youngest millennials are more likely to stick around in a job than Gen Z, who view their jobs with more dispensability.
Cuspers often act as a bridge in the workplace, but younger millennials may find it challenging to bridge this generational gap when reporting to older colleagues and managing younger ones, Davis said. But they've already pushed for greater flexibility, communication, and transparency at work, which she thinks can help them ease that transition. Millennials, now the largest generation, will continue to move into leadership roles as they age into their 30s and 40s which Davis believes will help "foster diversity, accountability, and more meaningful workplaces."
As the generation ages, Elliott predicts they'll start taking over boomers' roles as they retire. "We're going to see a lot of exits from the labor force, not just now but into the next decade or so," she says. "So it could be a really interesting time for opportunities for young millennials in the labor market."
Rollin' in the dough
At first glance, it seemed the pandemic might also jeopardize the wealth trajectory of the youngest millennials and the oldest Gen Zers. Older millennials struggled with the aftermath of the Great Recession and 2008 financial crisis, the rising cost of living, and $1.2 trillion in student loan debt.
In 2018, the St. Louis Fed predicted that those born in the 1980s were at risk of being a "lost generation" when it came to wealth accumulation. Fortunately, that didn't come to pass: By 2022, their wealth levels were 37% above expectations. But the wealth of younger millennials and older Gen Zers made an even sharper swing at 39%.
That wealth is even more striking when compared to their older peers at the same age. In 2013, 24- to 33-year-olds had a typical wealth level of $16,567, per data the St. Louis Fed provided Business Insider. That's more than doubled (even accounting for inflation) for those aged 26 to 32 in 2022, who have a typical wealth level of $55,760.
It shows how much the macroeconomic context can change even within a generation. St. Louis Fed data scientist Lowell Ricketts told Business Insider at the end of May, "you have these older millennials still grappling with some of the aftermath of the Great Recession, a subdued economy in which employment outcomes languish for some time," he said. "Younger millennials have made it by 2022 through much of the pandemic disruptions and found themselves with a much higher amount of wealth accumulated."
Ricketts said the coronavirus recession's shorter duration and more aggressive federal policy response saved them. A government cash infusion and a lockdown that prevented us from spending on trips and dinners out "buoyed a lot of financial outcomes across the wealth spectrum," making 2022 an overall high-water mark for wealth accumulation.
Creatively becoming homeowners
The Fed finds that real estate was a primary driver for younger millennials' wealth gains, as a hot pandemic housing market hiked up home values. But aren't millennials unable to buy homes, especially those who've had less time to save? Ricketts said that despite affordability issues, some have managed to make it work.
Younger millennials are getting creative about becoming homeowners, explained Jessica Lautz, deputy chief economist and vice president of research at the National Association of Realtors. They're living at home first to save money or partnering up — 19% of those aged 25 to 33, which includes the youngest millennials, are unmarried couples, the highest NAR sees among any generation in its Generational Trends Report.
They're also the most likely to get down payment transfers, often from family members helping out with the purchase. Maybe that's why 55% of them prefer to live near friends and family; the only other generation that comes close to this preference is retirees. "They're moving from their family members' homes, before purchasing at higher rates, so perhaps they have that strong family connection already," Lautz said. "During COVID, a lot of people reprioritized what's important to them, and family is more important."
A mixed bag for women
Young millennial women have especially seen their economic well-being improve; the rise of educational opportunities has them outearning what their mothers and grandmothers did relative to men, according to PRB research. "The pay gap is closing with every successive cohort," Elliott said.
Because younger millennial women are focused on their careers, they're continuing the overall millennial trend of delaying family formation. The US fertility rate decreased by 3% between 2022 and 2023, reaching a historic low. "What this suggests is that younger millennials will likely have smaller families," Elliott said. This is neither good nor bad, but interplays with other economic factors such as housing affordability, getting a foothold in the work world, and student debt.
Of course, generations are nuanced. Not everyone is faring well; some millennials are stuck in poverty, and young millennial women have lost ground in terms of health and safety. "Systems and supports are not in place to understand how to best help people," Elliott said. "We need that right now. In terms of maternal mortality, it reflects a lot of the ways in which the U.S. does not do as well as its peer countries."
And some of younger millennials' accumulated wealth has faded thanks to inflation, Ricketts said. Still, he's hopeful that "the wealth outcomes we see in 2022 might be an optimistic note and a source of strength going forward."
He pointed out that younger millennials who invest their wealth well are more likely to consume and drive economic growth. "Having entrepreneurial aspirations while having wealth on hand lets you pursue those dreams," he said. So, by investing in oneself and one's passions, this can benefit the broader economy as well."
It's a pattern being repeated all over the world. Chinese EV firms are expanding rapidly in developing markets like Brazil, Mexico, and Southeast Asia, even as governments in the US and Europe try to shut them out with tariffs and trade barriers.
Data compiled by technology intelligence firm ABI Research for Business Insider suggests that Chinese automakers already dominate many of these markets.
Chinese carmakers accounted for 88% of the EV market in Brazil and 70% in Thailand in Q1, according to ABI Research figures. BYD, alone, which is China's largest EV company, accounted for 71% and 45% of EV sales during that time in those respective markets.
That's a problem for legacy automakers like Ford and current combustion-vehicle market leaders like Toyota and Volkswagen, who may struggle to compete with Chinese players and risk being left behind as developing markets shift toward EVs.
But those barriers do little to protect legacy automakers in developing markets, with experts telling Business Insider they faced the prospect of being lapped by the Chinese upstarts.
"By erecting a wall around the EU or the US, you're effectively ceding the rest of the world to China," Bill Russo, the CEO of Shanghai-based automotive strategy firm Automobility, told BI.
Joe Biden imposed 100% tariffs on China-made EVs in May.
AP Photo/Susan Walsh
Sam Fiorani, vice president at consultancy AutoForecast Solutions, agreed, pointing out that the ability to build more affordable vehicles gave Chinese EV makers a crucial edge in many of these markets.
"A lot of these markets are underdeveloped, and the Chinese brands are bringing in relatively inexpensive vehicles, which is exactly what those countries need at the moment," he said.
Brazil
Chinese firms are already the EV market leaders in Brazil, and they appear set to capitalize on the rapidly growing market for electric vehicles in the country.
EV sales in Brazil were up 145% in the first three months of the year, according to the Brazilian Electric Vehicle Association,with BYD and rival Great Wall Motors leading the pack.
Like the US and EU, Brazil has imposed tariffs on all imported EVs, which are expected to hit 35% in 2026.
However, unlike the European and US governments, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has proven more open to China, offering incentives and financial support for foreign manufacturers willing to invest in green technology in Brazil.
Great Wall and BYD have both pledged to build factories in the country. BYD estimates that its Camaçari complex will be able to churn out 150,000 vehicles per year once it opens, while Great Wall's site near São Paulo could eventually produce 100,000 vehicles annually.
Business Insider contacted BYD for details on its expansion plans but didn't hear back.
President of Brazil, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (L) arrives at Johannesburg for the 15th BRICS summit in South Africa on August 21, 2023.
BRICS / Handout/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
One of the reasons that BYD can sell its cars so cheaply is that many of the components and parts used to build its cars are manufactured in-house — and BYD is seemingly trying to recreate that integrated supply chain in Brazil, reportedly holding talks about taking over one of the country's lithium producers.
"Investing now in developing markets like Brazil comes with some risk,"said Marcel Martin, Brazil managing director at the International Council on Clean Transportation think tank, pointing to the still relatively uncertain outlook for Brazil's developing EV market.
"But for firms like BYD, the reward can be bigger, because if they assume the leadership in these markets it will be hard for other automakers to compete," he said.
Mexico
When it comes to Chinese plans for global EV domination, nowhere worries the US quite like Mexico.
America's southern neighbor has a free trade agreement with the US, and reports suggesting BYD, MG, and Chery were all examining plans to build factories in the country caused alarm among US officials last year.
Some US lawmakers have warned that Mexico could serve as a "backdoor" for Chinese EV companies, and US trade representative Katherine Tai recently hinted at additional penalties for Chinese firms that try this tactic.
The BYD Shark hybrid pickup.
BYD Auto México
But Mexico is also a big market in its own right, and Chinese automakers are hungry for a slice.
BYD recently unveiled the hybrid "Shark," the company's first pickup truck, which is set to go on sale in Mexico for $54,000.
Southeast Asia has traditionally been dominated by Japanese automakers, who have had success selling smaller, cheaper vehicles.
However, Chinese EV companies are now breathing down the necks of Toyota, Honda, and Mitsubishi, largely thanks to their ability to outcompete just about everyone on cost.
Thailand, which saw EV sales rise by 400% in 2023, has quickly become one of BYD's most important international markets. The Southeast Asian nation accounted for 20% of BYD's international sales in Q3 last year, according to research firm Counterpoint, and the Chinese automaker is due to open a new factory in Thailand later this year.
Other markets in this region are also seeing rapid EV growth, with electric car registrations tripling in Malaysia in 2023 and EVs hitting 15% market share in Vietnam, according to the International Energy Agency.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk during a visit to Indonesia in May.
SONNY TUMBELAKA
"The Chinese have taken significant share in Southeast Asia with exports. They're also planning local production in Thailand, in the Philippines, and other places in the region," Bill Russo of Shanghai-based automotive strategy firm Automobility told BI.
"If the Japanese are nervous about losing China, they're even more nervous about losing the global south," he added.
Australia
In Australia, BYD is going head-to-head with Tesla in a fast-growing EV market.
Tesla accounts for over half of Australia's EV market but BYD, which entered the Australian market in 2022, is catching up fast, hitting 14% market share in March, according to data from Australia's Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries.
Unlike Europe and the US, Australia has no tariffs on foreign EVs, and the country's left-leaning government, which came to power in 2022, has outlined its push to increase the supply of affordable and accessible EVs.
Other Chinese EV firms are also making inroads into the continent, with SAIC Motor planning to launch three new models this year and Hangzhou-based startup Leapmotor, which specializes in affordable EVs, labeling Australia a priority market.
The BYD Atto 3.
John Keeble/Getty Images
That expansion has not been without controversy, however. Australian Senator and shadow cyber-security minister James Paterson said earlier this year that Chinese EVs pose a growing cybersecurity risk.
One Chinese EV played a vital role when flash floods hit the Australian state of Queensland earlier this year, however, powering an 11-year-old's dialysis machine after local electricity supplies were knocked out by the storm.
India
India has proved a tough nut to crack for foreign EV giants.
The new rules require automakers to spend at least $500 million on local investment and build their cars within India within three years— something Tesla is now reportedly considering doing.
The geopolitical tension between India and China has traditionally made India wary of Chinese EV companies, but experts told BI that this is likely to change in the coming years.
"Chinese companies are already looking at building local plants in order to take advantage of that growing market," Fiorani, vice president of AutoForecast Solutions, told BI.
"It's just a matter of time before companies like BYD, SAIC, and Great Wall actually become volume players in that region," he added.
"India is still a little wary of the Chinese market," said Dylan Khoo, an analyst at ABI Research. "But India is also happy to adopt China's own model, and make Chinese firms work with local automakers to gain access to the market."
Europe
Europe is another market being eyed by Chinese EV manufacturers as they expand abroad.
Rivals, including Xpeng and battery-swapping pioneer Nio, are also expanding their presence on the continent.
Nio plans to launch a cheaper sub-brand in Europe in 2025, dubbed "Firefly," and Xpeng has begun selling its G9 and the G6 electric SUVs in France, Spain, and Portugal in recent months.
Some Chinese carmakers are even joining forces with European rivals, with Stellantis partnering with Chinese firm Leapmotor to sell its EVs in Europe.
William Li, the CEO of Chinese EV startup Nio.
HECTOR RETAMAL/Getty Images
Chinese expansion in Europe may have become more difficult, however, after the European Union followed America's lead and imposed new tariffs on China-made electric vehicles.
Fiorani and Russo told BI that tariffs such as those introduced in Europe and the US might slow the entry of Chinese EVs into Western markets, but ultimately, they would not stop them.
"Right now, tariffs are focused on vehicles built in China. Once those vehicles have a production hub in Mexico or South Korea or Brazil, it becomes more difficult," said Fiorani.
He said that building plants in Brazil and Europe would allow Chinese firms to circumvent trade walls and continue their global expansion.
"The Chinese manufacturers are very entrepreneurial and they will find a way around any barriers that are set for them," Fiorani added.
The BYD Seagull, which sells for $10,000 in China, is coming to Europe within the next few years.
WuYuan/Getty Images
Russo, meanwhile, told BI that far from holding back China's EV giants, trade barriers would only accelerate their global takeover.
"When you impose a tariff, it actually accelerates the movements of both the supply chain and the carmakers to go global even faster," he said.
"Tariffs will accelerate their move to go to the unaligned regions, which are the emerging markets," he said.
A dietitian recommended healthier alternatives to ultra-processed snacks, including chocolate bars.
Tanja Ivanova/Getty Images
Most people in the US snack, but lots of snack foods are ultra-processed.
Ultra-processed foods have been linked to health conditions like cancer.
A dietitian shared four healthy, tasty snacks she likes instead of ultra-processed foods.
A dietitian shared three healthy snacks she enjoys as tasty alternatives to ultra-processed foods with Business Insider.
Research suggests about 20% of the calories Americans consume comes from snacks, and 90% eat between one and three snacks each day. Snacks are often ultra-processed, meaning they're made using methods and ingredientsthat you can't easily recreate at home. UPFs have been linked to conditions including cardiovascular disease, cancer, type 2 diabetes, anxiety, depression, and sleep problems, leading experts to urge people to cut down as much as possible.
New York-based registered dietitian Tracy Lockwood Beckerman, said that UPFs are "convenient, cheap, and super common" and that eating them occasionally is "inevitable." But, when it comes to satisfying cravings for ultra-processed snacks,it's up to us as consumers to make informed choices about which ones we choose, she said.
Here are some of her favorite snack swaps that help her avoid UPFs.
Granola bars
Storebought granola bars are sometimes marketed as healthy but often contain added sugar and preservatives.
Beckerman recommends Kate's Real Food Peanut Butter Dark Chocolate Bars instead. They are made from whole foods and contain fiber from dried fruit, oats, rice crisps, and flaxseed, which is important for digestion and gut health.
Registered dietitian Taylor Grasso previously told BI that granola bars tend to be mostly carbohydrates, so eating them with a source of protein — such as Greek yogurt — can help stabilize blood sugar levels and keep you feeling satisfied for longer.
Chocolate bars
Beckerman likes Nelly's Organic chocolate bars because they have a short ingredient list, meaning they contain fewer additives than ultra-processed chocolate bars.
They also contain potassium, which can help to prevent high blood pressure, she said. This is because it can reduce the effects of sodium, according to the American Heart Association.
Candy
Justin's Chocolate Candy Pieces "reign supreme" over other candies, Beckerman said.
"Because these chocolate candy pieces are made from peanuts, they contain heart-healthy fats, making them an actually satisfying and filling treat unlike most other chocolate candies out there," she said.
The candy pieces are made with dark chocolate, which contains antioxidants that can help to lower blood pressure and cholesterol.