How AI has and will Affect Growth and Job Opportunities in the Finance Sector

Ansh Malhotra, Walter Payton College Prep, Junior, Fall 2025

Artificial Intelligence isn’t just affecting how work is done in finance; it’s reshaping job opportunities in the financial sector at every level of the field, from entry- to senior-level positions. As AI grows in capabilities, it is driving a complete transformation in the roles available in the sector and the skills young people need to succeed.

“32-39% of the work performed across capital markets, insurance, and banking businesses has high potential to be fully automated, and 34-37% holds high augmentation potential” (World Economic Forum, 2025). This shift to greater automation and augmentation of jobs doesn’t affect everyone equally, however, entry-level positions are being hit by far the hardest. Demand for data entry clerks has dropped 63%, and for auditors by 43%, while demand for senior professionals has actually risen by 6% (Randstand, 2025). 

For high school students interested in pursuing a career in finance, these changes bring both excitement and uncertainty. “I do see AI creating more job opportunities in the long run than it takes away,” said Nimay Piparia, a high school junior at Walter Payton. “It seems to be taking away many entry-level jobs, but it’s also opening up new ones in a more analytical and tech-based side of finance.” 

This perspective is shared by industry professionals as well. Deborah Koch, Senior Capital Structure Analyst (TMT) at Northern Trust, stated that “AI is allowing people to repurpose their time from repetitive, mundane tasks to those more high-value and complex.” She also added that AI isn’t necessarily removing people from the job market, but rather allowing them to contribute to more meaningful, insight-driven work. Specifically, humans are still needed to find the right ideas and questions, but AI handles the heavy processing and analysis to help generate insights from them. 

Looking into the future, it seems that the story isn’t all about jobs being lost, but rather about roles evolving. For the future generation, success will be found by not avoiding jobs that incorporate AI, but rather by embracing it and utilizing it to one’s advantage. Young people who are comfortable with change and are able to build their abilities with automation and data will become the future leaders of the financial sector, working through AI, not around it.