A 24-year-old CEO is pushing back against the traditional college path, calling on Gen Z to reshape the future of work by pursuing skilled trades and challenging outdated hiring norms.
“Gen Z right now, you have a lot of power. All the corporations in America are trying to cater to you,” said Amrita Bhasin, co-founder and CEO of Sotira, a logistics and AI startup. “So use that power in ways that are valuable for us and for society.”
Bhasin argues that America is facing a generational workforce crisis. As older workers retire, she warns the country will suffer if younger generations avoid essential industries like logistics and supply chain — sectors she says are overdue for modernization and desperately need new talent.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the 65+ population will grow from 58 million in 2022 to 82 million by 2050. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) also projects nearly 192 million job openings over the next decade, driven largely by retirements, not economic expansion.
“I’ve started a company in an industry that is very old-school. Supply chain is extremely ripe for automation. It needs young people,” Bhasin said. “A lot of older business owners don’t have anyone to pass their companies down to. That’s a generational problem.”
Bhasin is hiring workers without degrees and says Sotira actively seeks out candidates with real-world skills. “Having a college degree is not a requisite to work at a startup,” she said. “We do have folks working for us who don’t have degrees or who are dropouts.”
Rising tuition and living costs are also motivating this shift. “College has become so expensive,” she said. “Room and board alone was more than the cost of tuition… and a lot of people are graduating and they just don’t have jobs.”
Trade work, by contrast, is proving more resilient. BLS reports most trade workers do not have four-year degrees, and the median wage is now $61,000. More than 1 million trade jobs remain unfilled, with many employers unable to find new workers as the current generation retires.
“There’s a lot of layoffs in the white-collar space,” Bhasin said. “But AI cannot do your HVAC job. These are jobs society will always need… What your passion is should always be what you pursue.”