• Ankit Masrani shared the résumé that landed him a Microsoft role building security infrastructure.
• Prior to Microsoft, Masrani studied IT, got a Master's in computer science, and worked at AWS.
• He said data experience and security knowledge are needed to transition to cybersecurity.

Breaking into the cybersecurity field can be a challenge for some — but 36-year-old Ankit Masrani stumbled into it.

The Seattle-based Microsoft employee told Business Insider that while he had plans to become a software engineer, he didn't expect to work in the security space. Now, he develops sovereignty controls for the tech giant's security platform, ensuring sensitive customer information remains within geographic boundaries.

After studying information technology in college and working in roles building software systems, Masrani came to the US to get a Master's degree in computer science. After completing a six-month co-op internship at AWS while he was in school, he converted to a full-time employee, where he focused on securing data and networks until he felt the need for a change.

"To be honest, it was very tiring," Masrani said about his six and a half years at AWS. "And I wanted a change in my job to try something different."

Masrani said his final project before joining Microsoft involved building a customer-managed key encryption feature, which required research into best practices for data security. He said he found the work "really interesting" and began exploring teams focused on data governance and security. He said working alongside engineers who were truly "passionate" about their work was a top priority for him.

Here's the résumé he used to get his job at Microsoft, where he started on Microsoft's Purview security team as a senior software engineer. Now, he's a principal software engineer working on Microsoft's Security Platform.

Masrani said he applied by going to the company site and didn't have any references. He said if he were to apply again today, he might not include such a lengthy education section because people would probably focus on his 10 years of experience. When he was a year or two out of school, though, he said he thinks it helped him get interviews.

Specializing in security

Masrani came into the role with a background in IT, computer science, and data experience — all of which are recommended routes to enter the field, according to industry veterans.

Masrani's pivot wasn't drastic, but he said certain skill sets are needed to transition from general software engineering to the security side.

As a software engineer building cybersecurity services, Masrani said he handles large volumes of security logs, user activity data, and threat intelligence data. Masrani said he isn't "actively doing security threat hunting" but is building services for a platform that does.

Masrani said experience with big data technologies like Hadoop, an open source framework that processes large amounts of data for applications, is important for learning how to build data pipelines. He added that machine learning and anomaly detection is also useful for working on security product services.

Masrani also recommends experience with cloud services like AWS or Microsoft Azure to understand scalable data processing.

"Storage is very important since cloud services are leveraged everywhere from small to large software systems," Masrani said.

Masrani also said security knowledge is necessary to pivot to the cybersecurity sector. Masrani said safety protocols and data processing guidelines are often specific to regions.

He said domain knowledge around data governance and other security products is important, as well as familiarity with regulations, such as the General Data Protection Regulation. He said it's also important to know fundamentals around data encryption, network security, and application security.

"Any handling of customer data must be done in a safe and secure manner," Masrani said. "Having knowledge of best practices for handling data is very important.

• Police are investigating gunshot damage at an Oregon Tesla showroom that happened overnight Thursday.
• Another Telsa showroom in Oregon was hit by Molotov cocktails and gunshots earlier this week.
• A number of arrests have been made in the wake of recent anti-Elon Musk and anti-Tesla protests.

Tesla employees in Oregon arrived at work Thursday morning to discover gunshot damage at the dealership.

It's the latest incident under police investigation amid a wave of anti-Tesla vandalism.

Meanwhile, police continue to make arrests in other cases as they investigate vandalism incidents across the US amid ongoing "Tesla Takedown" protests against Elon Musk's DOGE work.

Surveillance footage indicates that gunfire at the Tigard, Oregon, Tesla showroom began around 1:46 a.m., a police report said, and investigators believe "at least seven shots were fired" at the building, with one of the bullets going through a wall and into a computer monitor at the office.

"While the motivation for this has not been confirmed, we are aware that other Tesla dealerships have been targeted across Oregon and the nation for political reasons," Tigard police said.

Police said three cars were damaged and the store's windows were shattered.

Investigators said they are still searching for additional evidence and haven't announced a suspect. Officials are working with the FBI and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to investigate the incident.

Other vandalism incidents involving Tesla showrooms occurred in Oregon this week. A 41-year-old man from Oregon was arraigned in federal court Wednesday after being accused of throwing Molotov cocktails at a Tesla location in Salem. The suspect, Adam Matthew Lansky, was charged with "illegally possessing an unregistered destructive device," the US Attorney's Office in Oregon said.

Police officers initially responded to a report of Molotov cocktails being thrown at a dealership on January 20. Officers returned to the same dealership after bullets appeared to be fired into the building and a vehicle.

Officials said surveillance footage appeared to show Lansky throwing the Molotov cocktails that caused fires after hitting the building and several vehicles. Additional footage shows a vehicle, later found to be registered under Lansky's name, parked near the dealership during the time shots were fired at the building and vehicle, they added. The suspect was arrested Tuesday and made an appearance at a federal court Wednesday.

A number of vandalism incidents have taken place around the country, with some Tesla owners reporting damage to their vehicles and slurs written on their cars. Earlier this week, a group of Tesla Superchargers in a small Massachusetts town caught on fire. Police investigators suspect it was arson.

Last week, a woman in Colorado was arrested on charges that she threw Molotov cocktails at a Tesla dealership and wrote graffiti on vehicles and the building.

The incidents are happening against a backdrop of dozens of public demonstrations and protests at Tesla showrooms and other locations across the country. The Tesla Takedown protests, a grassroots movement organized online, call for Tesla owners to sell their vehicles and stock in an effort to "stop Musk now."

Some of the protests have also resulted in arrests.

Nine people were arrested after hundreds gathered at Tesla showroom protest on Saturday, Reuters reported. Some of the demonstrators entered the building, leading employees to shut down the store.

Are you a Tesla owner or employee with a story to share? Contact the reporter at [email protected]

• Software engineering jobs have declined as AI tools have increasingly automated coding tasks.
• Newer entrants in the field are struggling to find jobs and some companies are pausing hiring.
• Some engineers have still found success, and tech executives recommend strong foundational skills.

Working as a software engineer isn't what it used to be — but those working in the industry have some tips for getting ahead in the increasingly crowded job market.

The software engineering industry is going through a major shift driven by the adoption of AI, which has led to fewer job postings, layoffs, and evolving responsibilities for those still working in the field.

In early to mid-2022, there were three times as many software engineering roles listed on Indeed. This chart shows just how much the opportunity landscape has changed.

As AI coding tools like GitHub Copilot or Replit have become more prominent, a large part of the job has become automated. In Salesforce's most recent earnings call, its CEO Marc Benioff said the company is seeing a "30% productivity increase in engineering" and won't "hire any new engineers this year" in the wake of those gains.

Google CEO Sundar Pichai said in an earnings call in 2024 that over a quarter of the company's code is generated by AI before being checked by employees.

A manager at Microsoft similarly shared that AI reduced 70% of the time he used to spend on coding, although he noted that his daily workload hasn't been reduced. That's because software engineers do more than just code. For newer entrants to the field, though, the opportunities are narrowing, and some have struggled to get the foundational skills needed to move up.

Some recent software engineering grads have said they sent hundreds of job applications with minimal responses. That's led some to pursue a "panic Master's" degree to put off the hunt.

There are ways to be successful in the field

It's not all doom and gloom, though.

Automating coding tasks has increased the demand for developers to leverage their creativity and experience. Here's some of the advice from industry veterans and tech CEOs on how to improve your odds of getting a job in the field — and success stories from those who have done it.

• Consider majoring in AI at one of the growing number of universities offering specialized degree programs in this field. Carnegie Mellon, the University of Pennsylvania, and Dakota State University are just a few of the schools offering Bachelor of Science degrees in artificial intelligence.
• Google's head of research says the basics are more important than ever and advocates for learning to code, especially as there will be opportunities to build upon those foundational skills.
• Instagram's cofounder Mike Krieger said more of the work will revolve around double-checking AI-generated code instead of writing it. Krieger, who is now Anthropic's chief product officer, said the work will evolve to be more about coming up with the right ideas and learning how to delegate correctly to models.
• Google's CEO said the company is looking for "superstar software engineers." He also said those who want an engineering job at the search giant need to be willing to learn and adapt.
• An Nvidia principal architect said young programmers should prioritize writing and math. He also said having an internship every year in college is key to getting an entry-level job.
• One Gen Z software engineer said a comp-sci degree with a focus on AI is one of the best and most valuable degrees at the moment. He added that it's not for everyone though — if you have a short attention span, don't like math, or struggle with commitment issues, it might not be the right fit.
• A software engineer who landed a $300,000 job at Google said he would lead with experience instead of skills if he were to apply again. However, he said he'd keep an "interests" section because it helps break the ice in interviews.
• A software engineer who landed interviews at Meta, Amazon, and Dropbox, and got hired at Microsoft suggests focusing your résumé on technical strengths and being concise. He also suggests making it visually stand out, and clearly communicating responsibilities and results.
• One Google software engineer recommends conveying impact on a résumé in numbers and results. He also said highlighting publications and projects can help if you don't have a lot of professional experience yet.
• A software engineer hired by Oracle said data center experience was mentioned in the hiring process and he was also asked to detail the technical work he previously did. He said an interview he did for a FAANG company was more focused on him being the right personality and fit.
• Three software engineers who landed jobs at Google shared varying résumés, but they all interned at a Big Tech company during college. They also all had at least a 3.6 GPA and studied computer science.
• Four Google software engineers were hired after interning at the tech giant. They suggested starting as early as possible, and applying to internships aimed at underclassmen.

• I tried ChatGPT's Deep Research tool, which can complete complex research tasks in minutes.
• Powered by a version of OpenAI's o3 model, Deep Research acts independently to work through multi-step tasks.
• I used it to research the history of tariffs and their impact on consumer goods pricing.

In an era when we're used to getting answers to AI queries in seconds, I can confidently say OpenAI's Deep Research tool is worth the five to 30-minute wait.

Plus, it's a fascinating look into how AI "thinks" through a complex research assignment and executes it.

Deep Research is an agentic AI tool, which means it can act independently to solve a multi-step task. OpenAI says on its website that the tool "accomplishes in tens of minutes what would take a human many hours," and it's not an exaggeration.

While ChatGPT can provide a thorough report on a topic if you ask for one, it doesn't complete the kind of multi-step research that Deep Research does. That capability isn't relevant to every query, but it is helpful if you want to explore a topic's history or nuances. OpenAI says Deep Research is particularly useful for "niche, non-intuitive information that would require browsing numerous websites."

The AI tool is powered by a version of the coming OpenAI o3 model designed for web browsing and data analysis and uses "reasoning to search, interpret, and analyze massive amounts of text, images, and PDFs on the internet."

OpenAI initially made the AI agent available to Pro users who pay $200 a month but announced its rollout to ChatGPT Plus, Team, Edu, and Enterprise users on February 25. Pro users get 120 Deep Research queries a month, while Plus users have access to 10.

How it works

You can generate a Deep Research report by selecting "deep research" button in the text bar of ChatGPT. Then, you write a prompt, which the assistant will clarify to make sure it's looking for the right information.

For example, I asked it to compile a research report about the history of US trade policy regarding tariffs and the impact they've had on consumer goods pricing. Deep Research responded asking for more information including about the time period and industries I wanted covered, the type of analysis, and the level of detail.

I told it to research the 20th century onward, with a focus on President Donald Trump's first term and the impact on general consumer goods. I also asked it to generate a data-driven economic analysis with tables included.

The AI reiterated my instructions and then went to work.

As the assistant compiles the report — which can take roughly five to 30 minutes depending on the ask — you can check its progress and observe its search process. One of the most interesting parts of this process was seeing how the search evolved as it uncovered new information.

Here, you can see its thought process toward the end of its eight-minute research.

Deep Research searched and analyzed sources and then generated a thorough report on its findings, with in-line citations included throughout the various sections. The middle section was dense, but the conclusion gave a solid summation, and the tables were also insightful.

I spent a fair share of my 10 uses exploring research on any long-term effects of various health trends, like Ozempic usage. It provided thorough overviews and included isolated incidents with limited research, which I found interesting. I also used it to investigate my family's history. It correctly traced the origin of my last name and what I know of my ancestors' history before they immigrated to the US generations ago.

The reports I read were fascinating — and accurate based on the cited links that I checked. It did cite Wikipedia a good amount though. You can see in the screenshot below from the tariff query that Wikipedia was one of the sources used in compiling the report.

OpenAI said in its announcement that the model powering Deep Research achieved a 26.6% score on Humanity's Last Exam, an assessment designed to evaluate AI across various subjects. For context, ChatGPT-4o scored 3.3%.

However, OpenAI added that the tool "can sometimes hallucinate" or "make incorrect inferences," though at a lower rate than other ChatGPT models.

"It may struggle with distinguishing authoritative information from rumors, and currently shows weakness in confidence calibration, often failing to convey uncertainty accurately," OpenAI said in its announcement.

Almost every AI tool I've tried initially impressed me, but most failed to become a part of my routine. Deep Research isn't something I thought I would lose track of using, but I burned through my 10 queries in a matter of days — and found myself wanting more.

I'm not sure if I would pay $20 a month for 10 of these queries, given that feels fairly limited for a paid service. However, if I had specific legal questions or wanted to research medical treatments, I'd likely find it worth the cost.

For now, I'm excited to make the most of my next batch of 10 queries.

• Tesla's year-over-year sales fell in several countries last month.
• Tesla's sales in Germany dropped by 76% in February, after Musk endorsed the far-right AfD party.
• Sales of Tesla's China-made EVs dropped by nearly 50%, while BYD recorded a 90% increase in sales.

Elon Musk told investors to expect Tesla sales to grow this year — but plummeting sales in several countries are complicating that goal.

While Tesla's Model Y continues to be a top seller and UK sales were up in February, some of Tesla's sales figures in other markets looked grim — the kind of year-over-year drops that should worry the CEO.

Germany: -76%

Tesla's sales in Germany last month were down by 76% year over year, with 1,429 vehicles sold. Germany's Federal Motor Transport Authority said overall EV sales in the country grew by about 31%.

Tesla's sales in the country also fell in January, when Musk endorsed the far-right AfD party ahead of a February 23 election.

Norway, Denmark, and Sweden: -42% to -48%

Tesla sales declined in several other European countries last month.

In February, Tesla sales in Norway and Denmark were down by 48% year over year.

Sales in Sweden declined by 42% year over year.

France: -26%

Tesla sales in France last month declined by 26% year over year: It sold 2,395 vehicles, though that was an increase from 1,141 Teslas sold in January. The country also experienced an overall decline in car sales of 0.7%, Plateforme Automobile said.

Teslas manufactured in China: -49%

Sales of Teslas manufactured in China also took a hit in February. The EV giant sold 30,688 China-made vehicles, its lowest number since August 2022. That represented a 49% drop year over year in China. Tesla's Chinese rival BYD recorded a 90.4% increase in vehicle sales that month.

Tesla's stock dropped by about 4% in early trading on Tuesday before rising by about 1.8% on Wednesday afternoon. After surging in the wake of Donald Trump's presidential victory, Tesla shares are trading down 28% in February.

Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.

While Tesla has faced increasing competition in the EV market in recent years, some investors have expressed concerns that Tesla could be struggling in part because of Musk's involvement in global politics and position in the Trump administration with DOGE.

In recent weeks, several "Tesla Takedown" protests have occurred in various cities in response to his political involvement, with demonstrators urging Tesla owners to sell their vehicles.

In an apparent effort to boost sales of its most expensive Cybertruck models, which cost nearly $100,000, Tesla is offering free charging for the entire period of ownership.

• Massachusettes police are investigating seven Tesla charging stations that were set on fire.
• Police told BI that the charging stations were the only ones in the small town outside Boston.
• Investigators suspect the fires were intentional.

A group of Tesla Superchargers in a small town outside Boston caught fire this week — and investigators suspect it was arson.

Massachusettes police are working with local officials to investigate seven Tesla charging stations that were engulfed in flames early Monday morning. Littleton Police said in a Monday press release that local officials have "determined that the fire appears to have been intentionally set."

Littleton Police Deputy Chief Jeff Patterson told Business Insider that the seven charging stations that were damaged are the only ones in the town, and none of them are useable. However, he said they are actively being repaired.

Tesla's charging account on X responded to a post about the incident on Monday and said the charging posts and wiring would be replaced in under 48 hours.

Police chief Matthew Pinard said that officers were dispatched to The Point Shopping Center at 1:10 a.m., following reports of fires at the Tesla charging station.

The officers said that "several Tesla charging stations were engulfed in flames and heavy, dark smoke" and another caught fire while they waited for the Electric Light & Water Department to arrive to shut down the power. Seven charging stations suffered heavy fire-related damage.

There were no reported injuries, and all of the fires were extinguished. The Littleton police and fire departments, along with the Massachusetts State Police Fire and Explosion Investigation Unit, are investigating the incident. The Arson Watch Reward Program is offering rewards of up to $5,000 for information about the incident.

Patterson told BI that he wasn't aware of any Tesla protests or vandalism incidents in the town.

There have been dozens of demonstrations against Elon Musk and Tesla around the country in recent weeks in response to the Tesla CEO's efforts with the Trump administration and DOGE.

Demonstrators have gathered in cities around the country to participate in "Tesla Takedown" protests, many of which have occurred outside Tesla showrooms. Some Tesla owners have also reported being subject to insults when driving or vandalism on their vehicles.

Some of the anti-Tesla and Musk efforts have resulted in arrests.

Colorado police arrested a woman last week on suspicion of her involvement in a series of vandalism incidents at a Tesla dealership, including painting "Nazi cars" in graffiti on the dealership building and throwing Molotov cocktails at vehicles. The suspect was charged with criminal intent to commit a felony, criminal mischief, and using explosives or incendiary devices during a felony, according to police records.

Nine people were also arrested at a Tesla showroom protest in Manhattan on Saturday, Reuters reported. Police said hundreds of people showed up to the protest, some of whom entered the building, prompting employees to close the store. Videos from the protest also captured some of the store's glass shattered.

Are you a Tesla driver or employee with a story to share? Contact the reporter at [email protected]

• Google's "ask for me" tool uses AI to call businesses for service details and availability.
• The tool is limited to nail salons and auto shops and requires users to opt in.
• If the tool expands to medical offices and customer service lines, it could be a game changer.

Google launched its "ask for me" tool on Search Labs a little over a month ago, and it's good news for those who find picking up the phone to call local businesses daunting or time-consuming.

The experimental tool uses artificial intelligence to call businesses near you to find out how much a service costs and when it's available. For now, it works only for nail salons and auto shops, and you have to opt in to try it. If Google expands this tool, though, it could become an everyday application of agentic AI for consumers.

The experiment is available on desktop and mobile, though I had some trouble getting the tool to work on my desktop for nail salons. The "ask for me" banner shows up when you search terms like "oil change" or "nail salons near me."

Once the banner shows up, you can click on "get started" to fill out details about the type of service you're looking for. If you're looking for an auto service, it will give you 25 service options. You'll also have the option to enter your car model and year.

For nail salon requests, Google asks what kind of nail service you want. Then it provides nine manicure options, including dip powder or nail art, and four for pedicures. It will also ask if you want extra services like a massage, nail extensions, or dip removal. For both categories, it will ask whether you want the soonest availability or if you're looking specifically for a week or weekend slot.

Google will confirm it received your request over text or email, depending on your choice. Then, assuming businesses are open, you'll get a full report on local services offered within about 30 minutes. For those who picked up the call from Google, you'll see details from the conversation, like the pricing and soonest availability. It will also give you a list of businesses that didn't pick up the phone.

I sent multiple requests over the past few weeks to test out the tool's functionality and accuracy. To verify the results, I also contacted the businesses directly to confirm prices, availability, and whether they had actually received a call.

I heard from one of the salon workers that it didn't sound like a human called — and they were left a little confused. Another salon worker asked whether the Google call was spam, though they still picked up and provided the information it asked for.

There are multiple nail salons in my area, so Google was able to get about five businesses on the line in a 30-minute span. But if you're in a more rural area, you might not get as thorough of a report.

For now, I don't see myself needing to use this service given I rarely go to the nail salon and don't use a car. That said, I would use this on a regular basis if it expanded its capabilities to call medical offices, insurance companies, customer service lines for store brands, and mailing centers.

If the service expands, some form of identity verification may be needed, along with clearer boundaries about what the AI can inquire about. That said, I'm looking forward to a future where I can hopefully spend less time on the phone asking for basic information.

• The editorial director of NotebookLM told BI that humanities skills are gaining value in AI.
• Steven Johnson says a new "AI wrangler" role requires knowledge of models and what they can do.
• He said philosophical and psychological skills are increasingly important.

Traditionally, a degree in the humanities wouldn't translate to a job in tech — but that might change in the age of AI.

In an interview with Business Insider, Steven Johnson, who co-founded several startups and worked as an author before becoming editorial director of NotebookLM at Google Labs, said humanities might be making a comeback.

Johnson, who is helping to build Google's AI-powered note-taking and research tool NotebookLM, said in the age of large language models, there's a "revenge of the humanities." Not only is an English major valuable, but philosophical and psychological skills are also useful.

"There's just a whole set of questions around AI that no one was thinking about, except for philosophers, until about two years ago," Johnson said, adding that "those kinds of philosophical skills are really important."

Johnson said fine-tuning a model's tone and conversational mode is a "huge part" of the product. He pointed to Amanda Askell, a philosopher who works as an alignment fine-tuning researcher for Anthropic, as an example of someone who does "character training" for AI models.

In a June interview posted by Anthropic on YouTube, Askell said philosophy doesn't always line up with every aspect of her work, but building Claude's character feels "philosophically rich." She said she has to work through complex questions like whether AI models should have moral considerations and what human principles they should be trained on.

"Lots of people are like, 'See, I told you the degree would be useful,'" Askell said in response to a question about whether it was strange to be a philosopher training an AI model.

Google and Anthropic aren't the only companies recognizing the value of a humanities degree. One AI startup founder told BI they seek out and said those with liberal arts backgrounds have a "creative and human-centric approach" and a strong understanding of how AI can be applied in their fields.

The role of the 'AI wrangler'

When he started at Google Labs, Johnson initially helped write prompts for AI models. As the AI boom took off, the role of prompt engineer similarly captured the attention of other English majors interested in AI.

Johnson said that prompting will change, especially as AI models improve at rewriting prompts — but a new role, which he referred to as the "AI wrangler," has emerged.

"That's maybe the next stage of the prompt engineer," Johnson said.

Johnson describes the AI wrangler role as not necessarily requiring coding expertise but involving deep knowledge of the latest models and their capabilities.

For example, if someone wants to create a 30-second animated video with AI, the AI wrangler would know the best tool for that task and how to use it, Johnson said. He said the role requires a "certain level of technical sophistication" but doesn't require knowing how to program.

Johnson said one of the most important skills to learn right now is fluency in the latest models and their functions.

"That's just a general purpose skill that is actually going to be valuable in every single industry," Johnson said.

Technical skills aren't going away

While there may be a growing need for humanities skills to help build how models interact, that doesn't mean that technical skills are no longer valuable or necessary. Those from a humanities background may need to skill up in technical areas to open up opportunities for themselves in the field.

A Google AI sales leader who studied journalism and started his career in filmmaking eventually joined the tech giant in its media, entertainment, and gaming sectors for AI sales. However, he told BI he had to earn technical certifications and work his way up in engineering roles before taking on AI leadership roles.

Johnson, a published author of 14 books, came to Google with a strong understanding of technology, having sold startups and written extensively on the subject.

"If you're going to try and make API calls to a bunch of these models, you probably need some more technical skills," Johnson said, adding that " if someone wants to hire you to get the best outputs out of the best models, you don't really need a lot of technical skills to do that."

• Social Security Administration employees raised the alarm on Trump's plan to slash the agency's workforce.
• They warned that cuts to staff could delay payments for Social Security beneficiaries.
• The agency offered its employees early retirement in an effort to cut staff.

Delayed payments, longer wait times: Cuts to the Social Security Administration's workforce will have a detrimental effect on the benefits millions of Americans rely on every month, several agency employees said.

"Put bluntly, the ramifications of downsizing SSA are enormous," an agency employee told Business Insider. "Because it'll take two to three times longer to work these cases, some people will die before a decision is reached."

The Social Security Administration sent an email to employees on Thursday offering voluntary early retirements as part of a "restructuring that will include significant workforce reductions." One internal memo seen by BI on Friday listed two dozen senior staff who had already resigned.

BI spoke to five SSA employees who received the emails, granting them anonymity to speak freely about changes within their agency.

They said they're concerned that slashing the agency's workforce will hinder critical functions, including causing overpayments, increased call wait times, and potential payment delays for older Americans and those with disabilities who receive Social Security benefits.

These cuts are part of President Donald Trump and the DOGE office's larger goals to reduce government waste and slash the federal workforce. The administration has already terminated thousands of workers across a range of agencies. Elon Musk, who is leading DOGE, has criticized the Social Security system in a series of posts on X over the past week, calling out "significant inconsistencies" and saying, "No one person actually knows how it works."

SSA employees said that since the buyout offer targets workers nearing retirement age, the agency could suffer from losing its most experienced employees. "The institutional expertise is invaluable," one employee said. "We are overwhelmed with calls as it is."

SSA did not immediately respond to a request for comment from BI on the impact slashing the workforce would have on the agency's functions.

The employees said that the agency is already strained to meet the public's needs, and cutting the workforce even more could significantly harm Social Security recipients. Already, the average processing time for disability and supplemental income benefits, known as SSDI and SSI, has more than doubled since fiscal year 2016 to 231 days — just over seven and a half months.

"Drastically cutting everybody and everything has the very real potential of erasing people's record of lifetime contributions and therefore their eligibility for benefits," an SSA employee said. "If they recklessly 'pulled the plug,' it would mean disaster to everyone currently collecting and future retirees and disabled claimants."

'We just want to help disabled Americans and retirees'

Over 73 million Americans receive Social Security benefits — a number that will continue rising as more baby boomers retire. The agency said in its FY2024 report that staffing had declined to one of its lowest levels in over 50 years, which it attributed to years of "chronic underfunding" even as the number of beneficiaries increased.

Phone call wait times for the agency have spiked since the fiscal year 2008, when callers would wait around four minutes to get through to the agency's 1-800 number. In fiscal year 2023, callers waited nearly 36 minutes — although SSA has made some progress in cutting down wait times. One SSA worker told BI that the areas the administration is looking to cut would directly impact customer service.

"The people who complain about long wait times and nobody answering the phone are talking about those entities," the worker said.

One agency staffer told BI that if the Trump administration follows through with cuts, "service to the public will undoubtedly suffer. We barely have enough staff now to meet the public's needs."

Another employee said that for as long as they had been at the agency, it was understaffed, and a larger cut to the workforce would mean that "overpayments to beneficiaries will drastically increase because there won't be enough workers to get to those cases in a timely manner." A July 2024 report by the Office of the Inspector General found that improper payments have accounted for under 1% of total SSA payouts between fiscal years 2015 and 2022. The employee said slashing the workforce could amplify the issue.

"People who can't work and are waiting on a disability decision will experience immense financial hardship," they said, adding that cases subject to re-evaluation "will not be worked quickly enough to prevent overpayments and there's never a guarantee the overpayment will actually be paid."

Kevin Foster, 64, receives over $3,000 a month. "I feel the pain for millions of recipients who aren't as lucky as I have been," the Illinois resident said. "Social Security must endure."

Sharon Sartori, 60, who receives $967 in benefits and lives in South Carolina said, "If checks are late, it's going to put a real strain on low-income seniors for rent, their medications, and food. Utilities could be shut off. It would be a mess."

It's unclear how many people will voluntarily resign following the SSA's latest email to staff. The Office of Personnel Management issued a memo on February 26 requesting that all federal agencies develop reorganization plans by March 13.

One staffer speculated that "once service gets bad" at SSA following any cuts, "the case will be made to privatize us." For decades, some Republican politicians and lawmakers have floated privatizing Social Security in an effort to rein in the federal deficit, but the idea lacks mass support from voters.

The SSA employees BI spoke to overwhelmingly said that the millions of Americans who rely on Social Security benefits will feel the pain from any workforce cuts.

"We need the people higher up to support us and build systems that work, we need HR. We need those 'invisible' people to make sure checks get paid on time, all the systems are up and running," one employee said. They added: "I don't know why we are villains. We just want to help disabled Americans and retirees get what they paid for."

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• Elon Musk said in a Joe Rogan interview there's "only a 20% chance of annihilation."
• He said he still thinks AI will be smarter than humans and will pose an existential risk.
• "I always thought AI was going to be way smarter than humans and an existential risk. And that's turning out to be true," he said.

Elon Musk has a glass-half-full mentality when it comes to AI — and that means there's "only a 20% chance of annihilation," according to the billionaire.

"The probability of a good outcome is like 80%," Musk said in a "Joe Rogan Experience" podcast episode released Friday.

It's not the first time Musk has floated this probability of human annihilation, although he's previously included a range of 10% to 20%. Musk also said in the interview that he sees AI exceeding human intelligence in the next year or two. He said he expects AI to reach a level that is "smarter than all humans combined" in 2029 or 2030.

That's in line with Musk's previous predictions, although he seems to have extended the earlier end of that timeline since. Musk said last year during a live X interview with Norges Bank CEO Nicolai Tangen, that he thought AI would "probably" exceed human intelligence as early as the end of 2025.

His fundamental beliefs about the trajectory of AI haven't changed, though.

"I always thought AI was going to be way smarter than humans and an existential risk," Musk said in the interview. "And that's turning out to be true."

Others in the field have similarly shared concerns about AI leading to human annihilation.

Deep learning expert Geoffrey Hinton has said he believes there's a 10% chance AI will lead to human extinction in the next 30 years. Meanwhile, others, like AI safety researcher and cybersecurity director Roman Yampolskiy, said that the "probability of doom" is 99.999999%.

Despite Musk's concerns about AI destroying humanity, he said in the interview he became involved with it initially to create a "non-profit open source AI" that was "the opposite of Google." Musk was one of 11 cofounders of OpenAI, which he has since left.

Musk filed two lawsuits against OpenAI last year, the first of which he dropped. In the second one, Musk's lawyers argue that OpenAI "betrayed" its mission by moving to a for-profit model and entering a partnership with Microsoft.

While Musk said in the Rogan interview he's "not happy" about the outcome with OpenAI, it led him to create the Grok, which is a "maximally truth-seeking AI, even if that truth is like politically incorrect." Musk's xAI has trained the chatbot with prompts about whether it's OK to misgender Caitlyn Jenner to prevent a nuclear apocalypse or if it's possible to be racist against white people.

Musk said he sees the most likely outcome of AI advancement as "awesome."

"I think it's going to be either super awesome or super bad," Musk said, adding that he doesn't see it being "something in the middle."

• Blue Origin announced its all-women space crew, including Gayle King and Katy Perry.
• This mission marks the first all-female crew since 1963, led by Jeff Bezos' fiancée Lauren Sánchez.
• The 11-minute journey will use Blue Origin's reusable, autonomous New Shepard rocket.

Jeff Bezos' fiancée is headed to space.

Helicopter pilot and former journalist Lauren Sánchez will lead an all-women crew, including "CBS Mornings" cohost Gayle King and pop star Katy Perry lifting off to space this spring on a Blue Origin spaceship.

The six-person crew will also include research scientist and Nobel Peace Prize nominee Amanda Nguyen, former NASA scientist Aisha Bowe, and film producer Kerianne Flynn. Sánchez "brought the mission together," Blue Origin announced on Thursday.

"She is honored to lead a team of explorers on a mission that will challenge their perspectives of Earth, empower them to share their own stories, and create lasting impact that will inspire generations to come," it added.

The 11-minute journey will take a six-person crew past the Kármán line, which is the "internationally recognized boundary of space." Blue Origin says it will be the first all-female flight crew since Valentina Tereshkova's flight to space in 1963. It marks the 11th human flight with Blue Origin's New Shepard program, which uses Blue Origin's reusable, suborbital rocket system built for human flight. The rocket is fully autonomous with no pilots.

Sánchez is following in Bezos' footsteps with the launch.

The first passengers of the New Shepard program included Bezos and his younger brother Mark Bezos, who owns a private equity firm and volunteers as a firefighter. The crew had about three minutes to float around before gravity pulled them back toward the ground.

"I'll tell you something very interesting: zero gravity feels very natural. I don't know if it's because it's like a return to the womb," Bezos later said in a podcast interview.

Bezos also said that the crew on his flight experienced the overview effect — or overwhelming feelings that astronauts can experience when viewing the Earth from space.

"You see how fragile the Earth is. If you're not an environmentalist, it will make you one," he added.

However, in a later flight, "Star Trek" actor William Shatner also flew up to space with Blue Origin's New Shepard program and had a less pleasant experience. Shatner wrote in his book that it was a dark experience for him that "felt like a funeral," and he experienced "the strongest feelings of grief" during the trip.

"I love the mystery of the universe," he wrote. "All of that has thrilled me for years…but when I looked in the opposite direction, into space, there was no mystery, no majestic awe to behold...all I saw was death."

"I had a different experience because I discovered that the beauty isn't out there, it's down here, with all of us," the actor wrote. "Leaving that behind made my connection to our tiny planet even more profound."

Blue Origin is an aerospace manufacturer and spaceflight company headquartered in Washington. It's owned by Bezos and currently headed by former Amazon exec Dave Limp. Bezos founded Blue Origin in 2000 and has said it's his "most important work.

• Palantir CEO Alex Karp said a stint at his company is a sure sign of technical expertise nowadays.
• Some tech recruiters agree Palantirians are top-notch hires, while others argue results matter more than the company.
• "No doubt, Palantir is a strong hiring signal, but the idea of a golden ticket in tech is outdated," one expert told BI.

Palantir CEO Alex Karp talks a big game when it comes to his employees.

He's boasted on several occasions that Palantirians, as the company refers to employees, are the crème de la crème of tech workers.

"If you work for Palantir, everyone knows you're good," Karp said on CNBC's Squawk Box on February 18.

"No credible institution in commercial life can really be built without Palantir or an ex-Palantirian," Karp has also said.

The company, which reported just under 4,000 full-time employees as of December 2024, recently hit an all-time high in its stock and brought in $2.87 billion in revenue in 2024. Following its most recent earnings report, Palantir hit a $240 billion market cap, surpassing companies like McDonald's and Disney. It hasn't only been clear skies, however, as Palantir's share price is down nearly 30% from its all-time closing high earlier this month.

So do the people hiring from the tech talent pool buy Karp's glowing view of Palantirians?

Business Insider spoke to half a dozen tech recruiting professionals to find out if having Palantir on your résumé is as powerful as Karp has made it sound.

The Goldman Sachs of tech

Deepali Vyas, a senior Partner and global head of data, AI, and FinTech at global consulting firm Korn Ferry told BI she can "absolutely say that he's right," and she considers Palantir the Goldman Sachs of the tech industry.

"I've pulled people from Palantir," Vyas said. "They are a home run every single time."

While she said Palantir employees tend to work long hours, the company has a "very hands-on culture" that allows even junior employees to work alongside the "brightest minds" at the company. Vyas said having that proximity helps create a certain level of training.

Vyas said another factor that makes Panatir stand out is its ability to recruit people who are passionate about their work.

"There's something in the sauce there," Vyas said. "They want to work on the complex problems because that's what excites them."

Jason Saltzman, Director of Growth at Live Data Technologies, a company that tracks employment changes, told BI that "Palantir seems to be the stop on people's career journey that accelerates them the most." Almost a quarter of former product managers at Palantir have since become founders, he said.

Ex-Palantir employees also tend to end up at a big tech company or "one of the hottest startups," Saltzman said. Google and Meta as well as Anduril and OpenAI employ many former Palantir workers, he told BI.

"Not only is Palantir a rubber stamp on someone's résumé that allows them to go onto whatever they do next, but also many of them want to go solve the world's biggest problems that are shaping the future as we know it, either by joining a company or starting their own," Saltzman said.

Some say Karp could be overstating things

Aaron Sines, director of technical recruiting at global cloud consulting firm Edison & Black, told BI that there's some truth to Karp's statement, but overall he's seeing a "results revolution" among companies, where outcomes are placed above academic credentials and company names.

"My team tells me all the time results are almost always coming over academic credentials," Sines told BI.

Natan Fisher, the cofounder and co-CEO of tech and legal recruiting firm SingleSprout, similarly told BI that companies want to know how employees "operated under constraints, and whether they can drive impact in their environments."

"No doubt, Palantir is a strong hiring signal, but the idea of a golden ticket in tech is outdated," Fisher said, adding that "the real hiring market doesn't reward brand names alone, it rewards execution and adaptability — who built what and scaled systems at speed."

Fisher said that tech companies often seek to hire from "multiple high-caliber" talent pools such as Ramp, Stripe, Linear, and Notion, adding that they aren't clients of his.

Sines said that Palantir has a reputation for seeking out top talent and having a "rigorous" and "results-oriented" hiring strategy. However, he said that while it carries a "badge of honor," for some clients, it may signal too much intensity for others. It depends on how companies perceive culture, Sines said.

Farah Sharghi, a job search coach and former recruiter at tech companies including Google, Lyft, Uber, and TikTok, said that while Palantir's hiring process is "very stringent," a good employee at Palantir may not be a good employee everywhere else because "there might be some nuances to some companies versus others in terms of cultural fit."

"A Palantir engineer who's used to working on some particular type of technology might not thrive in another different size company or different cultural company," Sharghi said. "So it's really subjective relative to what the company does, what their needs are, and so on."

While culture may vary across tech companies, Sharghi says the guiding philosophy when it comes to hiring is largely the same across the board.

"They're not looking for breadth of experience," she said. "They're looking for technical depth of experience."

Alan Stein, the CEO of career-accelerating service Kadima Careers, told BI that "Palantir is a good brand name," but although it was considered, it didn't make his list of the top 100 companies that will accelerate your career.

"I don't think that's as impressive as some of the other companies," he said.

Stein, who has worked at several Big Tech companies, including Google and Meta, said that while Palantir candidates can definitely leverage their experience into data, engineering, or government roles, it doesn't have the same brand recognition as some other bigger companies, or Ivy League institutions like Harvard.

"My hunch is more people would prefer four years of Harvard on their résumé," Stein said.

• "Tesla Takedown" protests have happened in cities around the country in opposition to Elon Musk's DOGE work.
• Protesters are calling for Tesla owners to sell their stock and cars. Some owners have seen their vehicles vandalized.
• Tesla's stock price taken a hit this month and some shareholders told BI they want to sell their shares.

Criticism of Elon Musk has spilled out from the virtual walls of social networks and into the streets.

Demonstrators have gathered in cities around the US in recent days and weeks to participate in "Tesla Takedown" protests of varying sizes. Meanwhile, some Tesla owners have said they have faced insults or vandalism amid the Musk criticism.

Participants of the protests have called for a boycott of the EV giant in response to Musk's involvement with the Trump administration and DOGE's efforts to decrease the size of the federal workforce.

The "Tesla Takedown" effort started on BlueSky, a competitor to Musk's X platform, and now has a dedicated website. The site calls for Tesla owners to sell their vehicles and stock in an effort to "stop Musk now."

The website's organizer, "Bill & Ted" actor and filmmaker Alex Winter, wrote in a RollingStone op-ed that demonstrations have happened at over 100 Tesla showrooms and other locations.

Tesla owner and shareholder David Abrams told Business Insider he's heard about multiple protests but wasn't aware of the "takedown" effort specifically. Abrams said he added "Anti Elon Tesla Club" and "I Bought This Before Elon Went Crazy" stickers to his car window, and is hoping that's enough to keep it from getting vandalized.

"I absolutely want to sell my car and my shares," Abrams said, adding that he's waiting for the stock price to go up and would have sold his car already if it made financial sense.

While boycotts aren't always effective at materially impacting a company's bottom line, Wedbush analyst and Tesla bull Dan Ives wrote in a Monday note that Musk's role in DOGE had a "visible perceived downside impact" on the company's stock. Tesla's share price has dropped this week after figures showed a 45% year-over-year drop in Tesla sales in Europe last month amid Musk's vocal support of Germany's far-right AfD party.

Musk addressed some of the protests while speaking at CPAC last week, calling them "fake rallies" with "hardly any people" and saying the demonstrations didn't have "popular support."

Here's a closer look at some of the protests and anti-Tesla vandalism attempts that have taken place in recent weeks in the US.

Demonstrators gathered in Seattle on Saturday to protest against Musk and Tesla

Protesters gathered at various entrances to the University Village shopping mall in Seattle, as well as outside the Tesla showroom at the mall. Some of the signs called to "boycott Tesla" and "defund Musk."

Protesters rallied in front of a Tesla dealership in Fort Lauderdale

Demonstrators gathered in a line on Federal Highway in Fort Lauderdale in front of the Tesla dealership on Saturday to protest Musk and his work with DOGE. Over 200 people gathered outside of the dealership, local publication Sun Sentinel reported on February 22.

Multiple protests happened in San Francisco

The above image shows protesters gathered on February 17 outside Tesla's Van Ness location in San Francisco. Demonstrators chanted "No hate. No fear. Immigrants are welcome here."

Other protests have appeared outside Tesla showrooms on several occasions recently, some of which clipped posters to the glass doors.

Some of the protests have included stints with cardboard cutouts of Musk

A demonstration outside a Tesla dealership in Virginia on February 25 included an elevated cardboard cutout of Uncle Sam burning in a Cybertruck. Next to the cutout, a woman held a sign with the words "Nobody elected Elon!"

Protesters gathered outside a Tesla dealership in New Jersey

@hollowayryan2025 🚨 They don’t want you to see this. 🚨 We protested outside Tesla Cherry Hill because we’re DONE letting billionaires like Elon Musk and Donald Trump buy our democracy. Musk is pushing Trump’s agenda while crushing workers’ rights and platforming extremists. And we’re supposed to just take it? NOPE. 👀 Comment “🛑” if you’re over it. Share this to keep the momentum going. #ProtestTesla #NoToElon #NoToTrump #BanTheBillionaires #Indivisible #WorkersOverWealth #RejectTheRight #TakeBackDemocracy ♬ original sound - HollowayRyan2025

Rebecca Holloway, who posted the video, told BI that "people are fed up with the unchecked power of the ultra-wealthy" and are responding in their own way.

"The Tesla Takedown movement is about holding powerful people accountable — whether it's Elon Musk normalizing extremism or billionaires using their influence to shape our economy and politics to benefit themselves," Holloway, who posted the video, told BI.

Efforts to convince people to sell their Teslas were also seen in New York

A "sell your car" leaflet with a photograph of Musk's widely criticized gesture during a January 20th event celebrating Trump's election was spotted in Brooklyn.

Demonstrators also gathered in the Meatpacking neighborhood of New York City, and close to 300 demonstrators showed up outside the city at a Mount Kisko Tesla showroom to protest, News 12 Westchester reported.

An anti-Tesla ad made its way to a bus stop in London

London Guerrilla Ad-fare: #Tesla the #Swasticar ... from 0 to 1939 in just 3 seconds #Musk pic.twitter.com/y96FiQ5g1Z

— Peter Speetjens (@PeterBeirut) February 24, 2025

An ad at a London bus stop went viral on social media for displaying Musk in a Tesla with the caption "goes from 0 to 1939 in 3 seconds."

Musk has responded to criticism of his January 20th gesture with jokes on X.

Some of the posters at protests refer to fascism, with posters at the Seattle protest labeled, "Make Nazis afraid again." Others say "Your Tesla paid for fascism."

Some Tesla owners have been subject to insults

Earlier today a group of people (elderly, at that) exited a BMW and as they walked past my Tesla, among other comments, called it a "Swastika car".

I also have seen several recent posts in San Diego of Teslas being randomly vandalized.

Since it appears fewer people than ideal… pic.twitter.com/lHHp6LDAYv

— Jed Bratt (@Jed_Bratt) February 26, 2025

"Look at yourself in the mirror and ask yourself how you can live with so much hate in your heart," Jed Bratt said in the post on X addressing Musk's critics.

At a Manhattan protest in Tesla's Meatpacking neighborhood, protesters shouted insults at Tesla vehicles, The Verge reported on Tuesday.

Some owners say their Teslas have been vandalized

One Tesla owner said he came back from a birthday dinner to writing on his car with an expletive aimed at Musk. While he was able to remove the writing, he said it still made him feel "violated" and want to get another truck.

@WholeMarsBlog @SawyerMerritt @Guylouis @elonmusk @Tesla_AI @realMeetKevin @Teslaconomics @Gfilche came back from my birthday dinner to this surprise. Sucks so bad when this happens to your truck even though it’s just a Permanent marker. Fortunately it came out with alcohol but… pic.twitter.com/GBpFsZKE0L

— DrT (@ariteymoorian) February 25, 2025

It's not the first time Teslas have been vandalized. In June, a 35-second video showing a fleet of Cybertrucks spray painted with expletives about Musk went viral.

• A WalletHub analysis found Mississippi spends the highest share of its median household income on groceries among US states.
• West Virginia and Arkansas ranked second and third, while New Jersey came in at No. 50 on the list.
• The three states that spend the lowest percentage on groceries also have the highest earnings.

Retail food prices have increased across the US, but Mississippians are arguably feeling it the most at the grocery store.

WalletHub, a personal finance platform, recently released an analysis examining the share of median income residents of US states allocate to groceries, and those in Mississippi, West Virginia, and Arkansas are spending the highest percentages.

The company studied the prices of 26 common grocery items, including meat, dairy, fruits, and cleaning products, across all 50 states. It then combined the costs and compared them with the median household income in each state to identify where residents spend the highest proportion of their income on groceries.

Mississippi ranked No. 1 on the list for highest spending on groceries relative to income, with the cost of groceries reaching 2.64% of median monthly household income. West Virginia ranked No. 2 with 2.57%, and Arkansas ranked No. 3 with 2.49%.

You can hover over the map below to see the percentage of median monthly household income residents spend on groceries by state.

Despite Mississippi ranking highest on the list, the report said that "grocery prices in Mississippi are actually relatively low," with the state having the ninth lowest grocery prices in the US. WalletHub said in its findings that Mississippi is among the 10 least expensive states in 15 of the 26 products measured in the study, including items like margarine and dishwashing detergent.

However, a more significant factor is that Mississippi had the lowest median annual household income in the country, at $52,985 in 2022 dollars, per Census data spanning 2018 through 2022. That was well below the national median of $75,149.

"So even with relatively low grocery prices overall, Mississippians are spending a higher percentage of their income on groceries than people in any other state," WalletHub said.

WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo told Business Insider that the study compared the prices in each state to median annual income because it seemed to be a better indicator on a statewide basis than solely looking at grocery prices. Lupo said that the cost of grocery prices in New Jersey "won't mean anything to someone in West Virginia."

The report said that West Virginia is "around the middle or bottom of the country" for some of its grocery prices, although some products, like eggs and potatoes, tend to be more expensive. Still, West Virginia had the second-lowest median household income in the US, bringing in $55,217 annually.

Similarly, while Arkansas, which spends the third-highest percentage of its median income on groceries, is in the top 10 states with the cheapest groceries in the US, it has the third-lowest median household income, with $56,335 annually.

Meanwhile, New Jersey ranked No. 50 on the list, meaning its residents spend the lowest percentage of their income on groceries, with Maryland and Massachusetts placing right above it. All three states have the highest median annual household incomes in the country and spend between 1.5% and 1.54% of their median monthly household income on groceries.

Lupo suggested that those who want to see their spending go down should buy store-brand versions of products, buy in bulk, and look into reward programs for grocery stores they frequent. You should also budget carefully — and try to stick to it, Lupo said.

"That will keep you from splurging," Lupo said. "And most importantly, from making those impulse buys."

• Jon Flynn works in AI sales at Google, focusing on media, entertainment, and gaming.
• Flynn studied journalism and started his career in filmmaking before skilling up in engineering.
• He followed his passions and said his ability to communicate was the skill that got him the farthest.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with 49-year-old Jon Flynn, a Google AI sales leader. His identity and employment have been verified by Business Insider. This story has been edited for length and clarity.

I've always been a hobbyist in technology, but I'm an accidental technologist.

I started my career making music videos and commercials in southern Africa. Now, I help lead AI sales at Google in the telecom, media, entertainment, and gaming sectors within the North American market.

That means I'm responsible for a team of sellers and technical and product counterparts that are responsible for bringing the best of Google AI products into the arms of our customers, whether that is an eight-point or multifaceted solution that will be intricate to their business or a film-making process, or to a game customer service engine.

If you don't know exactly where you want to end up, don't sweat it. Some of the best journeys start without a map. Here's how I ended up where I am now.

I followed my passions

Initially I thought I was going to be a fireman. Then, I wanted to be a doctor. Then, I was planning to be a meteorologist, and eventually I went to school to be a photo journalist. Then, I wanted to get into the movie industry so I went to film school and did a master's degree in cinematography on the back of my journalism degree.

The road less traveled, the risky bet, that's where the magic happens.

"Fortune favors the bold" is a timeless saying for a reason. The people who change the game aren't the ones who wait for certainty. They're the ones who take the leap and figure it out on the way down.

The way that I was very fortunate in my career is that I've been able to zigzag to areas of passion.

Technology was always a passion of mine, so I always did it in my spare time. I had a computer in the family living room ever since I was single-digits years old. I learned to code and spoke in code poorly, but I can code. I was always the one who would fix the neighbor's computer, I was always the one who would build your friend's computer back in the day when we still built them. 

That never left me, and when I had downtime after working on a film project, I completed an engineering certification.

So I got accredited as an engineer with a Microsoft engineering certification and I got this job opportunity at a financial services company as an engineer.

It was really one of those crossroads. I was like, this seems like very much a 9-to-5 corporate kind of offer over here. Sure, it's stable and it's cool, but aren't I supposed to be this cool freewheeling make-music-videos, live-in-your-mom's-basement-until-you're-50 kind of guy?

That didn't seem too great either, though. So, I figured I would do both.

It opened my eyes to another thing I'm passionate about. From there I went into product and then from product into business and then into leadership. I ended up in an AI leadership role in the sports, media, and entertainment sector at Microsoft and then in the last year, moved to Google. 

I never went back holistically into being a content creator. I've created podcasts and I do those kinds of things, but it's a little bit different from what I thought I was going to be back when I finished school.

I find myself just as fortunate though because I get to work in the industry I'm super passionate about, in terms of getting to influence the way in which content is created and consumed.

A technology degree isn't everything

There's one constant thread between everything that I've done in my entire career from school, to being an engineer, to being a sales leader: conversation.

Getting a Microsoft data engineer certification is very functional, but with the advancements in AI, I think that the largest programming language in the world is English, or whatever your native tongue is.

The ability to translate technical complex things into conversational subject matters and hold someone's attention when we are surrounded by competing data points is a massively important skill. That has never ever left me on any step of the way that I've gone. Traditionally, technology people speak to technology people, which is such a miss because you become very myopic in your views.

When I'm looking for someone who's going to represent the products that we are building and the products that we want to get out into the hands of our customers, I'm not looking for someone who is a PhD.  I'm not looking for someone who is going to be up at 2 a.m. in the morning in their garage coding some Python script.

I'm looking for people who are articulate. I'm looking for people who are curious. I'm looking for people who are looking at technology the way our customers are looking at their technology.

A lot of people that I hire come from non-technical roles. They come from business-focused roles, project management-focused roles, and, quite frankly, some of them come from marketing and sales roles.

If you can articulate what we have in a product and how it's going to help you do your job easier, that's a super valuable skill — and none of that has any bearing on a technology-focused degree.

• Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe addressed weak guidance for 2025, citing uncertainty.
• Scaringe said tariffs and EV credit removal could impact pricing and the shift to electrification.
• President Donald Trump has threatened tariffs on Canada and Mexico.

Despite beating expectations with its fourth-quarter earnings release on Thursday, Rivian offered weak guidance for 2025 — and that's because of looming tariffs on automakers and eliminating EV credits.

"There's certainly a lot of uncertainty," Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe said in a CNBC interview published Thursday.

Scaringe said the company's 2025 outlook provides a "comprehensive view" of what could happen regarding tariffs and consumer incentives for purchasing EVs. He said tariffs and the removal of consumer incentives like the tax credit for new EVs "both ultimately have very similar effects."

The EV company released its fourth-quarter earnings report on Thursday, doubling Wall Street's expectations for gross profit with a reported $170 million. It also outperformed forecasts in earnings per share and revenue.

However, its 2025 guidance fell short with projections of vehicle deliveries between 46,000 and 51,000. The high end of that estimate falls below Rivian's 2024 total deliveries of 52,000 EVs, and the midpoint of the range also misses Wall Street's estimate of about 55,000 vehicles.

In a previous interview with Business Insider, Scaringe shrugged off President Donald Trump's planned rollback of EV incentives, including the $7,500 tax incentive for EV purchases. He said although the EV industry faced a "high degree of uncertainty" in the next few years, Trump's plans to eliminate parts of the Biden administration's Inflation Reduction Act were "less impactful than people believe."

"I don't think removing a $7,500 credit is going to change the end state," he told BI. "The end state's still clear. It's still going to be electric."

Scaringe reaffirmed in the Thursday interview that his view that "the entirety of the automotive world is going to convert to electric" hasn't changed. The rate of that is still a question mark, though, and depends on how quickly the industry can create options for consumers.

Tariffs might not help either.

Trump shared plans on Tuesday to impose auto tariffs of around 25%. He's also threatened tariffs on imported goods from Canada and Mexico, which some analysts said could add an average of $2,700 to new car prices in the US.

While Rivian assembles its vehicles in the US, Scaringe said a number of tier 2 and tier 3 suppliers exist outside the country, and higher costs due to tariffs will "translate into pricing." Removing tax credits, which help make vehicles more affordable, would have a similar effect on pricing, Scaringe said.

"In both cases, they ultimately are going to impact a man and they ultimately are going to impact the rate at which consumers, you know, shift towards electrification," Scaringe said.

Scaringe said that the company is focusing on factors in its control, like cost efficiency, software improvements, and production of R2, which is set to launch in the first half of next year.

"We're certainly building, you know, building the resilience to respond to whatever ultimately happens in terms of trade policy and consumer credits," Scaringe said in the interview.

Rivian did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.

• Salesforce's AI executive said having agency is "far more important" than learning to code.
• Jayesh Govindarajan defined agency as seeking out a problem and having the drive to solve it.
• Mark Zuckerberg similarly said he valued the ability to "go deep and do one thing really well."

For years, "learn to code" was the go-to advice for anyone wanting to break into a tech career — but Salesforce's head of AI engineering says another skill is more valuable these days.

"I may be in the minority here, but I think something that's far more essential than learning how to code is having agency," Jayesh Govindarajan, an executive vice president, said in an interview with Business Insider.

Govindarajan said that's because Salesforce is building "a system that can pretty much solve anything for you" but "just doesn't know what to solve."

"I think far more important than knowing how to code is having that agency and that drive to go get it built out," Govindarajan said.

The AI exec gave a hypothetical example of someone trying to solve a problem for College Possible, a nonprofit that helps students prepare for college and receives funding from Salesforce. Govindarajan said that someone could interview a counselor, see what they do on a daily basis, and then use an agentic AI system to "describe what you're trying to build and it'll give you a first draft of the solution." While that first draft may not be perfect, "you go take it to this counselor, have them play with it," and listen to their feedback and any critique, he said.

"Then you'd come back and you tweak it again. No code. You'd give it instructions in English. That's very possible," Govindarajan said.

The Salesforce exec said someone who has gone through this process has demonstrated two key things.

"One, agency to go seek out a problem to solve," Govindarajan said. "And two, learn the tool set — that's a no-code tool set or a low-code tool set — to be able to go get the job done."

In that hypothetical example, once the counselor is interested in actually buying the proposed solution, a more experienced coder could then be brought in to sharpen up the edges and fine-tune the software product.

Govindarajan's remarks offer a look into how the world of software development and sales is evolving in the age of AI.

Since the emergence of AI tools such as GitHub Copilot or Amazon CodeWhisperer, several coding tasks have been automated, creating uncertainty in a once-stable industry and new challenges for some younger entrants looking to break into software engineering.

During Google's third-quarter earnings call in October, CEO Sundar Pichai said more than a quarter of new code at the company was generated by AI, though it was still reviewed and accepted by employees. Other tech giants have similarly integrated AI into coding tasks. One Microsoft manager told BI that AI helped him cut down the time he spent on coding tasks by about 70%.

Even as coding becomes increasingly automated, some industry leaders believe learning the basics continues to be necessary, arguing that it's more important than ever to understand the fundamentals of technology in order to build on it.

Other industry leaders seem to be leaning in the direction that soft skills could be what sets candidates apart.

Mark Zuckerberg said in a July interview with Bloomberg that he believed the most important skill was "learning how to think critically and learning values when you're young."

"If people have shown that they can go deep and do one thing really well, then they've probably gained experience in, like, the art of learning something," Zuckerberg said in the interview, discussing what he looked for in job candidates.

The CEO said that skill applies to situations that could arise during a career at Meta, and it's key to showcase your ability to dive deep and master whatever you're working on.

Or, as Govindarajan may put it: using the tools at your disposal to get stuff done.

• Palantir CEO Alex Karp said Trump is "brilliant" at rejecting paradigms that lead to "stupid" outcomes.
• In an interview with CNBC's "Squawk Box," he suggested that those wanting to be builders do the same.
• Karp also addressed critics of Elon Musk's DOGE methods, saying the left should seek to engage with him.

Alex Karp, Palantir's cofounder and CEO, said President Donald Trump doesn't accept paradigms leading to "stupid" outcomes — and it's something he does "very, very well."

"He's quite brilliant at this," Karp, who said he'd identified as a Democrat for most of his life, said in an interview with CNBC's "Squawk Box" on Tuesday.

Karp made the remarks when asked about early US talks with Russia about negotiations to end the Ukraine war and Trump's past comments that he wanted to secure $500 billion worth of rare earth minerals from Ukraine. Karp said it was an example of Trump rejecting a paradigm.

"So what I see is he's like, 'I'm not accepting a paradigm where America just keeps financing things, there's no real discussion," Karp said.

The Palantir CEO said those who wanted to be builders could take a lesson out of Trump's playbook.

"Do not accept a paradigm that is stupid, no matter who tells you that you should have it," Karp said.

The Palantir CEO said Elon Musk, who leads the Department of Government Efficiency, was "the most important builder in the world" and criticized the way many on the political left had responded to Musk's efforts to cut down on "fraud, waste, and abuse." Karp said people should want to know where their taxpayer dollars are going, and those with questions about Musk's methods should engage in discussion with him about it.

Labor unions and other groups have filed various lawsuits against DOGE's efforts to access government data, such as the Treasury Department's payment system, and significantly scale back the federal workforce. Some of the initiatives are on hold as the cases wind through the courts.

"What the progressive left should be doing is saying, 'OK, Elon you're clearly the most qualified person in the world to do something like this, we want to dialogue with you about how you're doing and what are you doing," Karp said, adding that he didn't think that was happening.

Karp previously voiced support for DOGE and has also been outspoken about issues such as antisemitism and denounced the 2024 college protests against Israel.

Palantir is a software company that provides AI solutions and data analytics for government and commercial entities. It has several government contracts, including with the Department of Defense and US Army.

Karp is on a press tour promoting a book he coauthored called "The Technological Republic: Hard Power, Soft Belief, and the Future of the West." In it, he argues that the West has abandoned its sense of ambition and become complacent and that "Silicon Valley has lost its way."

Pushing back against those who may view the West as "inferior," the Palantir CEO said the world had entered a technological revolution driven by a "software-defined world" led by the US. To succeed, Karp said, countries need to have functional borders, militaries need to "be scary," and education systems have to work.

• Four former Google interns shared tips on securing their internships and converting to full-time employees.
• They emphasized preparing early on and aiming for underclassman-targeted internships.
• Some also suggested networking and asking questions, and pointers for dealing with imposter syndrome.

With internship application season in full swing, you might be wondering how to make the most of your summer fellowship — and how to turn it into a full-time offer.

Business Insider spoke to four former Google interns who turned their summer gigs into full-time job offers at the tech giant. They shared their process of landing internships at Google and advice on landing a permanent offer.

Landing an internship at a Big Tech company is highly competitive, but having one on your résumé can help you get in early. Google offers general online guidance for navigating the hiring process, including practicing coding on platforms like CodeLab, Quora, and Stack Overflow. It also suggests keeping your résumé to one page and considering skills relevant to the role.

The tech giant also provides more customized guidance to specific programs, like its Student Training in Engineering Program (STEP), which is a popular intern option for college students.

If you want direct insight from the perspectives of those who landed internships and turned them into full-time jobs, keep reading.

Nancy Qi

Nancy Qi graduated in the winter and plans to return to Google full-time in June after spending three summers there as an intern, the first two with STEP and the last with Google's Software Engineering internship.

Her primary advice: start early.

Qi said she started taking data structure classes in high school at a community college and was practicing with leet code the summer before she started college, well before she had interviews lined up.

When Qi started sending out applications in the fall of her freshman year, she said her résumé mainly had website initiatives and leadership experience for volunteering clubs from high school. She said she also had some part-time tutoring experience teaching math and English,

"I think at that age, you're not expected to have so much CS experience or coding experience," Qi said. "So I think if you have some leadership experience or experience that shows your character, I think that's important at that time."

During her internship, Qi said she thinks her strong suit was building relationships with her teammates by getting lunch with them every day. She said doing helped to create "team chemistry" and she also said it helped her feel excited for work and "motivated to pump out code."

Islina (Yunhong) Shan

Islina (Yunhong) Shan interned at Google three times, beginning in the summer of 2022. She's set to graduate in May from an accelerated computer science Master's program at Duke University and start a full-time role as a software engineer at the tech giant this summer.

Shan first participated in STEP and later in the Software Engineering Internship, which is a more competitive program geared toward technical development.

When she applied for her first internship, Shan said she had some hackathon experiences and some technical projects from school. After she sent her résumé, she was invited to two rounds of final interviews, both of which were technical and back-to-back, she said.

Her advice to interns hoping to secure full time jobs: choose a team during the match process that you're actually interested in.

"Interest is really important in driving you to finish the project," Shan said.

She also said it's important to choose a team with a manager you can see yourself working with because you'll have to communicate with them regularly and set expectations. When she first started her internship, she said she set unrealistic goals. Once she adjusted them, she started seeing more progress. Shan suggested seeking help if needed, adding that Google engineers tend to be friendly.

Lydia Lam

Lydia Lam graduated from college in 2024 and participated in three Google internships, beginning with a STEP internship in 2021.

In her internship résumé, Lam included a seven-week Google program for high-school graduates called the Computer Science Summer Institute. She also had experience with a summer program for girls who code and a tech consulting student organization that she joined during her first semester of college.

Lam also recommended applying early in the recruiting cycle and said programs geared toward first and second-year students tend to be more aligned with that experience level.

Lam said "strong engineering practices" are highly valued at the company and mentioned feeling imposter syndrome and wanting to impress her internship host. However, she said asking questions sooner than later can help projects get done more quickly.

"It's much more efficient to ask someone else who knows a lot more than you try to figure it out longer," Lam said.

She also suggested "producing a lot of artifacts," whether designs or other "tangible pieces of work," that can help show your skill set and contributions.

Tawfiq Mohammad

Tawfiq Mohammad interned for two summers at Google before becoming a full-time software engineer at the tech giant.

He said the summer after his first year in college, he didn't have any internships, so he took summer classes and did his own projects at home, like a gadget that read the license plate on his car and opened the garage without him having to press a button.

Mohammad's biggest advice for incoming interns is to be prepared for imposter syndrome. Mohammad said the "biggest block" for him at first was being scared to do anything, and he suggested tuning out those negative feelings as much as possible.

"You're going to feel very out of place initially," Mohammad told BI. "I honestly felt like I had no idea what I was doing."

He said interns should set a goal to "learn as much as possible" from the more experienced employees and try to believe that they, too, felt like they didn't fully "know what they were doing" at one point.

"They're really smart so you want to absorb as much information as you can from them," Mohammad said.

He also suggested thinking "outside the box."

"You're going to be given a project that summer and try to own that project. Try to own it from A to Z," Mohammad said.

He also recommended networking with other interns and team members, adding that Google provides a number of opportunities to do so.

"It's good to build up a good network of successful people and it's just good to network with people that are farther along the career path than you," Mohammad said.

• Analysts say Tesla's tariffs exposure remains uncertain and could hurt its margins — and its competitors' more.
• Tesla is also likely to be impacted by the removal of Biden-era EV tax credits and the removal of emissions targets for automakers.
• However, Tesla could benefit from Elon Musk's ties to Trump, especially when it comes to self-driving regulations.

Some of President Donald Trump's policy proposals are on a collision course with Telsa. However, Elon Musk appears to be betting the EV maker can weather any short-term storm clouds and come out ahead of the competition.

On the tariffs front, Tesla CFO Vaibhav Taneja recently warned that the EV maker is "very reliant" on global parts and Trump's proposed tariffs are expected to impact the company's "business and profitability."

Tesla has a lot to potentially gain from Musk's close relationship with President Donald Trump. Musk, for his part, has largely appeared to shrug off the possible impact of some of Trump's other proposed policy changes, such as ending the Biden-era EV mandate.

"At this point, I think that sustainable transport is inevitable," Musk said on Tesla's most recent earnings call when asked about any potential impact on the company if wider EV adoption slowed. The move to electric vehicles "can't be stopped," he added.

Tesla analysts told Business Insider that Musk appears to be taking the long-term view and that any negative short-term impacts would likely be outweighed by the potential benefits of working closely with Trump — such as gaining an ally in deregulation and formalizing a federal framework for autonomous driving.

"It's really all about autonomous driving," CFRA Research analyst Garrett Nelson told BI.

Nelson said a streamlined regulatory process for autonomous vehicles that supersedes state-level approval programs would be "the biggest positive" for Tesla. Nelson said he expects it to happen by the end of the year.

Trump has also indicated a willingness to flex political pressure on European regulators over the regulations they have in place that impact American companies operating in the market.

Musk recently singled out European regulations as a key constraint in executing Tesla's vision for fully autonomous vehicles. Musk has said solving autonomy is key to growing Tesla's market cap.

"Europe is a layer cake of regulations of bureaucracy, which, that really needs to be addressed," Musk said on the earnings call. "This is a like America innovates, Europe regulates."

Tesla's stock went on a tear in the month following Trump's election victory, surging to an all-time high in mid-December. And after Tesla's quarterly earnings in January revealed profit and revenue below analysts' expectations, the stock also rose around 8% amid Musk's bold predictions for the coming year.

"He understands that having the government on his side yields the company a lot of power among the big funds and analysts," Thomas Monteiro, senior analyst at Investing.com told BI.

The duration of Trump's tariffs is a question mark

Some of the tariffs that Tesla's CFO warned would impact the EV maker have since been made official — however, there's uncertainty on how long they will remain in place.

Trump's 10% tariffs on imports from China have gone into effect, though his previously announced 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada have been put on hold after the countries' leaders made concessions.

The president also announced on Monday new 25% tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports, which are both commonly used for auto parts.

In a recent note to investors, Tom Narayan, lead equity analyst of global autos at RBC Capital Markets, said that if the steel and aluminum tariffs are made permanent, auto companies could face headwinds in 2027 or 2028. However, he also said that Trump imposed a 25% tariff on steel and 10% on aluminum during his last term and ended up making exceptions for Canada, Mexico, and Brazil, the largest steel importers to the US.

In general, tariffs would impact "all the US auto manufacturers," said CFRA Research's Nelson. However, Nelson said Tesla's competitors may be more "exposed" — like General Motors, which has significant production and sourcing in Mexico and China.

That doesn't mean Tesla would be unaffected though.

Investing.com's Monteiro told BI that "there's no question" that "Tesla's margins will be pressured" in the coming quarters.

While Tesla's final assembly takes place in the US, a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration filing indicated between 20% and 25% of the company's components from its 2025 model-year vehicles were sourced from Mexico. Tesla's 2023 Impact Report also shows that the company sources a number of materials abroad for its battery and auto parts production, including lithium, nickel, steel, and iron.

Monteiro said further domesticating the supply chain would be expensive and the company's strategy of periodically reducing prices to sell more cars would "become even worse from a financial standpoint."

"To talk numbers, a 25% tariff would amount to a cost increase of around $1.5 billion in the first year," Monteiro estimated, adding that the cost would likely improve as company supply chains adapt.

Musk has largely shrugged off the potential impacts on Tesla's bottom line

Trump has also talked about rolling back Biden's EV incentives, including the Inflation Reduction Act passed in 2022, which offers buyers a federal tax break of up to $7,500 for new EVs and a $4,000 credit for used EVs.

While lowering the overall price of buying a Tesla has benefited the company, Musk has voiced support for eliminating EV tax credits on several occasions — something not all Tesla shareholders agree on.

"I think it would be devastating for our competitors and for Tesla slightly," Musk said in a July earnings call about the possibility of the tax credits ending. "But long-term probably actually helps Tesla, would be my guess."

If he's right, the move could help Tesla maintain its dominance in the US EV market, especially after its estimated market share fell below 50% for the first time in July.

Nelson said Musk's position is likely that Tesla has a strong brand value and its buyers tend to be higher income. That means the tax credits may not be "as much a factor in their purchase decision," he said.

Trump has also moved to repeal the Biden-era EV mandates, which aimed to boost EV adoption through investments in infrastructure like charging stations and stricter emission standards.

On his first day back in office, Trump signed an executive order "to eliminate the 'electric vehicle (EV) mandate' and promote true consumer choice." The order calls for the removal of state emissions waivers that work to limit sales of auto vehicles and other government policies that "favor EVs over other technologies," mandating their purchase by making "other types of vehicles unaffordable."

When asked on social media over the summer about Trump's proposed EV policies, Musk said at the time that, "It will be fine" and wrote that "a surprising number of people think that Tesla survives on subsidies."

"That is true of our competitors, but not of Tesla," he wrote in July.

However, pulling back Biden's EV mandates on emissions targets threatens Tesla's revenue stream from selling regulatory credits to automakers that fail to meet federal and state EV sales targets.

In the fourth quarter, Tesla reported $692 million in revenue from these credits.

"There's really no cost associated with that revenue, so it's basically got 100% margin and it flows right through the bottom line," Nelson said.

Stephanie Valdez Streaty, a director of industry insights at Cox Automotive, previously told BI that, "Tesla has relied on the credits to help really boost profitability."

"If federal guidelines are less stringent, then other manufacturers have more time, and they're not going to need those credits as much, so I think it'll definitely impact it," she said.