The bottom rungs are missing, and the entry-level white-collar job is rapidly transforming or, in some cases, evaporating entirely. Immediate CasualtyThe immediate casualty of this operational shift is the traditional entry-level white-collar worker. If the entry-level ‘cognitive grunt work’ is automated, how do we train senior leaders, architects, and managers of tomorrow? The future of white-collar work lies not in creating content from scratch but in exercising judgment over what automated systems produce. Shifting FocusThis shift underscores a broader reality that policymakers and industry leaders are increasingly acknowledging: traditional white-collar roles can no longer rely on rote academic certification.