The End of 9-to-5: Saurabh Mukherjea on AI, Jobs, and Building Wealth in the new era

In this bold and wide-ranging conversation, investor and author Saurabh Mukherjea explains how artificial intelligence is triggering the biggest shift in India’s white-collar workforce in decades. With powerful data, historical insight, and personal anecdotes, he unpacks how job roles, education models, and middle-class ambition itself must be reimagined.

From creative destruction to entrepreneurial reinvention, from social conditioning to skill-based survival, this episode offers a roadmap for anyone navigating careers, identity, and opportunity in the AI era.

A must-watch for professionals, students, parents, and policymakers who care about India’s future. 🎙️🚀

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⏱️ Chapters

00:00 – Intro: The End of the Middle-Class Dream
01:20 – Who is Saurabh Mukherjea?
02:25 – AI and Automation: The White-Collar Disruption
06:28 – Why India Will Be Hit Harder Than the West
10:25 – Is This Just a Phase? Cyclical vs Structural Change
12:56 – Substitution vs Complementarity: The Two Sides of Tech Disruption
17:02 – The Mid-Career Crisis and the Death of Stability
23:44 – Chapter: Exit Salaryman, Enter Entrepreneur
27:33 – Merging Thinker + Doer: The New Mindset
28:08 – Chapter: Changing the Mindset
29:30 – 3 Must-Have Traits: Thinker, Deviant, Long-Term Player
34:41 – Skills That Will Matter: Creativity + Persuasion + Abstraction
35:09 – Chapter: Degrees Are Useless. Skills Aren’t.
38:57 – India’s Household Savings Shift
40:54 – Chapter: 2–3 Year Adjustment Process
41:49 – Chapter: Policy Measures Required
42:21 – What is a 401(k)? (Definition + Policy Suggestion)
45:21 – Chapter: How Should Parents Think of Their Children’s Future?
49:03 – India’s Pre-Colonial Entrepreneurial Legacy
50:07 – Chapter: If I Were 22 Today…