Insider Today: Consultants hit the exits

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Welcome back to our Sunday edition, a roundup of some of our top stories. Studying computer science was supposed to be the ticket to job security. Not anymore, according to a professor at UC Berkeley.

On the agenda today:

• Consulting firms are facing a reckoning as workers head for the exits.
• 4:30 a.m. wakeups are part of Apollo's new management strategy.
• Retirees are selling their businesses. It's a $10 trillion opportunity for millennials.
• Introducing our list of Wall Street's rising stars.

But first: Making sense of a huge month for hiring.

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This week's dispatch

Hot jobs report

The US economy added way more jobs in September than expected.

The jobs report on Friday showed 254,000 jobs added, way ahead of the 147,000 expected, while unemployment dropped to 4.1%. Jobs growth in July and August was also revised upwards.

"Any way you slice it, September's employment report was much stronger than expectations," said one investor in response to the report.

Here's what it all means:

Rates: The strong job numbers likely mean a longer wait for lower rates. Investors responded by immediately lowering their expectations for another jumbo rate cut from the Fed in November. Many now predict the Fed will wait until December to cut rates.

Stocks: A low-inflation, low-unemployment environment is the ideal scenario for stocks. The Dow closed at another record high on Friday, and some see a "Roaring '20s economy" emerging.

Election: The strong hiring numbers represent a boost for Kamala Harris' presidential campaign. Former President Donald Trump has repeatedly attacked President Joe Biden and VP Harris over their handling of the economy, but polls suggest the Harris campaign may be winning over more Americans on her handling of the economy.

Vibes: Don't bet on these numbers changing the mood much. Yes, inflation looks to be under control, but prices in the grocery aisle are much higher than they were four years ago. Yes, unemployment has dropped, but many still feel like getting a new job is harder than ever.

Consultants head for the exits

For decades, ambitious students have aggressively pursued careers in consulting. But young workers are starting to reconsider amid a tough stretch for the industry.

Layoffs and delayed start dates at firms like Deloitte and Accenture have pushed some consultants — including those who've been at it a while — to reconsider a gig once synonymous with generous expense accounts and stability.

How consulting lost its cool.

Playing to win

Apollo Management aims to double its assets in five years, but getting there won't be easy.

"We have woken the team up at 4:30 a.m. in the morning for meetings to prove to them that we need to do a wake-up call and something different," Apollo Management CEO Marc Rowan told investors. These tactics are part of a new strategy to teach employees to "play to win" amid changing market conditions, Rowan said.

"We have to adapt, and we have to change."

The great boomer fire sale

Scrappy, entrepreneurial millennials have a new path to retirement: Scooping up boomers' businesses.

As they enter their prime wealth-building years, many millennials are anxious about how they'll save for retirement. Retiring boomers looking to sell off their companies present millennials with a $10 trillion opportunity.

How millennials are cashing in on boomer wealth.

Wall Street's finest

Every year, Business Insider taps its contacts to put together a list of who to watch on Wall Street. The nominees, each 35 or younger, are shaping the future of finance.

This year's list includes 25 rising stars from firms like JPMorgan, Bridgewater, and Apollo. We asked each of them to share their successes, challenges, and best career advice.

See who made the cut.

This week's quote:

"Removing layers, operating with fewer managers and flattening the organization are all in focus to move faster."

— A Morgan Stanley note estimating Amazon could save $3 billion by laying off 14,000 managers.

More of this week's top reads:

• Microsoft won't follow an Amazon-style RTO policy — unless productivity slows.
• Nvidia's next target: the burgeoning robotics market.
• Leaked document shows Amazon rolled out a ChatGPT replacement for employees.
• Google's ad business could be saved by a $150 billion spinoff.
• Credit card companies are ripping you off like never before.
• The investors behind OpenAI's historic $6.6 billion funding round.
• Google Search is about to see 'a pretty dramatic shift.'

• OpenAI's rivals are on the prowl after an exodus of high-level executives.

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  The Insider Today team: Dan DeFrancesco, deputy editor and anchor, in New York. Jordan Parker Erb, editor, in New York. Grace Lett, editor, in Chicago. Amanda Yen, fellow, in New York.