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This as-told-to essay is based on conversations with Morgan S., a 37-year-old strategy senior manager in Houston. It has been edited for length and clarity.I’m from Houston, and I love it. My monthly take-home pay from my corporate job is just under $10,000 after taxes. I feel very financially secure here and ahead of my age.One thing that outsiders may not know is that Houston’s property tax is among the highest in the country because we have no state income tax. A lot of people hate on Houston, but the city has so much to offer. To afford the cost…

By the time DOGE quietly disbanded in late November, Elon Musk had returned his attention to his companies. President Donald Trump was focused on his immigration crackdown.For Alex Zhu, though, the impact of those months of frenzied job cuts lingered.Zhu’s friends and neighbors were among the more than 260,000 federal employees dispatched by the Department of Government Efficiency.”I had a bunch of friends who worked in public and global health in the federal government,” Zhu, 29, told Business Insider. “They all got laid off and were facing uncertainty.”That uncertainty took many forms: rising grocery costs, pricey healthcare, fluctuating childcare expenses.…

When Jill Borst was a Goldman Sachs intern in 1999, the firm didn’t have an office in Salt Lake City. Now, Borst leads the office of more than 3,000 employees.She’s in good company as a senior leader who started as an intern — around 40% of the firm’s partners started as campus hires.Goldman’s newest class of interns in the Americas begins their program today as Wall Street expectations are being reshaped by AI. Landing a summer spot at the firm is no easy feat, and Goldman accepted less than 1% of intern applicants last year. Those who do make it…

Student-loan borrowers, get ready: big changes are coming.For nearly a year, President Donald Trump’s Department of Education has been preparing to implement the sweeping student-loan changes signed into law in the administration’s ” big beautiful” spending legislation.After negotiation, public comment, and ongoing litigation, those changes will take effect on July 1. They include a new repayment plan, borrowing caps for advanced degrees, and the elimination of programs that allow students and parents to borrow the full cost of attendance for school.The Department of Education said the changes are intended to simplify a complex student-loan repayment system and curb excessive borrowing.…

Shoppers enter and exit a Dior luxury boutique in Venice, Italy, on Nov. 16, 2025.Michael Nguyen/NurPhoto via Getty ImagesThe retail industry emerged from a choppy first quarter relatively unscathed, but higher than usual tax refunds and an uptick in buy now, pay later use likely helped to buoy spending.As Wall Street looks ahead to the second quarter, the period could offer a clearer view on consumer health and just how much high gas prices and persistent inflation have disrupted the economy and pressured already-strained household budgets. “Once you got through April and May, you’re really not seeing the impact of tax…

If you don’t have a bachelor’s degree but want to earn a lot, you could consider becoming an air traffic controller, a nuclear power reactor operator, or a diagnostic medical sonographer.To get a sense of good options for those who don’t have or want a four-year degree, Business Insider ranked median annual wages of jobs that usually just need an associate degree, a high school diploma or the equivalent, a postsecondary nondegree award, or no formal education using data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.Based on May 2025 pay data, about a dozen jobs that typically don’t need a bachelor’s…

Judd Kessler’s research assistant positions at Wharton have been sought after by economics students for the last 15 years. The jobs are especially attractive to students considering a Ph.D. in economics or a related field because they offer a firsthand look at what academic research entails. Each fall, the inaugural Howard Marks endowed Professor draws some 50 applicants for just four or five spots. Lately, though, recruiting has become a nightmare — not because of a lack of talent, but because nearly every applicant now appears exceptional.”I used to get really good cover letters, and be like, ‘oh, I should…

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Mori Nishimura, 34, the CEO of A Cabin Company in Japan. It’s been edited for length and clarity.I felt lost growing up. As a kid in New Zealand, I never questioned where I belonged. But as I got older, I became more aware of how different I was from my peers, which sparked my curiosity about Japan and my father’s decision to leave it behind.My father moved our family to Auckland because he wanted us to grow up surrounded by nature and away from the pressures of city life in Japan.There…

Anyone worried that AI will replace them should take a deep breath, at least according to Apollo Global Management’s chief economist.In a blog post on Friday, Torsten Sløk said there is “zero evidence of job losses because of AI,” citing the ADP National Employment Report. Instead, he said, companies are hiring candidates who have AI skills.”Many firms are hiring AI implementation experts, and the data center buildout is putting upward pressure on salaries for AI experts and on prices of semiconductors, equipment, and energy,” Sløk said. “The bottom line is that the AI spending boom is stoking both employment and…

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Lori Bufka, 64, who is caring for her mother with dementia in Arizona. Assisted living became too expensive for her mother, so Bufka moved her into a trailer next to their home, where her mother would have enough space and safety. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.I was a college professor and retired from a community college in Florida. I raised two boys, both of whom are married, and I have five grandchildren. I had retired to do van life with my partner, who has been with me…