30-year-old Jack Weis has a Dr before his name but no job to sustain himself. A Princeton University PhD holder in chemical engineering, Weis applied to over 2300 jobs since graduating in 2024 but found no luck. His research is tied to a Nobel Prize, but Weis told The Wall Street Journal that he was open to a software engineer role and even food preparation roles. Weis graduated summa cum laude from Rice University and then enrolled at Princeton in 2028 for his doctoral studies. Weis’ research into ice formation was cited as an illustration of machine learning’s scientific applications in connection with the 2024 Nobel Prize in Physics.In January 2026, Weis got a part-time job earning $70 per hour at a startup where he was working as a specialist to train AI. He told Journal that he was working 20 hours some weeks and four hours other weeks, depending on the workflow. But eventually, jobs dried up and then by mid-March, he was notified that his contract was going to be terminated.Weis is now considering studying law and also planning to start something on his own. He wants to design AI drone to remove invasive weeds. “If you believe something has true value, you have to step up and realize that value yourself,” he said.
Both parents are physicians; they are shocked
Dr Weis’ parents are both physicians and they are surprised to see his employment struggles. His mother Holly Carvers went through the son’s CV and found that it was well-written and there’s nothing that may discourage employers from hiring him. His father, John Weis, said, “I never in a million years thought this kidUnemployment was 4.2% in September, up 0.1 percentage point from August, according to the September jobs report released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics on Oct. 2. Total employment grew by 29,000 — well below economists’ forecast of 84,000. In addition, July’s hiring numbers were revised down by 31,000 to -10,000, while August was revised down by 29,000 to 133,000. Together there were 60,000 fewer jobs added in July and August than originally reported.
