White-collar knowledge workers are experiencing a crisis of confidence as AI automation and a cooling job market erode their once-secure prospects. Former Brookings researcher Molly Kinder compares the shift to the manufacturing collapse that cost eight million blue-collar jobs, while former Glassdoor chief economist Aaron Terrazas says the future is up for grabs for a generation accustomed to being on top. Data from the New York Fed shows unemployment expectations are rising fastest among educated, higher-income earners, and experts point to AI reducing negotiating power, wage growth lagging inflation, and experienced workers taking entry-level roles. Copywriter Kimberly Harrington, who once worked with Apple and Netflix, says she has given up on any dream scenario and is just trying to survive, a sentiment echoed by anonymous professionals who describe panic attacks and a sense that their skills are being devalued. The anxiety reflects not only economic pressure but a deeper loss of status and meaning, as workers feel institutions are indifferent to their fate and the old bargain of talent for security has been broken.