For years, computer science was considered one of the safest paths from college into a well-paid career. Technology companies competed aggressively for young programmers, graduates often received multiple offers, and universities rapidly expanded their computer science programs.
Artificial intelligence is now helping overturn that equation.
New computer science graduates are entering one of the most difficult technology job markets in years as companies automate portions of software development, reduce junior hiring and demand skills traditionally expected from more experienced workers.
According to data, the unemployment rate among recent computer science and computer engineering graduates is approximately 7.1%. Graduates in several fields historically viewed as less directly connected to lucrative careers — including philosophy, art history and ethnic studies — currently have higher employment rates.
The change follows years of extraordinary growth.
During the pandemic, companies dramatically increased technology hiring as businesses shifted more operations online. Software-development job postings peaked in early 2022, encouraging large numbers of students to pursue computing degrees.
The number of recent computer science and computer engineering graduates eventually tripled over roughly a decade, reaching approximately 362,000 in 2024.
But demand has since weakened.
Major technology companies are increasingly using artificial intelligence to perform portions of coding and software-development work, while companies including Amazon have eliminated jobs as they redirect enormous amounts of capital toward AI infrastructure and development.
Young workers appear particularly exposed to this transformation.
Research from Stanford University’s Digital Economy Lab found that employment among workers in their early 20s in occupations highly exposed to AI — including software development — is 19% below the level it would have reached if employment had followed trends in occupations less exposed to AI.
The problem is not simply that programming is disappearing. Instead, the skills employers expect are changing.
Companies increasingly want workers who can use AI systems effectively, evaluate their output, identify mistakes and apply technology to real business problems. Those responsibilities often require judgment and experience traditionally developed through junior positions.
That creates a paradox: companies want experienced AI-capable workers while reducing some of the entry-level positions through which young employees traditionally gained that experience.
Universities are beginning to respond.
Georgia Tech, for example, created specialized preparation for students entering internships at AT&T and plans to expand the concept through a program called “Bootcamp to Industry.” Universities are also reaching beyond traditional technology companies and connecting students with businesses in industries ranging from engineering to forestry that increasingly need employees capable of implementing AI.
Jack Zemke’s experience illustrates this changing market.
Before graduating from Tulane University, he sent hundreds of applications with little success. His opportunity eventually came not through a conventional junior software-development position but through an engineering company interested in his experience building an AI-powered search tool.
After approximately a year there, Zemke moved to an AI startup.
International students face additional obstacles. Smaller companies hiring computer science graduates may lack the resources or experience necessary to sponsor H-1B visas, while changes in U.S. immigration policy have created additional uncertainty.
Students themselves are responding to the weaker market.
After years of explosive growth, enrollment in computer and information science programs at four-year institutions fell 8.4% this spring, according to National Student Clearinghouse Research Center data.
Yet the transformation does not necessarily mean computer science is becoming irrelevant.
AI expertise is spreading beyond Silicon Valley into healthcare, manufacturing, finance, agriculture, engineering and other industries. Universities are consequently trying to prepare graduates not merely to write code, but to understand how AI can solve specialized problems across the economy.
The result is a fundamental change in what it means to begin a technology career.
A computer science degree once offered graduates a relatively direct route into software development. In the emerging AI economy, graduates increasingly need something more: the ability to work alongside intelligent systems, question their results and translate powerful new technology into solutions that businesses can actually use.
