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The once-golden promise of high-paying tech jobs for computer science graduates is dimming, as companies like Amazon and Microsoft implement layoffs and increasingly embrace advanced AI coding tools. Recent graduates are finding themselves in a surprisingly tough job market, leading many to seek unconventional employment.
Manasi Mishra, a recent computer science graduate from Purdue University, embodies this challenging landscape. Growing up near Silicon Valley, she was told that a computer science degree would guarantee a six-figure starting salary. This rhetoric inspired her to pursue coding from elementary school through college. However, after a year of relentless job hunting, Ms. Mishra graduated in May without a single tech job offer.
Her experience gained widespread attention in a viral TikTok video where she revealed, “I just graduated with a computer science degree, and the only company that has called me for an interview is Chipotle.”
The Fading Golden Ticket: A Shift in Tech Employment
For over a decade, tech luminaries, billionaires, and even U.S. presidents championed coding as a critical skill, promising robust job prospects and economic growth. Companies enticed computer science graduates with impressive salaries, signing bonuses, and stock grants. Brad Smith, a top Microsoft executive, even noted in 2012 that typical starting salaries exceeded $100,000, often supplemented by significant bonuses.
This incentivized a boom in computer science education. By last year, over 170,000 undergraduates in the U.S. were majoring in the field, more than double the number from 2014, according to the Computing Research Association.
However, the landscape has dramatically shifted. The rapid adoption of AI programming tools, capable of generating thousands of lines of code, combined with widespread layoffs at tech giants including Amazon, Intel, Meta, and Microsoft, is now eroding career prospects in a field once considered a guaranteed path to success. This turnaround is derailing the employment dreams of many new computing graduates, forcing them to re-evaluate their career paths.
High Unemployment Hits Tech Grads Hardest
Remarkably, recent data from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York reveals that computer science and computer engineering majors (ages 22-27) face some of the highest unemployment rates, at 6.1 percent and 7.5 percent respectively. This is more than double the rate seen among recent biology and art history graduates, who experience just 3 percent unemployment.
“I’m very concerned,” stated Jeff Forbes, former program director for computer science education and workforce development at the National Science Foundation. “Computer science students who graduated three or four years ago would have been fighting off offers from top firms — and now that same student would be struggling to get a job from anyone.”
Over 150 college students and recent graduates from diverse institutions, including Stanford, Cornell, and state universities like Maryland, Texas, and Washington, shared their disheartening experiences with The New York Times. Many reported applying to hundreds, and in some cases thousands, of tech jobs across various sectors.
The application process itself is often grueling, involving online coding assessments, live coding tests, and multiple interviews. Yet, countless graduates recounted ending their monthslong quests with profound disappointment, or worse, being “ghosted” by prospective employers. Some expressed feeling “gaslit” by the tech industry regarding their career prospects, while others described their job searches as “bleak,” “disheartening,” or “soul-crushing.”
Personal Struggles in a Shifting Market
Zach Taylor, 25, who earned a computer science degree from Oregon State University in 2023, is another prime example. Passionate about programming video games in high school, he enrolled in computer science in 2019 when tech jobs seemed abundant. Since graduating, however, Mr. Taylor has applied for an astonishing 5,762 tech jobs, resulting in just 13 interviews and no full-time offers.
“The job search has been one of the most demoralizing experiences I have ever had to go through,” he admitted. After his software engineering internship last year didn’t lead to a full-time role, he even applied for a job at McDonald’s but was rejected for “lack of experience.” Now back home in Sherwood, Oregon, and receiving unemployment benefits, Mr. Taylor is building personal software projects to bolster his resume.
The primary culprit for this squeeze on computing graduates is the widespread adoption of AI coding assistants. These tools diminish the need for companies to hire junior software engineers, as entry-level positions are particularly vulnerable to automation. As Matthew Martin, U.S. senior economist at Oxford Economics, notes, “The unfortunate thing right now, specifically for recent college grads, is those positions that are most likely to be automated are the entry-level positions that they would be seeking.”
Tracy Camp, executive director of the Computing Research Association, suggests that new computer science graduates are especially impacted because many universities are only now beginning to integrate AI coding tool training into their curricula, a skill increasingly desired by tech firms.
The AI “Doom Loop” in Job Applications
Many graduates feel trapped in an AI “doom loop.” While job seekers leverage specialized AI tools like Simplify to tailor resumes and autofill applications, allowing them to apply en masse, companies are simultaneously using AI systems to automatically screen and reject candidates. Audrey Roller, a recent data science graduate from Clark University, tries to emphasize her human skills, like creativity, in her self-written applications. Yet, she once received a rejection email just three minutes after applying for a job.
“Some companies are using A.I. to screen candidates and removing the human aspect,” Ms. Roller, 22, observed. “It’s hard to stay motivated when you feel like an algorithm determines whether you get to pay your bills.”
Government tech jobs, traditionally a stable alternative, also present increased hurdles. Jamie Spoeri, a 2025 Georgetown University computer science graduate, pursued computing for its logical problem-solving approach and an interest in tech policy. Despite an internship at the National Science Foundation focusing on national security and technology issues, she has applied for over 200 government, industry, and nonprofit roles without success, citing recent government cutbacks and AI’s impact on entry-level software jobs.
“It’s demoralizing to lose out on opportunities because of A.I.,” said Ms. Spoeri, 22, from Chicago. “But I think, if we can adapt and rise to the challenge, it can also open up new opportunities.”
Adapting to the Future of Tech
In response to these shifts, prominent computing education advocates are pivoting towards AI. Former President Trump recently proposed a national AI action plan, funneling more students into AI-related jobs. Microsoft, a major supporter of computing education, has pledged $4 billion in technology and funding for AI training for students and workers, with its president, Mr. Smith, assessing how AI is reshaping computer science education.
Despite her initial struggle, Manasi Mishra’s journey took a positive turn. Though she didn’t get the Chipotle gig, her side hustle as a beauty influencer on TikTok helped her discover a greater enthusiasm for tech marketing and sales over software engineering. This realization prompted her to apply for a tech company sales position, which she secured in July and started this month.
While the immediate future for computer science graduates presents significant challenges, adaptability and a focus on evolving skills, particularly in AI and interdisciplinary applications, may unlock new avenues in the ever-changing technology sector.