The long-held belief that “learning to code guarantees prosperity” is crumbling.
According to a recent Federal Reserve Bank of New York study, fresh computer science graduates face unemployment rates of 6.1% to 7.5% — more than twice those of biology or art history majors.
A recent New York Times report paints an alarming picture of the situation.
The stories are startling. Manasi Mishra, 21, graduated from Purdue expecting six-figure starting salaries, yet managed only one interview — at Chipotle — and didn’t get the job.
Zach Taylor, an Oregon State graduate from 2023, has applied to nearly 6,000 tech jobs, receiving just 13 interviews and no offers. Even McDonald’s turned him down for “lack of experience.”
Industry shifts are partly to blame: AI programming has wiped out many entry-level roles, while tech giants like Amazon, Meta, and Microsoft continue mass layoffs.
Graduates say they’re caught in an “AI doom loop” — using AI to mass-apply for jobs, only for companies to use AI to reject them, sometimes within minutes.
There is some hope. Mishra eventually secured a job through a cold application, boosted by clever TikTok posts about the broken job market.
