If you are majoring in computer science or computer engineering right now, good luck on finding a good job when you get your diploma — even if you graduate from a top program.
That’s the sobering takeaway from Hany Farid, a deepfake expert at the University of California, Berkeley, who appeared on NOVA’s “Particles of Thought” podcast to talk the current state of AI, the tech job situation that’s been shredded by multiple lay offs, and how should tech graduates navigate this rocky new landscape.
“Our students typically had five internship offers throughout their first four years of college,” Farid said about Berkeley computer science students. “They would graduate with exceedingly high salaries, multiple offers. They had the run of the place.”
“That is not happening today,” he said. “They’re happy to get one job offer.”
Farid’s observation is borne out by job statistics for recent college graduates, who now have an unemployment rate of 5.3 percent compared to around 4 percent for everybody else.
And the numbers are even worse for young people with degrees in computer science, who have an unemployment rate of 6.1 percent — and also for computer engineering grads, 7.5 percent; by comparison, their peers who majored in art history currently have an unemployment rate of around 3 percent.
“Something is happening in the industry,” Farid said, pointing to the growing ubiquity of AI and “thinning of the ranks” in tech companies as possible reasons.
The major factors that are driving the high unemployment rate among techies is that many companies have embraced vibe coding and other AI tools while decimating entry level staff positions, along with crawling back from over hiring during the COVID pandemic.
Young people interviewed by The New York Times back in August said they feel like they’ve been rug pulled by an industry that promised six figure salaries, large signing bonuses and top tier benefits. Graduates have had to pivot out of the tech sector and hustle in another industry altogether, with some applying for fast food jobs in an act of desperation.
Farid said he formerly recommended that young people should get a broad education, then specialize deeply in something; now he’s telling them to “be good at a lot of different things because we don’t know what the future holds.”
“You need options,” he said, while also recommending that professions should harness AI in their work processes to stay ahead.
That seems like a sound recommendation, but perhaps college students should do something more radical, since the tech industry seems to be built on a foundation of sand: study something that you love, not just something that makes money.
More on AI and jobs: New Paper Finds Evidence That AI Is Already Killing the Job Market