Art history’s revenge? Tech job market crashes 71% while AI writes 30% of Microsoft’s code

Recent computer science graduates are facing an increasingly difficult job market, with employment in computer science and math roles declining 8% since 2022 and software development job postings plummeting 71% between February 2022 and August 2025. The downturn reflects a perfect storm of factors: tech companies right-sizing after pandemic-era hiring sprees, AI automation reducing demand for entry-level coding roles, and intense competition among new graduates for fewer available positions.

What you should know: Multiple recent graduates shared stories of extensive job searches yielding few results, with some applying to hundreds of positions.

• Abraham Rubio, a May 2025 graduate from Bloomfield College, has applied for 20 roles since graduation without receiving an offer, spending daily time on LinkedIn searching for opportunities.
• Julio Rodriguez from Elms College needed more than 150 applications before landing a data engineer job earlier this summer, describing the current market as making tech jobs seem “almost impossible to get.”
• Nick Vinokour had his dream job offer at Scale AI, a data labeling startup, rescinded after Meta’s $14.3 billion investment led to corporate restructuring, leaving him still searching for work.

The numbers tell the story: Labor market data reveals a stark reversal for computer science graduates compared to other fields.

• The unemployment rate for recent computer science graduates now stands at 6.1%, while computer engineering graduates face 7.5% unemployment.
• These rates exceed those for art history graduates (3%), English majors (4.9%), and performing arts students (2.7%).
• Oxford Economics, a research firm, found that recent graduate unemployment overall now exceeds the national average.

AI’s dual impact: While artificial intelligence creates exciting opportunities, it’s simultaneously reducing demand for human developers, especially at entry levels.

• Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella revealed in April that AI now writes as much as 30% of Microsoft’s code, even as the company reached a $4 trillion valuation while laying off 9,000 employees.
• Danny Stalmakov, a Germany-based developer, reports AI now handles 80% of his development work, noting that “companies that used to need five developers might only need three now.”
• Job seekers describe feeling like they’re “competing with AI just to get my foot in the door,” according to Rubio.

How educators are adapting: Universities and coding bootcamps are rapidly evolving their curricula to address the AI-transformed landscape.

• The University of Washington is launching an “AI-assisted software development” course this fall while maintaining AI-free introductory classes to ensure students learn fundamentals.
• General Assembly CEO Daniele Grassi reports a shift from primarily attracting aspiring software engineers to serving C-level executives and professionals across disciplines seeking AI skills.
• “Six months ago, or nine months ago… we realized that every role is disrupted,” Grassi explained, leading to AI integration across all their programming disciplines.

What employers are saying: Tech leaders maintain that computer science skills remain valuable, though the nature of the work is evolving.

• “The thing people study is computer science, which is a lot more than code. It’s understanding how these systems work,” said Deepak Singh, vice president of developer agents and experiences at Amazon Web Services.
• David Barajas, a software engineer with over a decade of experience, offered this perspective: “AI won’t replace you as an engineer. An engineer with AI will replace you as an engineer.”
• Kyle Holm from Sequoia, a consulting firm, noted that “the AI boom isn’t following the patterns of past tech cycles,” with companies focused on growing with smaller teams rather than expanding headcount.

The bigger picture: The current challenges reflect broader structural changes in the tech industry beyond just AI automation.

• Tech companies are right-sizing after Covid-era hiring sprees while investing billions in AI infrastructure, creating budget pressures that affect hiring.
• The University of Washington still reports that more than half of its approximately 675 graduates from 2024-25 have found full-time jobs at major companies including Amazon, Meta, Microsoft, and Google.
• Some graduates are questioning whether software engineering remains a viable career path, with TikTok videos discouraging students from pursuing computer science gaining hundreds of supportive comments from fellow graduates.