Unemployment Rate Higher Than That of Biology and Art History Majors
In the United States, those who chose computer-related majors amid the coding education boom more than a decade ago are now entering the job market, only to find themselves struggling to find employment due to artificial intelligence (AI) replacing jobs.
On August 10 (local time), the New York Times (NYT) featured the story of Manashi Mishra (21), a computer science graduate from the prestigious Purdue University. Mishra posted a video on TikTok saying, "I graduated with a degree in computer science, but the only company that offered me an interview was Chipotle," referring to the Mexican restaurant chain. The video went viral, garnering 147,000 views.
Mishra grew up in Silicon Valley and had always heard that "if you study coding hard and earn a computer science degree, your starting salary will be in the six figures ($100,000 or more)." Following this advice, she built her own website in elementary school, took advanced computing courses as a teenager, and earned a degree from a top university. However, despite a year-long job search, she was unable to secure employment.
Jack Taylor (25), who majored in computer science at Oregon State University, also said that since graduating two years ago, he has applied to 5,762 positions in the field but was only offered 13 interviews. None of these resulted in a full-time job. He shared that he even applied to work at McDonald's to cover living expenses but was rejected due to "lack of experience," and is currently receiving unemployment benefits.
Unemployment Rate More Than Double That of Biology and Art History Majors... Driven by AI Advancement
According to the nonprofit Computing Research Association (CRA), the number of undergraduate computer-related majors in the United States last year reached about 170,000, more than double the figure from 2014, ten years earlier. In the early 2010s, billionaires like Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg, tech company executives, and even former President Barack Obama actively encouraged coding education. At the time, opportunities in app development came with financial rewards, fueling a coding education boom and a surge in computer-related majors.
However, computer science majors are currently experiencing the highest levels of difficulty in finding jobs. According to a report by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, the unemployment rates for 22- to 27-year-old graduates with degrees in computer science and computer engineering are 6.1% and 7.5%, respectively. These figures are more than double the 3% unemployment rate for biology and art history majors.
The main reason behind this job market struggle is the advancement of AI. The latest AI technologies can generate thousands of lines of code in an instant, leading companies to believe that hiring entry-level developers is unnecessary. Large-scale layoffs by big tech companies such as Amazon, Intel, Meta, and Microsoft have also dealt a blow to young job seekers. Additionally, with the second Trump administration expected to downsize the federal government and freeze hiring, it is anticipated that finding jobs will become even more difficult.
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