For several generations now one of the most common pieces of advice given to highschoolers who are getting ready to graduate was to get some type of computer science degree. Even after college, when people were looking to start a new career, they were often told to ‘learn to code’ or do something else tech-focused.

In many cases, this worked out extremely well. High-tech jobs were among the best paying and most stable for the last several decades.

Unfortunately, that has shifted in the last couple years, and now those who graduate with a degree in computer science are really struggling.

Hany Farid from the University of California Berkeley recently went on NOVA’s “Particles of Thought” podcast to talk about this and other tech-focused subjects. While there, he said:

“Our students typically had five internship offers throughout their first four years of college. They would graduate with exceedingly high salaries, multiple offers. They had the run of the place. That is not happening today, they’re happy to get one job offer.”

This isn’t just a problem at that one university either. Young people with degrees in computer science have an unemployment rate of 6.1%, which is well above the national average of 4%.

So, what is the problem?

Well, there are many issues that all seem to be breaking at the same time. To start with, companies that did heavy hiring during and just after COVID are now overstaffed. Some of them are going through layoffs, and others are just freezing hiring until their staffing numbers return to more reasonable levels.

Another issue is that artificial intelligence is starting to take people’s jobs. As companies begin to use ‘vibe coding’ with AI, it is the entry level developers who are hurt the most.

On top of that, while the economy seems to be doing well on the surface, there is a lot of uncertainty in the markets right now, so many companies want to avoid hiring until they are on more solid ground.

All of this has many people wondering whether computer science degrees are even a good idea anymore. Are the current challenges for these graduates going to be a long-term shift in the employment market, or just a temporary issue?

While there is no way to predict the answer to that question, a growing number of experts are saying that IT jobs will never be the same. With this in mind, many career counselors and parents should be pushing students into different fields that may have more stability in the future.

If you think that’s impressive, check out this story about a “goldmine” of lithium that was found in the U.S. that could completely change the EV battery game.