As my daughter can prove, it's a tough job market. She is a mechanical engineer, and it appears to be a stable demand side. However, many of her college friends struggle to find that important entry-level job or internship. Some wonder whether computer science and similar courses are the right decision as AI automates software tasks in businesses.
See what's going on on Amazon. CEO Andy Jassy said this week that he will shrink over the next few years as his corporate workers will use more generative AI tools and agents in the coming years.
Coincidentally, Business Insider spent several weeks on job seekers at Gen Z Tech as AI transforms early career experiences across the industry. Our findings are a must-read for anyone looking to break in and find success.
Jonathan, a 26-year-old software engineer, symbolizes what we discover. (He deleted his last name because he is not allowed to talk to the media.) After completing his degree in 2022, he sent nearly 300 applications and got 12 answers. It took me three months to acquire a full-time technical role. Less than a year later, he lost the job because his employer closed his office. He then realized he was repeating the process. This time it was applied to 600 jobs, with only five returning.
“Everyone tells us to get into computer science. There's all the money there. There's work there,” Jonathan told BI. “It's much harder than they do.”
He is not alone. Recent computer science alumni face unemployment rates of 6.1% in the US, higher than the national average. oh. I didn't expect to see such statistics.
Jonathan is currently working in defense technology, not in the video game industry, where he was originally aiming to join. Like many of his peers, he is focused on gaining experience – any experience.
It appears that high-tech careers have evolved from certain to similar to all other types of work. You need to have a fuss and network to step into the door, and then steadily hire from there and work like hell to build steadily.
What else should I do as an aspiring tech worker? The Gen Z Survey story doesn't have all the answers, but here's some great advice.
