I don't think this has much to do with AI and has a lot to do with the current grads declaring their major 4-5 years ago when a confluence of factors crashed together to make programming a job straight from utopia for a short while.
The end result of this will be dirt pay for juniors to weed out who is in it for the passion and who is in it for the money.
9rx · 2h ago
> I don't think this has much to do with AI
Considering that ChatGPT was just one month old at the time of data collection, I think that is fairly safe to say.
> major 4-5 years ago
6-7 years ago, really. 4-5 years ago would realistically put us more like in the timeframe of now.
> a confluence of factors crashed together to make programming a job straight from utopia for a short while.
Things weren't horrible in 2018-2019, to be sure, but there were already signs of a coming downturn at that time. That, granted, was temporarily reverted thanks to said confluence of factors, but that came later.
paxys · 4h ago
CS grads also have the lowest underemployment rates in the list.
Art history grads will take whatever jobs they happen to find. CS grads will hold out for jobs in their area of expertise (and earn the higest wages because of it).
9rx · 1h ago
> CS grads also have the lowest underemployment rates in the list.
Which is quite surprising. The market for scientists in the area of computing has never appeared to be very large. Not to mention that in my anecdotal experience, any CS grads I've ever met gave up the dream and had accepted lowly programming positions like our summer jobs in high school, or moved towards some kind of business management-type job, which is ever further away from CS.
hmcq6 · 1h ago
They do not, not even in the top 3. Nurses face underemployment at almost half the rate of CS grads.
They're pretty close to the top but not actually the top.
carls · 3h ago
I've seen this being posted all over, but people rarely seem to realize that data here is from 2023.
miles · 3h ago
> data here is from 2023
It's from February 2025[1]:
> Latest Release: February 20, 2025
> Labor Market Outcomes of College Graduates by Major
Thank you for the correction - must admit to having missed the fine print at the bottom - mea culpa!
dr_kiszonka · 2h ago
I wouldn't read too much into a few percentage points differences at 1) single digit values and so close to the overall unemployment rate, 2) at a single timepoint.
Good data to think about and resonant with common concerns here, but perhaps no need to panic just yet.
9rx · 1h ago
> at a single timepoint.
And arguably the worst possible timepoint to look at to boot. Layoffs were running amok, while the AI boom, and what reinvigoration it brought to the industry, hadn't happened yet. ChatGPT was only a month old at the time.
poulsbohemian · 3h ago
Only with hindsight will we know if this is momentary or systemic. Back after the dotcom crash, there were several years of struggle and hustle for new grads, and many people never really got any footing. The past roughly decade has been an anomaly in terms of compensation, number of jobs, etc.
The mid-career wages are surprisingly low, for all careers.
elchananHaas · 4h ago
I see that although unemployment is higher for CS underemployment is lower than many other majors. So I wouldn't immediately discount CS but the report is saying that CS isn't an immediate high paying job.
paxys · 4h ago
Well they aren't polling just Bay Area workers. It is still 2x the median salary in the US.
The end result of this will be dirt pay for juniors to weed out who is in it for the passion and who is in it for the money.
Considering that ChatGPT was just one month old at the time of data collection, I think that is fairly safe to say.
> major 4-5 years ago
6-7 years ago, really. 4-5 years ago would realistically put us more like in the timeframe of now.
> a confluence of factors crashed together to make programming a job straight from utopia for a short while.
Things weren't horrible in 2018-2019, to be sure, but there were already signs of a coming downturn at that time. That, granted, was temporarily reverted thanks to said confluence of factors, but that came later.
Art history grads will take whatever jobs they happen to find. CS grads will hold out for jobs in their area of expertise (and earn the higest wages because of it).
Which is quite surprising. The market for scientists in the area of computing has never appeared to be very large. Not to mention that in my anecdotal experience, any CS grads I've ever met gave up the dream and had accepted lowly programming positions like our summer jobs in high school, or moved towards some kind of business management-type job, which is ever further away from CS.
They're pretty close to the top but not actually the top.
It's from February 2025[1]:
> Latest Release: February 20, 2025
> Labor Market Outcomes of College Graduates by Major
> Art History Unemployment Rate: 3.0%
> Computer Engineering Unemployment Rate: 7.5%
> Computer Science Unemployment Rate: 6.1%
[1] https://www.newyorkfed.org/research/college-labor-market#--:...
Unless you keep reading...[1]
> Notes: Figures are for 2023.
[1] https://www.newyorkfed.org/research/college-labor-market#--:...
Good data to think about and resonant with common concerns here, but perhaps no need to panic just yet.
And arguably the worst possible timepoint to look at to boot. Layoffs were running amok, while the AI boom, and what reinvigoration it brought to the industry, hadn't happened yet. ChatGPT was only a month old at the time.
The mid-career wages are surprisingly low, for all careers.