Job seekers feel the impact of a weak job market
29 posts across 7 communities in the last 30 days; 72% from r/cscareerquestions.
“I'm not really asking for myself anymore but just in general, is it typical these days to be completely unable to find ANY relevant employment to a Computer Science degree, regardless of how low paying it is? I'm genuinely impressed at how bad it seems to be. Maybe it's a resume…”
“I have seen too much hate on it yet, I see people talking about worst degrees/industries but the comments are usually pretty positive. Its just weird I know cs is having bad time but I have seen a lot never having issues working outside tech or getting decent jobs with it.”
“The job market is incredibly difficult for developers without BS/CS degrees. AI has taken over the entry-level coding jobs. Exploding graduation rates have flooded the job market with highly qualified folks just looking for their first gig. Massive tech layoffs have dumped many…”
Multiple individuals are expressing concern about securing employment, particularly in government roles and for those transitioning from military service. The current job market is perceived as difficult, leading to feelings of discouragement and prompting advice to focus on skills and avoid self-blame.
SOURCES (60)
“I have the typical story of a young graduate who can't find a job. I've sent hundreds of résumés, and very few interviews have come my way. Now, it's been almost a year since I started searching, and I'm wondering if I should switch careers…”
“Nuh don’t do IT if you really enjoy CS. It sucks [re: How bad of an idea is it to not try and land a job for after I graduate?]”
“Yeah, I know that international workers in the US are not the cause of bad market, but I am curious as to what you guys think. Will it get better for domestic cs grads or no? I personally doubt it because of the offshoring, and I think that until there is a tax/penalty for offshoring, it won’t get better. Please share your thoughts!!! submitted by /u/ShoppingCharming4290 [link] [comments]”
“I saw someone say good talent = good system design. As a cooked CS student, I applaud all of you learning leetcode, system design, and behaviorals on top of school. Some of you even manage projects on top of that? Y'all are cracked. I struggle just to open my books after work 😂 [re: If there is no shortage of cs grads and software engineers, why has TC not come down?]”
“I would just go and get try to get any retail / service job or something anywhere. At this stage, the grind of trying to get a CS job is not for you. I think it’s getting back into the rhythm of being a working adult would benefit you. And then eventually, if you don’t like the job where you’re at it you’ll feel motivated to try to get something better. [re: I never found a job two years after graduating college]”
“No, I meant I forgot how to use them. [re: I feel like you have to be “amazing” to make a living in CS. You can’t just be average. It’s too freaking competitive. Even if you’re a genius. There are thousands of other geniuses.]”
“I mean if we're being honest, most of CS studying (as practiced) was a waste of time anyway.The S fell short in actual reality for the most part, as it was merely a hiring requirement. A hiring requirement that didn't even make sense, because the skillset of academic CS only marginally overlaps with the skillset one wants to hire for.Material engineering at least for the most part has actual real-world applications where one can push humanity further. CS (as practiced, not necessarily the idea o”
“you’re a loser for this [re: How cooked would someone be if they graduated from WGU with a BS in CS nowadays? Are they pretty much screwed? Assuming they don’t have connections and/or experience?]”
“I mean moreso that they weren't senior material but went there because nobody else was. So they weren't knowledgeable enough to hold that position and didn't improve from there.”
“I did OMSCS and graduated from it, it was good. I started it because I didn't have a job yet, and I got a job while doing it (I'm not sure if it had an impact but some of the interviewers of that job did ask me about it). Then my job reimbursed me the OMSCS tuition until I graduated. I'm looking for a job currently (got laid off) and I feel like it is not having as much of an impact this time because I have work experience now. So I would prioritize getting a job, and if you want to”
“This makes it more in line with other STEM fields like engineering. In engineering, that's pretty much what you've needed for the past decade. If you didnt get an internship, you weren't going to be an engineer, better luck next life.”
Lets take a moment to explicitly outline what you're competing for.
“AI has leveled the playing field. You could have been a mediocre coder or a developer your whole life but now all of a sudden you just need to have the imagination and diligence, genius level coding or designing is not needed anymore.”
“I thank god everyday I graduated in 2014 and was able to pay off my house and have a couple of Ms in the market. If I had to find a job now, I would be absolutely fucked. I legit feel like I hit the lottery”
“Maybe to be at the top and make the 400k salaries. But I know lots of people in the industry that are very very mid.”
“Aww man, if the people I’ve worked with are all geniuses the human race was doomed from the start.”
“No they weren't. I interviewed there twice in 2021 and was rejected on insanely nitpicky grounds both times. Nailed every LeetCode task - they just have a terrible system for evaluating the LPs. They've over-engineered the hiring process to the point that unless you have similar-scale projects, it's easier to just lie than to try to be honest about your work. This is the part where you say "well you probably didn't have XYZ..." well then they weren't hiring anyone w”
“its never been easy to succeed. there are places where you can survive entirely on charisma, but thats a talent few have. others make it with intellect and ability. other make it with their leadership prowess. you have to have one of those 3 prongs or you wont make it in this world.”
“That's not true. I know plenty of people who work at my FAANG job that are just average hard workers”
“Unfortunately and FORTUNATELY, the only person who will get you out of the rut you've made for yourself is none other than YOU my friend. I've been in somewhat of a similar spot and it truly is just as simple as "Take action" The first day or week won't feel good at all but after a while it will. If you find yourself thinking too much into things and wondering the meaning of life its because you have too much time to do that. As others have said, get any job to start and go”
“I graduated with a 2.6 GPA for a computer science degree in December 2025. I didn't try to get any internships or anything notable for my resume during my time in college because i didn't feel like i was good enough since i was barely passing my classes and basically limped across the finish line due to burnout. After college I tried to create a weekly schedule for applying for jobs, making projects in my free time, and getting certificates to improve my extremely weak resume. It's b”
“That might be your only option Very scary group of words. But got it, I'll be back once I've got that under my belt”
“Alright, so i did physics major, I liked it but i couldn't really learn much and i understood that I have to read more to have a sustainable life in physics and few things happen and I had done master in data science hoping to get into tech, now, i need an internship and a job, it is really hard to get one, lately i did a research in one of my favourite field of physics, non-linear dynamics, I liked it yeah but I'd love to genuinely learn it properly, I had forgotten some of math and phy”
“Pretty much. If you’re average then you have to work twice or thrice as hard. You can still make it but it won’t be easy. That’s all I’m saying. I’m simply stating that OP is wrong. If you know your stuff, and this applies to any discipline, you’ll find a job.”
“they asked "is it bad", tf they want? therapy?, if you dont like to be swe then dont be swe, as simple as that.”
“Prioritize getting real production experience over holding out for the perfect role. Its much easier to move once you have solid experience behind you.”
“Most replies assume you've already failed. What have you applied to, and any responses? That changes the advice.”
“Just finished my CS degree and trying to map out my next move in this wild market. What entry-level roles are actually realistic to land right out of school, but still give you the best career leverage and long-term upside? submitted by /u/fottipie [link] [comments]”
“Yes you will. they will be glad to have someone that brings adiffernt perspective to things.”
“I'm not really asking for myself anymore but just in general, is it typical these days to be completely unable to find ANY relevant employment to a Computer Science degree, regardless of how low paying it is? I'm genuinely impressed at how bad it seems to be. Maybe it's a resume issue. I don't know. submitted by /u/throwaway10015982 [link] [comments]”
“Can you guys suggest if carpentry is a marketable course, Am planning on switching careers from computer science to carpentry but i don't have any information concerning the market on this side. Edit: am in Kenya,. Would love also for opportunities abroad submitted by /u/dice725 [link] [comments]”
“BSA now while the dev is for later. I am fine with any combo of this. Just want to max out my salary and provide a good life for my family. Ultimately, my goal is to eventually be a Director of IT or CTO (10-15 years from now if I still want to). I am also planning to go for an MBA in Finance (specifically an AACSB accredited school) but not until after the Msc in Comp Sci is complete. I start the WGU MSc Comp Sci program next week but will probably give myself 2 semesters to finish it since I&#”
“I don’t think I really experienced the “hiring boom”. When I was looking for internships in the summer before senior year, I was never able to land any interviews with any big companies (though i was pretty lazy with my applications, only applying to jobs that interested me, not 100s of apps like others did). I managed to get an internship at a small company via a mutual connection, eventually got hired full time. Still there currently. It’s pretty chill but I’ve honestly not really enjoyed my t”
“Man that sucks and I'm sorry to hear that. I don't have many words of advice, I know a lot of CS majors are going through that, basically everyone told them at the time if you major in CS you will have an easy time getting a high paying job after college and then AI fucked everything. Have you thought about potentially looking into other lines of work like trades or something?”
“I hear a lot of people say this but this isn’t necessarily a strong argument It’s true if ALL of swe falls then most white collar work is gone. I doubt this happens. But I think a large chunk of it could go away anyways Stuff like coding and math are what LLMs are really good at because RL is so easy in these areas. That’s why Claude can build you an app but can’t really help get any traction for it (LLMs suck at product) If your job is just coding where you turn clear tickets/decisions into cod”
“Yeah because usually entry level jobs are meant to help people enter the workforce and build/hone the skills necessary for society to keep going”
“Consider a degree that leads to a protected title. It's not just AI in the software space. It's also that universities keep pumping out software professionals in greater and greater numbers all around the world.”
“My guess it because recent graduates and junior developers haven't learned the full pipeline: specs, tickets, acceptance criteria, tests, review, deployment, or how to orchestrate it, instead of just typing into an editor. You walk into the next interview able to say you understand how applications are built now, not just how to code.”
Thx guys. So many advice here. I couldn’t reply any because of med things are pretty busy rn. I made my decision and sure that i’ll switch to EE. Maybe i can…
“I have seen too much hate on it yet, I see people talking about worst degrees/industries but the comments are usually pretty positive. Its just weird I know cs is having bad time but I have seen a lot never having issues working outside tech or getting decent jobs with it. submitted by /u/Appropriate-Baker755 [link] [comments]”
“The job market is incredibly difficult for developers without BS/CS degrees. AI has taken over the entry-level coding jobs. Exploding graduation rates have flooded the job market with highly qualified folks just looking for their first gig. Massive tech layoffs have dumped many thousand experienced workers looking for low- to mid-level developer positions. Without a degree or significant work experience, landing an interview is nearly impossible.”
“You need it for most jobs as a stamp of approval of sorts... But there is no reason why you can't learn/do everything yourself that you do in your degree, if you have enough discipline.”
“keep the bscs and specialize on the side, that's the normal route into security anyway. entry-level security is dead for exactly the reason u heard: someone has to hand u a system, and nobody hands a system to a person who's never run one. so the path is cs degree → a swe, sysadmin or soc / it internship → security from the inside. what u can do now: tryhackme or hack the box on weekends, a home lab u actually break, one ctf a semester, and security+ if u want a line on the resume. secur”
“I'm a junior in a CS+Math degree at a decent school, have 3 full-stack AI-free (I know... insane) projects, hackathons, research, and can't land an internship. My only shot: I was able to get a referral for an interview via a professor who vouched for me, but the company decided last minute that they didn't want any interns for the cycle. I've optimized my resume over and over with professionals. Can't even get a single human to review my application. US citizen applying to U”
“Yea bro I got first in CS from Oxford with a Masters and been unrmployed for 2 years almost”
I appreciate the hot take. I took the CISSP to open some doors, it helped.
“I just graduated and am trying to find a job in near future in embedded systems or low level systems. Since I was a kid I’ve always been very autistically obsessed with CS to an abnormal degree. I program a lot now, sometimes more than I game to be honest. I do have other hobbies like music production and playing guitar as well as gaming, but other than that programming is my main hobby (and about the only thing that keeps me from falling back into severe alcoholism as I had an issue with that f”