AI's Impact on Entry-Level Tech Jobs Raises Concerns

Entry-Level Tech Workers Confront an AI-Fueled Jobpocalypse. A student at a high-ranking engineering college in India reports that among his 400 classmates, fewer than 25% have secured job offers, leading to a sense of panic on campus.

Students at engineering colleges in India, China, Dubai, and Kenya are facing a jobpocalypse as artificial intelligence replaces humans in entry-level roles. Tasks once assigned to fresh graduates, such as debugging, testing, and routine software maintenance, are now increasingly automated.

Over the last three years, the number of fresh graduates hired by big tech companies globally has declined by more than 50%, according to a report published by SignalFire, a San Francisco-based venture capital firm.

Although hiring rebounded slightly in 2024, only 7% of new hires were recent graduates. Additionally, as many as 37% of managers expressed a preference for using AI over hiring a Gen Z employee. Indian IT services companies have reduced entry-level roles by 20%-25% due to automation and AI, according to a report from consulting firm EY.

Job platforms like LinkedIn, Indeed, and Eures noted a 35% decline in junior tech positions across major EU countries during 2024. Vahid Haghzare, director at IT hiring firm Silicon Valley Associates Recruitment in Dubai, stated that five years ago, there was a real war for coders and developers, with 90% of the hires for off-the-shelf technical roles.

Since the rise of AI, that has dropped dramatically. Haghzare noted that the current system, where students commit three to five years to learn computer science and then look for a job, is not sustainable, stating that students are falling down a hole and do not know how to get out of it.