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For years a degree in computer science was seen as a path to success, thanks to an abundance of high-paying entry-level jobs at big tech firms. The average salary for computer and information technology jobs was $104,420 last year, well above the national average of $48,060.
A six-figure starting salary, along with the prospect of perks like free meals and stock options, sent students scrambling to enroll in the subject. According to the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, in the past five years alone, the number of undergraduates studying computer and information sciences in the U.S. has grown 43 percent to more than 628,900. By contrast, the number of those proficient in English language and literature has fallen by almost a fifth to less than 108,000. History majors fell 15 percent to about 71,900.
These days, aggressive cost-cutting in the tech industry and advances in artificial intelligence threaten to put the brakes on the boom in computing education.
Tech companies have announced more than 89,000 job cuts so far this year, according to Layoffs.fyi, a crowdsourced site that tracks layoffs in the sector. This tops the 263,180 positions to be achieved in 2023. A generation of computer and data science students who have spent years preparing themselves for careers at big tech companies are finding that getting their foot in the door isn't so easy.
It's not all doom and gloom. Outside of the tech sector, software developers and computer engineers are still in high demand. From banks to healthcare service providers to brick-and-mortar retailers, nearly every industry is investing. JP Morgan, for example, has increased its IT budget to $17 billion this year, up from $15 billion last year.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics expects the number of job openings for computer programmers to shrink by 11 percent between 2022 and 2032, due to “automation.” But it's also forecasting total employment in the broader computer and information technology sector to grow faster than the average for all occupations. Generative AI will make coding easier but the world will still need coding skills to guide or correct the work of chatbots.
One unexpected consequence of AI is that its rise could revive demand for a liberal arts education. AI's propensity for errors or deception means an increase in demand for instant engineers. They determine the best way to frame a question when interacting with AI-powered systems. It requires people with strong language and creative thinking. Like previous technologies, AI is creating new characters as well as improving old ones.
pan.yuk@ft.com