They graduated from Stanford. Due to AI, they can’t find a job

A Stanford software engineering degree used to be the golden ticket. New graduates say artificial intelligence has devalued the bronze.

As elite students finish their studies at what is often ranked as America’s best university, they are shocked by the lack of job offers.

When they were in first grade, ChatGPT had not yet been released to the world. Today, artificial intelligence can code better than most people.

The best tech companies don’t need that many new graduates.

“Stanford computer science graduates are struggling to find entry-level jobs at top tech brands,” said Jan Liphardt, an associate professor of bioengineering at Stanford University. “I think this is crazy.”

While the rapidly evolving coding capabilities of generative AI have made experienced engineers more productive, they have also disrupted job opportunities for early-career software engineers.

Stanford students describe a suddenly skewed job market; where only a small fraction of graduates (who are already considered “crack engineers” with thick resumes doing product development and research) get the few good jobs, leaving everyone else to fight for scraps.

“There’s definitely a very somber mood on campus,” said a recent computer science graduate who asked to remain anonymous so he could speak freely. “People [who are] “Looking for a job is a very stressful process and it is very difficult for them to actually find a job.”

The tremors are being felt at colleges across California, including UC Berkeley, USC and others. For those with less prestigious degrees, the job search has become even more difficult.

Eylül Akgül graduated from Loyola Marymount University last year with a degree in computer science. He wasn’t getting any offers, so he went to Türkiye and got some experience in a startup. He returned to the United States in May and was still considered a “ghost” by hundreds of employers.

“The industry for programmers is becoming oversaturated,” Akgül said.

The most important rival of engineers is getting stronger day by day. When ChatGPT launched in 2022, it could only encode 30 seconds at a time. Today’s AI agents can code: hour, and do basic programming faster with fewer errors.

Data shows that while AI startups like OpenAI and Anthropic are hiring large numbers of people, that hasn’t offset the decline in hiring elsewhere. Employment for certain groups, such as early-career software developers ages 22 to 25, is down nearly 20% from its peak in late 2022, one study found. Stanford study.

It wasn’t just software engineers who were highly exposed to competition from AI, but also customer service and accounting jobs. Stanford research estimated Entry-level hiring for jobs exposed to AI decreased by 13% compared to less exposed jobs such as nursing.

Another study in the Los Angeles area estimated that close to 200,000 jobs were created. According to one study, nearly 40% of tasks done by call center workers, editors, and personal finance professionals could be automated and done by AI. AI Exposure Index Curated by resume builder MyPerfectResume.

Many technology startups and giants do not hesitate to publish that they are cutting back on their hiring plans because artificial intelligence allows them to make more programs with fewer people.

Anthropic Chief Executive Dario Amodei said that 70% to 90% of the code for some of his company’s products is written by his company’s artificial intelligence called Claude. In May, he predicted that the capabilities of artificial intelligence will increase until the near future. 50% Entire entry-level white-collar jobs could disappear within five years.

Nenad Medvidović, a professor of computer science at the University of Southern California, said the consensus among hiring managers is that where before they needed ten engineers, they now only need “two qualified engineers and one of these master’s-based representatives,” which can be just as productive.

“We don’t need young developers anymore,” said Amr Awadallah, CEO of Palo Alto-based AI startup Vectara. “AI can now code better than the average young developer coming out of the best schools out there.”

Of course, AI is still a long way from causing the extinction of software engineers. AI performs structured, repetitive tasks while human engineers things are changing towards surveillance.

Today’s artificial intelligence is powerful but “rough” means that while they may do well on some math problems, they still fail basic logic tests and are not consistent. One to work It found that AI tools made experienced developers’ jobs 19% slower because they spent more time reviewing code and fixing bugs.

John David N. Dionisio, professor of computer science at LMU, said students should focus on learning how to manage and control the operation of artificial intelligence, as well as gaining experience working with it.

Stanford students say they’ve reached the job market and found a crack in the road; Talented AI engineers can find jobs, but basic, old-school computer science jobs are disappearing.

When they encounter this surprise speed bump, some students lower their standards and join companies they had not previously considered. Some are creating their own ventures. A large group of frustrated graduates decide to continue their studies to strengthen their CVs and add more skills needed to compete with AI.

“If you look at the enrollment numbers over the past two years, the number of people wanting to do a master’s degree in the fifth year is rapidly increasing,” the Stanford graduate said. “This is a whole other year, a whole different cycle for recruiting. I’d say half of my friends are still on campus doing their fifth-year master’s degrees.”

After a four-month search, LMU graduate Akgül finally found a technical leadership job at a software consulting company in Los Angeles. He uses AI coding tools in his new job, but finds it takes three developers to do his job.

Universities and students will have to rethink their curricula and majors to ensure their four-year education prepares them for a world with artificial intelligence.

“This has been a dramatic reversal from three years ago, when all of my undergraduate students were finding great jobs at companies around us,” said Stanford’s Liphardt. “That has changed.”