Why landing your first tech job is way harder than you expected

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It’s not your imagination, graduating seniors. The tech industry’s pullback from entry-level hiring has reached concerning levels. LinkedIn’s chief economic opportunity officer, Aneesh Raman, warned in The New York Times last week that “bottom rung of the career ladder” is “breaking” as AI eliminates traditional stepping-stone positions.

The numbers are eye-opening: hiring of new grads by the 15 largest tech companies has plummeted over 50% since 2019, according to a report released this month by the venture firm SignalFire, which found that before the pandemic, graduates comprised 15% of Big Tech hires, a figure that has dropped to just 7%. 

There is some good news amid the scary headlines. The tech industry isn’t actually shrinking; instead, tech roles are spreading across all industries, from healthcare to finance to retail. Recent research shows tech jobs are projected to grow from 6 million this year to 7.1 million by 2034. Even now, software developers face just 2.2% unemployment, which isn’t stellar but is half the national rate. The catch: companies increasingly want AI skills, with one survey finding 87% of hiring leaders value AI experience, while nearly a quarter of all job postings now require it, per the WSJ.