Your average computer science major seems to now be the poster child for Gen Z college grads unable to secure the sort of jobs that a decade of “top majors” features promised them. CS has until recently been assumed to be a “safe” major that guaranteed employment, often with a high starting salary in a perks-laden workplace, or equity in a fast-growing startup. A decline in demand for recent graduates has led to headlines suggesting the boom is over, and that AI poses an existential threat to all computer science occupations.
At the same time, within days of a story in The New York Times about the death of entry-level computer science jobs, the outlet also published a piece about a 24-year-old AI researcher getting a job offer worth $125M.
While the average computer science graduate shouldn’t expect the billion-dollar compensation package Meta allegedly offered to one AI researcher, neither should they anticipate that all jobs that require computer science skills will disappear. AI is inextricably linked to computer science, and its fundamentals will continue to underpin the next wave of jobs, especially the most lucrative ones—like engineers integrating AI into systems across every industry.
In other words, computer science isn’t declining; it’s evolving. As someone who has spent over a decade advocating for students in the United States to have access to high-quality computational thinking and computer science instruction as a necessity for navigating life, I am troubled by the overreaction to the current labor market. It comes with very real risks, and importantly, it may deter a generation of talent from the sector.
The Cascading Effects of Disinvestment
Students who are more risk averse—including those from less-resourced backgrounds who are eager for a stable career to repay student loans—may opt out of studying computer science, while students with a financial safety net decide to remain in the industry, weighing the risk as more than worth the potential reward. This ultimately may mean we don’t see technological innovation in places that can greatly benefit from it, as areas of the country that already have fewer resources won’t be represented in the ranks of people designing technology solutions.
Matching supply and demand across an economy is challenging, particularly when the timelines are long—like the four years between entering and graduating with a bachelor’s degree. In some ways, it’s not surprising that the supply of college graduates in computer science may have outpaced the demand for entry-level workers, even absent AI: like a modern gold rush, students saw peers earning big initial salaries in Silicon Valley and decided to make their way out West to go after the same jobs. Unsurprisingly, the number of students enrolled in computer science programs has doubled in the past decade.
While supply may have outpaced demand in the short term, the picture is more nuanced. Often-cited data from the New York Federal Reserve shows that computer engineering and computer science are among the majors with the highest unemployment rates for recent college graduates, at 7.5% and 6.1% respectively. Yet, the same analysis shows that students from those two majors are also among the least likely to be underemployed: 16.5% of computer science and 17% of computer engineering majors are underemployed, compared to 67% of criminal justice majors, 62% of performing arts majors, and 56% of anthropology majors. They might have a slightly harder time finding that initial job, but they’re much more likely to end up in a role that uses their degree—at least for now.
The Path to Evolution
While the computer science job market is softening, it’s not going away. As with any industry facing shifts due to emerging technology, the contours of education for those seeking jobs in tech fields may need to shift along with it. CS might change to include coursework on how to take advantage of AI copilots and how to better spot errors in AI-produced code, or we might find that the best way to spot errors is still by learning how to code in the first place. A computer science degree isn’t just training for a job; it’s an education in logic, creativity, and systems thinking. CS is also becoming a common dual major, as students see value in interdisciplinary connections: bringing computer science skills to other hard sciences, as well as business and social sciences.
The last thing we should be doing amid the rise of AI is devaluing the importance of computational thinking. Computational thinking should be a part of both college and K-12 education, as it teaches students an important way to think, cultivates problem-solving, and provides the fundamentals for engaging in a computer-based world. Whether designing algorithms or managing supply chains, this kind of structured problem-solving is becoming indispensable and valuable across industries.
It is true that, like other major industries have done for subjects that serve them, the tech industry has supported initiatives to expand interest in and access to computer science. But rather than a nefarious plot to flood the labor market and push down salaries, industry involvement in tech, as in other sectors, can be a way to maintain labor market relevance and ensure that education leads to economic opportunity. And this is useful on both sides of the equation: some of the people well-positioned to help update computer science curricula may be the same industry partners that have recently been vilified as artificially propping up the major.
Ultimately, the story of computer science isn’t one of decline, but of evolution. The field is entering its next chapter—one defined less by the promise of instant wealth and more by enduring relevance. Just as literacy became the baseline for participation in a modern economy, computational fluency is becoming the foundation for thriving in a digital one. Whether the next great wave is AI, quantum computing, or something we can’t yet imagine, it should be shaped by individuals from a broad range of backgrounds, experiences, and income brackets.
Rather than discouraging students from pursuing CS, we should focus on broadening who has access to it.
Katy Knight is president and executive director of Siegel Family Endowment.