RD19 - Perspectives on the Tech Job Market

Preparation

Review the expectations for preparation for the Readings and Class Discussions.

Assigned Readings

To access some of these articles you will need to:

1. Log into Teams
2. Then click the links below to access the articles.

Perspectives

I’ve broken the readings that I found into the two topics outlined below. Each group has a number of different takes on the topic. Read at least the first few of the articles in each group, but do not feel like you have to read all of the articles in any given group.

Current Employment Trends and Anecdotes

1. How Badly Is AI Cutting Early-Career Employment.
2. Corporate America Is Rethinking AI Workforce Needs, Led By IBM.
3. Goodbye, $165,000 Tech Jobs. Student Coders Seek Work at Chipotle.
4. Duolingo CEO walks back AI-first comments: ‘I do not see AI as replacing what our employees do’.

Early Career Software Engineering with AI

1. Redefining the Software Engineering Profession for AI.
2. Reid Hoffman says consoling Gen Z in the AI bloodbath is like putting a ‘Band-Aid on a bullet wound’.
3. How to Stay Ahead of AI as an Early-Career Engineer.
4. AWS CEO Explains 3 Reasons AI Can’t Replace Junior Devs.

Additional Resources

The following are not required reading, but may be of interest if you want to dig deeper.

1. Junior Developers in the Age of AI: Future of Entry-Level Software Engineers.
2. Why AI Is Killing Junior Developer Jobs in 2025.
3. Why AI Isn’t Ready to Be a Real Coder.
4. The following two articles provide a point on what is driving the the reduction in entry level jobs. If you’ve studied economics you might find these particularly interesting.
   • Looking for the Ladder: Is AI Impacting Entry-Level Jobs?
   • Canaries, Interest Rates, and Timing: More on the Recent Drivers of Employment Changes for Young Workers.

Discussion Questions

Be prepared to discuss the following questions for each of the three cases that you read about:

1. How do the experiences / hirhing climate described in the readings align with your experiences in seeking employment?
2. Is there a particular perspective on the future for junior software engineers that you find more convincing than the others? Why?
3. Do you find any of the suggestions / recommendations of what you can do particulary helpful, unhelpful, unreasonable? Why?
4. Come prepared to ask a question in which you are interested in discussing with your peers.

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