Computer science degrees have helped drive university enrollment over the past decade thanks to the strong compensation their graduates can expect in the job market. However, the kinds of specializations employers are looking for are changing, according to job market data from Gray Decision Intelligence, an intelligence service for higher education.
Gray DI’s database on computer science market data is powered by its Program Evaluation System database, which centralizes regionalized data on jobs, skills, and competition for more than 1,500 academic programs.
From 2023-2024, job postings rose by an average of 16% year-over-year in the top 10 occupations associated with computer science. However, some programs are showing signs of market disruptions. Postings for computer programmers dropped by 9% and by 6% for computer support specialists.
The decline can be due to numerous factors. For one, tech companies that overhired during the pandemic have begun to shed their workforce to stabilize expenses.
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The rise of artificial intelligence is another culprit. Programmers—who use different computer languages to build, test and update software applications—are facing tight competition from AI platforms that are learning how to do low-level coding, consequently cutting the number of entry-level positions available. Coding boot camps Momentum Learning and Launch Academy closed, each citing the growing impact of AI on their job placement rates.
“There’s not a CIO alive that would say automation is not important,” Eric Johnson, chief information officer of PagerDuty, a provider of digital operations management tools, told the Wall Street Journal.
Secondly, customer support specialists are being replaced by generative AI virtual assistants that can handle routine inquiries in real time. Research from G2, a software consumer marketplace, found that 80% of customer support teams believe that customers now feel positive, or at least impartial, about the technology.
“The interface is getting better so that it’s more likable, and in some cases, indistinguishable from a human being if it’s well implemented,” says Bob Atkins, founder and CEO of Gray DI.
But demand for computer science degrees isn’t losing steam. Job postings for software development and software quality assurance analysts and testers exploded by 131% in the same period. Different from programmers, developers blend their expertise in coding with less technical duties such as problem-solving, logic and analytical thinking. As a result, software developers can use AI to streamline the legwork of mundane and repetitive coding to help with higher-level issues.
Nonetheless, programmers and coders are still needed to monitor AI-written code, Atkins predicts. “The need for the coders isn’t going away. I think in the medium term, it’s going to accelerate.”
