Being an student with lasting aspirations of becoming a Software Engineer, I tend to watch the state of the industry in order to give myself a proper understanding of what my future struggles I can minimize. In current times this is a common discussion and often results in very cynical look into the field, but I do believe it is a necessary discussion to have, especially in the case that you are also studying Computer Science with a similar end-goal. I have put plenty of time into deciding whether or not I've made a mistake with the field, but in any similar situation, condensing the primary concern is a step in the right direction.

In deciding any career, you'd be making a decision based on how much you love the work you're doing, what you're actually good at, and whether or not you receive an acceptable level of compensation. One of my primary reasons in choosing SWE comes from the joy in developing something end-to-end. Solving a problem and having it be used by someone else out there. In a way, I think it is arguable that current AI reliance and LLM usage has taken the joy out of development. Over the past two years alone, GitHub reported that 92% of developers already use AI tools in some capacity, and multiple studies show that AI can reduc edevlopement time by 30-50%. With continuous advancements in LLMs and big-tech dumping billions of dollars into reaching AGI makes a lot of the work seem trivial. An increasing number of engineer's work can be done nearly as effectively with the assistance of AI, and what cannot be done can be often be accomplished simply through simple prompt engineering. Large aspects of the mental process associated with developing software can be easily accomplished through AI, and for many, me included at times, it takes the joy out of actually learning and building.

Recieving a Software Engineer position in the current market has become increasingly difficult with time. As of 2025, layoffs in tech have exceeded 350,000 across the past three years, with companies like Google, Meta, Amazon, and Microsoft making multiple cuts. Meanwhile, hiring freezes have become the norm: job postings for SWE roles dropped by over 25% year-over-year, and entry-level roles are the first to go. At the same time, offshoring is accelerating; U.S. companies increased international tech hiring by over 20% in 2024–2025 due to lower labor costs.

The competitiveness speaks for itself: it’s not unusual now for a single internship posting to receive thousands of applicants. What used to be a field where “a CS degree guaranteed an offer” is now a field where even students with strong portfolios, competitive GPAs, hundreds of hours of LeetCode, and real project experience might walk away with nothing more than a few automated rejection emails.

There are those that argue, the work is worth it for achieving the position. Put in the hard work now and you can get the position that nobody else could, and to that I question if it is truly worth it. Even with an acceptable compensation now, without any guarantee of career longevity, either through the job no longer being needed or through the same increasing competition making keeping employment unsustainable, it becomes a race against time. Why put in the work for the career when it will soon dissipate.

The typical SWE role no longer feels like the relatively safe long-term bet it once used to be. This moment seems less like a temporary economic reset and more like a deeper structural change, in a way that will reuire us to rethink the traditional thought process for their career path that the majority of CS grads feel stuck in.

../blog