Employment for computer programmers in the United States has recently been booming. Even as the computing industry as a whole continues to thrive, demand for conventional programming jobs has drastically dried up. This trend is creating some anxiety among recent graduates joining the labor force. To give one example, major tech firms are significantly reducing entry-level hiring, potentially closing the door on their future talent pipeline.
Declining Programmer Employment
Data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics reveals a dramatic 27.5 percent drop in programmer employment between 2023 and 2025. This drop stands in stark opposition to the booming computing industry’s employment numbers. Unlike this fall, the industry has never faced such an extreme downturn. Software developers, who tend to be more design-oriented, experienced a drop of just 0.3 percent in that same period. By contrast, the outlook for programmers was downright grim.
Malan points to a major trend in the changing nature of work. This shift in the IT world has been just as radical and transformative. Within IT though, some occupations have increased tremendously, such as a 90% increase for InfoSec analysts, while programmers decreased by a double-digit percentage. This transition represents a historic break with industry practices. It affects employer demand for talent and it drives the skills and experiences that new grads need to have in order to be competitive.
What was a worrisome trend for those about to enter the workforce has turned dire. Employers are more pessimistic about the job market for college graduates than they have been since right before the COVID-19 pandemic took hold in 2020. This analysis draws upon NACE’s Job Outlook 2026 survey data. This is significant, as the survey points to industry experience and demonstrated proficiencies as now being two of the three most important factors that employers consider.
The Skills Gap and Educational Concerns
Mike Roberts, the founder and CEO of Creating Coding Careers, had some amazing takeaways. He pointed out the barriers that students face when trying to navigate through traditional computer-software degree programs. He recognized that these programs are often very disconnected, only giving students the theoretical knowledge. They miss the mark by not preparing students for hands-on experience with collaborative software development.
Students in a more traditional computer-software degree program, too often receive a significant amount of theoretical instruction, Roberts stated. This discrepancy in hands-on experience can be a limiting factor for recent graduates attempting to land the right job in an increasingly competitive landscape.
Roberts made the point that structured learning opportunities, like apprenticeships, can go a long way to bridging this experience gap. He thinks programs like these are essential for letting students acquire hands-on experience while still operating within a safety net. “Apprenticeship allows students to learn on the job in a structured program and helps to much more effectively close the experience gap,” he explained.
Employers are increasingly looking for candidates with hands-on, practical experience. They’re especially interested in people who thrive in situations of ambiguity and have proven critical thinking skills. Given the focus from employers to be future ready, it’s going to be incumbent on new grads to be ready to get in and get going.
The Future of Tech Employment
Current trends in artificial intelligence (AI) will continue to reshape positions across technology fields including IT, HR, and more. Malan predicts generative AI will, in the end, impact most every type of intellectual labor—programming included. This modernization raises important questions. How should new graduates prepare for a future employment environment that continues to shift toward AI integration?
He noted the reason why AI is going to supplant so many legacy jobs. In turn, recent graduates need to come into the industry with a greater degree of day-one readiness. As Malan put it succinctly, “If all jobs are going to get taken over, new graduates need to slot in at a higher level almost from day one.”
Roberts doubled down on this idea. He suggested that companies should stop focusing on short-term hiring needs and start investing in long-term talent development. “In today’s software engineering, many companies tend to be short-sighted in their hiring, thinking more of the next quarter than four or five years down the line,” he said.
Roberts continues to hope for a greater innovation agenda to emerge from tech. He made the point that it’s never been easier to develop high-quality software quickly. “It’s an exciting time because it’s never been faster to build high-quality software,” he added.