Software engineering, once one of the highest-paying occupations in the United States, is undergoing a profound transformation as artificial intelligence reshapes the industry.
The rapid adoption of automation technologies has triggered widespread layoffs and underemployment, leaving many professionals anxious about their future.
Matt, a software engineer who requested anonymity, now spends his four-hour train commute building a video game from scratch to keep his coding skills sharp.
His job has shifted from writing code to reviewing AI-generated output, a change he believes weakens his abilities.
“I am trying not to leverage AI where I can,” he said.
From Boom to Bust
In 2022, software engineering employed 1.5 million workers earning double the national median salary, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The global developer population reached nearly 50 million, per SlashData.
However, the launch of OpenAI's ChatGPT in 2022 marked a turning point, leading to over 600,000 tech job losses in the US, as tracked by Layoff.
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By 2024, the unemployment rate for recent computer science graduates rose to 7%, up from 6.1% the previous year, while underemployment exceeded 19%, according to the New York Fed.
Tech job openings on Indeed fell 36% between 2020 and 2025.
Skills Shift: From Coding to Verification
Industry experts agree that direct programming expertise is losing value while verification skills gain importance.
“It’s clear that the skill of writing code is over,” said Bouke Klein Teeselink, assistant professor of economics at King’s College London.
Ethan Mollick of the Wharton School noted that value now lies in defining complex problems, designing infrastructure, and overseeing automated tools.
George Dover, a software engineer laid off from Intuit Mailchimp in late 2024, worked as a substitute teacher before securing a new role focused on automated workflows.
He now uses AI to generate website structures and rigorously tests the output for errors. “The quality has to be rigorously tested,” he said.
Shriram Krishnamurthi, a computer science professor at Brown University, warned that intensifying demand for system verification will likely reduce the number of practicing professionals.
“Some software engineers trained well for this, and many did not,” he observed.
David Malan of Harvard University emphasized that human oversight remains essential due to the high operational costs of AI infrastructure, citing OpenAI's $8 billion spending and Anthropic's $3 billion cash burn last year.
The Shifting Appeal of Programming
The cultural push toward computer science careers began over a decade ago, with initiatives like President Obama's $4 billion Computer Science for All program in 2013.
Private bootcamps graduated over 2,000 individuals that year, a number that grew more than 1,000% by 2020, per Course Report.
Sam, a Los Angeles-based engineer who requested anonymity, transitioned into tech ten years ago but now feels anxious about job stability.
“Reviewing code I didn’t write” has replaced creative development, he said, and he worries about competing with displaced workers from Google, Amazon, and Netflix.
Undergraduate enrollment in computer and information science programs dropped 8.1% in the 2025-2026 academic year, while graduate enrollment fell 14%, according to the National Student Clearinghouse.
Tech Workers Organize
In response to displacement, software professionals are forming advocacy groups.
Kaitlin Cort left her programming role and founded What We Will in February to help tech workers manage layoffs, navigate severance, and form unions.
The organization has launched campaigns assisting Amazon, Oracle, and Meta staff, receiving at least 10 new membership applications daily.
“There’s a lot of need right now,” Cort said.
“We just, as an industry, don’t have a guild – we don’t have regulations or standards that are really shared.”
