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.
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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.
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“We just, as an industry, don’t have a guild – we don’t have regulations or standards that are really shared.”
