[Marie]

I have a Junior in HS who excels at computer programming & math & has been looking at college software engineering college programs.

it appears finding tech jobs are nearly impossible.

For those in tech or any other industry, what fields are still growing & lucrative for a kid who wants to go to college & loves math & computers?

Are there any tech jobs that are growing or are they all struggling?

We just went to a college fair where the reps raved about the opportunities in software engineering so we’re trying to find real world info since colleges are obviously still steering kids in this direction.

[Darryll]

Tech is tough RIGHT NOW but it won’t be forever.
If your kid is in school right now, by the time they make it through college and out to the real world then we will likely be elsewhere in the economic cycle.

Computer Science is, and will continue to be, a valuable major if that is what they want to do.

As a side note – CS coupled with a trade is a killer combo.

Automation systems (be they plumbing, HVAC, machinery, etc.) are becoming a lot more technical if your kid wants to do something non-traditional with the CS degree.

[Jarod]

Tech jobs will come back once the economy turns around. By the time he graduates the market should be loads better.

[Simon]

As an economist, I just want to recommend against over-interpreting anecdotes.

This is not to take away from the poster’s experience and how tough things can be individually, but the U.S. job market is incredibly robust by international standards and the U.S.

remains and I believe will continue to remain a leader in tech.

Though they aren’t using current data, the CEW at Georgetown has excellent discussions of the returns to different college majors and it’s consistently the case that CS and similar majors are well rewarded on the market, notwithstanding the business cycle.

[Brian]

Business Analytics or Data Science. Electrical Engineer but have doing an Analytics role. Coupling it with Power Apps and Power Automate this year makes me happy.

I basically do database work and flex my development/programming/software skills.

[Christopher]

Data Engineers (perfect plan b for would be software engineers)
Data jobs are on the rise just about everywhere

[Rob]

Software engineer is still a great field that everyone will need. Don’t let this years small downturn convince you to change course

[Irina]

I would explore “tech” jobs in non-tech industries/companies

[Sarah]

Accounting, as it has always been, continues to be very strong. I was an Acct major with a Comp Sci minor & went into IT.

My Acct background helped me quite a bit in the roles I was in… but ultimately I have been let go.

I’d def still encourage young adults to pursue Acct if they have aptitude & interest.

I’d like to think that IT will come back around, but given how inexpensive outsourcing to India & the Philippines is & it’s been going on so long…

the type of IT that can’t be outsourced is really the only guarantee…eg anything requiring US citizens to work on it.

[John]

Make sure they are open to all kinds of tech jobs – many kids look for jobs in product based companies and those can be hard to find for all.

They should be open to work in financial, insurance, retail, banking etc.

[Julia]

Most of my friends are in tech, I am a member of multiple tech communities, here are the trends I am seeing:

1. Tech is hard hit with high rates because that’s when it becomes unsustainable to invest in growth and companies start cutting costs instead to show a better return to their shareholders.

2. Yet it still depends on the years of experience and what you do. My husband is in cloud engineering (kubernetes etc) and is often asked for referrals for folks with good expertise, because it isn’t as common but companies need good infrastructure even when they don’t actively grow.

3. I have friends who unfortunately haven’t updated their skills in years and refused to accept the reality.

It was hard for them to find a job 5 years ago and nearly impossible now.

4. New grads are suffering the most: senior engineer + chat gpt = 3.5 senior engineers.

The math doesn’t work the same way for new grads, they bring negative value for quite some time (taking away the time of senior people).

As a result I see folks doing multiple internship every years to accumulate a couple of years worth of work experience this way.

[Latha]

He should stay in Tech and focus on AI, Data Analytics and Cyber Security.

[Cara]

Tech (especially Amazon, Facebook, etc.) really over-hired in 2020 and since late 2022 has been shedding headcount to correct for this.

It’s all cyclical — the job market is still tight in places but it’s better now than it was in 2023 (I’m seeing more net new roles being added and fewer hiring freezes, although there are other companies now announcing fresh rounds of layoffs.)

I think we’ll also see some up and down in hiring and layoffs as people ride the AI wave — every company right now thinks it needs its own generative AI integration and I’d be surprised if that trend lasts long-term, meaning that today’s AI grads might find a tighter job market in 5+ years than they do right now.

The advice above is really solid — focusing on the big picture and not recent trends or individual anecdotes, there’s still a great future in software engineering and tech in general.

[Alexis]

I’m in tech and I have a great job. There will always be tech jobs (just like there will always be all kinds of jobs), especially if your child is (1) at the top percentile of his class and (2) strategic about his degree/internship/job search.

I’m in backend/platforms/SRE. No matter what software is actually hot, there will need to be infrastructure to support it.

That’s what I do. But it’s not flashy and it can be hard to get all the knowledge you need to be good at it.

My husband did a coding bootcamp two years ago and found a tech job (though not SWE) right after the first big round of tech layoffs.

[Larry]

I would recommend that young people trying to become software engineers start contributing to open source projects they like.

It will teach them a lot of skills which translate.

[Steven]

Cyber security. That’s what he wants. It will be around a very long time. Any other software tech and it’s a bloodbath lately.

[Lisa]

It sounds like tech is a good spot for your kid’a interests, so they should pursue the degree, PLUS internships and special projects now and while in college.

He/she will need more than just a degree to open doors for hiring after college.

[Patti]

Recommend AI and cyber right now as others have suggested. I’ve been recruiting for a long time and there is always a need for civil or structural engineers.

I’m seeing a lot of construction management roles right now too (probably cyclical though).

Have him reach out if he’d like and I’d be happy to talk to him and give him tips and thoughts from my experience.

I’ve been recruiting for 30+ years and love helping when I can.

[Christine]

Cyber security is a hot tech area that will likely continue to trend up. Same with AI.

Also, doing the hands on side of network/systems administration is still very much needed.

[Leonard]

I work in tech and have a great job now. I am constantly being hit up from recruiters hiring now but turn them all down.

There are still lots of jobs out there in tech now and always will be.

[Jeannie]

I’m an academic strategist. I suggest you consider Kettering University in Michigan —with its outstanding co-op college model.

Its students are highly sought after in the real world.

I don’t work for Kettering and I get nothing for telling you this.

[Author]

Posts