Computer science students uncertain of job prospects

When Matthew MacRae-Bovell started his undergraduate degree in computer science at Carleton University in 2018, generative artificial intelligence models, like ChatGPT or Google Gemini, hadn’t yet been let loose onto the Internet. 

Back then, he said, it was easy for fresh computer science graduates to get a job; according to MacRae-Bovell, there were numerous entry-level positions available to them, and students could rush to complete their degree and still secure full-time work.  

“There’s definitely a lot of people who went into the program with the idea that you didn’t have to put in a lot of work to be that good at it,” Mr. MacRae-Bovell said. “You could go on the internet and see people making TikToks, saying, ‘I didn’t need to make any side projects to get a job, I didn’t really need to do anything,’”  

The reality for computer science students is far different now. Since OpenAI introduced its initial AI model, ChatGPT, in 2022, the capabilities of AI have grown rapidly. And now that easy culture is “completely dead,” said Mr. MacRae-Bovell, now a master’s student at Carleton and working full-time as a software engineer 

While there is still a lot that AI can’t do, he said, it can now perform most of the tasks that used to be delegated to junior-level employees. And many companies aren’t hiring as many junior positions anymore, he added. “I feel like the anecdotal experience is starting to very much become that finding a job is seen almost as the exception instead of the norm.”  

One-third of IT students concerned about careers: survey

A recent survey by the Swedish research and advisory company Universum found that only about 65 per cent of the Canadian IT students they surveyed were confident about their careers after graduation. This compared to 84 per cent of engineering and 79 per cent of business student respondents.  

The survey included 99,296 students in business, engineering and IT (a category that included computer science and related fields) across nine countries. Of the total 3,276 were Canadian students, and 399 of those were in IT.  

The survey question did not directly link AI and career confidence. Yet AI-related layoffs at big tech companies have become common knowledge, with Microsoft’s offer of buyouts to 60,000 employees — more than one-quarter of its global workforce — being just the latest example. 

 Among the Canadian IT students who responded to the survey, 81 per cent reported actively developing AI-related skills for their jobs. Only 3 per cent said they don’t use AI at all.  

But when asked how they felt about working for an employer that incorporates AI into its everyday practices and workflows, only 63 per cent of those respondents said “positive” or “optimistic” — down from 73 per cent in 2025.  Almost 10 per cent had a negative or skeptical attitude toward AI, while about 30 per cent rated themselves ‘curious’ or neutral.  

Mr. MacRae-Bovell, said that AI is now a major part of his job. He manages a “small fleet” of AI agents that complete many of the tasks assigned at work, including writing basic code. “Maybe one of those agents would have been one employee a year ago,” he remarked. 

Mr. MacRae-Bovell says it is no longer “economically viable” to be writing code by hand, when AI can do it in seconds. At his workplace, employees are expected to be working with AI. “In industry right now, the reality is that we’re getting to the point where it’s almost becoming socially acceptable to not look at your code at all.” 

And at universities, where many students are still coding by hand, there’s a growing “gap” between course work and the workforce. 

Alex Timpano, a recent graduate in computer science, said his own instructors never allowed him to use AI to completely generate assignments, but some encouraged students to use it as a learning tool.  

“I think it would have been helpful if a few incorporated at least basic AI workflow lessons into their lecture,” he said. “I wouldn’t advocate for entire six-month AI classes, necessarily, or for every single class to become AI-centric. There’s a lot of fundamental understanding that I do think people should still have.” 

Mr. Timpano has struggled to find a job since graduating this past spring. 

He opted not to do the co-op program during his degree, after many people told him to focus on his grades. This was a "mistake," he said, especially since he was unable to find an internship in his later university years.  

After several months of searching for a job related to his field of study, he's finally landed an interview for a part-time position — in retail.  

Though he's happy about a chance at a stable position, he's still going to continue searching for a job in technology.  "I do believe that with effort and opportunity and a good amount of learning, I'll one day find that job I've been looking for in tech," Mr. Timpano said. "But I'm not sure if that job will ever manifest as I've dreamed it to be."