AI Shifts Expectations for Entry Level Jobs

“AI is not going to to take your job. The person who uses AI will take your job.”

This idea became a refrain, among other things, Nvidia General manager Jensen Huangwho made a prediction publicly several times from October 2023. Meanwhile, other AI developers and advocates say the technology will eliminate countless entry-level jobs. These forecasts appeared simultaneously with reports of layoffs in companies, including IBM And Amazoncausing anxiety among tech workers, especially those early in their careers, whose responsibilities are often easier to automate.

Early reports confirmed some of these concerns in employment data. For example, entry-level hiring at the 15 largest tech companies fell 25 percent from 2023 to 2024, according to the study. report from SignalFire in May last year. However, it is unclear what the long-term impact will be or whether the number of employees will be cut. actually the result of AI work. For example, while Meta 600 employees were laid off from its artificial intelligence division in October (and continued to hire other artificial intelligence researchers), OpenAI started hiring junior software engineers.

In 2026, all new graduates could face tougher labor market V United States. Employer rankings for the job market for college graduates are now at their most pessimistic since 2020, according to the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE). Job prospects for 2026 survey. However, 49 percent of respondents still consider the labor market to be “good” or “very good.”

So what does growth mean? generative AI means for aspiring engineers?

“This is a tectonic shift,” says Hugo Malanpresident science, technology, technology and telecommunications The reporting division of the recruitment agency Kelly Services. AI agents however, they are not ready to replace workers one by one. Instead, there will be a realignment of the jobs needed and what those roles will look like.

How jobs are changing

According to Malan, when AI tools first became available to the public, jobs like call centers were expected to be the most vulnerable. “But no one predicted that the biggest impact would be on programmers,” a trend he attributes to the relatively isolated and highly structured nature of the work. He notes that while other economic conditions affect the job market, the rate of job loss among programmers has accelerated since generative AI arrived on the scene. In the US, total employment of programmers fell by 27.5 percent. between 2023 and 2025, according to US Bureau of Labor and Statistics. But working in software developers— a clear, more design-focused position in government data — fell just 0.3 percent over the same period.

At the same time, some positions such as information security The AI ​​analyst and engineer are really growing, says Malan. “There has been a fairly dramatic shift in the job landscape, even in a niche area like IT. In IT, some jobs have grown dramatically, for example, the number of InfoSec analysts has grown by double digits, while programmers (After all, Malan says he expects generative AI to impact all intelligent work.)

Job responsibilities also appear to be changing. For recent graduates pursuing jobs called software engineers, “it's not necessarily just programming,” says Jamie Grantsenior deputy director of the company's engineering group University of Pennsylvania Career Services. “There is typically much more high-level thinking and knowledge of the software development life cycle,” as well as the need to work with other parties, for example to understand user and customer requirements, she says.

Using AI to your advantage

While advising students at the University of Pennsylvania, Grant hears concerns about the impact of AI on the job market from many engineering students and their parents. But when she talks to them, she says she tries to stick to the principle that “we can make this work for us, not against us.”

According to a report from Stanford Digital Economy Labwork involving tasks that may be automated with AI, it seems more susceptible to early career downturns than those where A.I. increases the worker's ability to perform his or her job. NACE data confirms this: 61 percent of employers say they are not replacing entry-level jobs with AI, and 41 percent are discussing or planning to expand those jobs with AI over the next five years.

Employment of computer programmers in the United States has fallen sharply over the past few years, but employment in the computer industry overall has not seen the same decline.

“Think of an exoskeleton that you could wear that would allow you to lift 1,000 pounds,” Grant says. “AI should be the same as people in Stanford say, improving your work, your higher order critical thinking skills.” That said, she advises students to be wary of risks such as sharing confidential or private information with a chatbot.

For now, Grant believes proficiency in AI tools is an unwritten expectation for many employers. But students and early career workers also need to understand where AI can't help. “AI won’t necessarily be there when you negotiate or develop relationships with clients,” she says. “You still need to be able to perform at the highest level of your ability.” AND basic skills for example, problem solving and communication are priorities for employers.

How education needs to change

With AI tools doing much of the “heavy lifting” that has served as the training ground for entry-level workers, expectations are high for recent graduates. In the past, junior engineers improved by doing simpler, more focused work. “But if you're going to take over all of them, you need to be at a higher level almost from day one,” says Malan. This puts recent graduates in a difficult position.

To help students prepare, the education system may have to change, for example by encouraging students to become experienced in using AI and take on more hands-on, experiential learning.

“Today’s employers are looking for demonstrated skills,” says Grant. “If you just go to class, do projects and maybe get a great GPA, that's awesome. But you also need to put into practice what you're learning,” she says. Industry experience and demonstrated qualifications were among the top factors considered by employers surveyed by NACE. Job prospects for 2026.

One solution may even lie in completely different educational models, such as apprenticeships. “Often students in more traditional computer software programs get a lot of theoretical knowledge,” but they may not have much experience building software as a team, he says. Mike Robertsfounder and CEO of a non-profit organization Creating a career as a programmer. Recent graduates may not be ready to release code on day one, but AI can. An internship allows students to learn on the job in a structured program and helps “close the experience gap much more effectively,” Roberts says.

Training the next generation of people can also better serve employers' long-term interests, he said. In today's software developmentMany companies tend to be short-sighted when hiring, thinking more about the next quarter than the four or five years ahead. But “if you don't train new people entering the market for the first time, you'll end up no longer having people who become mid-level people,” says Roberts. “It's very shortsighted.”

Additionally, AI can help recruit new employees faster than ever. “I find this an exciting time because creating high-quality software has never been faster,” says Roberts. “But it’s strange that people don’t see the point in continuing to invest in people.”