Depends when this was, but computer science degree was a great choice 10 years ago. You would have been a senior or staff engineer by now, and even in the age of AI those are well paid and have good job security.
Don't get into CS now, junior positions are super hard to come by...
Since we're on the topic of timing the job market, isn't now the best time to get into CS? In 4 to 8 years, there'll be another hiring rush to straighten the LLM mess out, combined with retirements...
I would say like holy fuck, but I've been looking on and off for a way out of my night shift job for 2 years, I'm well qualified in my field but I've barely got a couple interviews. Not sure if I'm doing something wrong but I don't think so just seems like everything's fucked lol
Yeah everything's fucked. I'm currently working retail but I have a computer science bachelor's. I've been considering doing a pivot to teaching but everything's so terrible now that idk if it'd really even be any better.
Lemme give you a personal example of how fucked everything is:
I was fired from my cyber security job back in March 2025. The only interview I got with a real human was with this one IT repair company that repairs school laptops. The interview went pretty well. Y'know, aside from the interviewer looking at my resume before asking me why I was applying for the job as I was overqualified. He then followed up with, "Is the job market really that bad now?"
I did my best to answer in a way that made me seem enthusiastic for the job, but deep down I knew he was right, and that I was overqualified for the job. Needless to say, they didn't move forward with me.
That was July 2025, and I haven't found a damn job since.
If we don't get tribunals for every single fucker who fucked the economy sideways, there is no hope or future for this country.
Yeah it's not much better even in New Zealand lol. I feel very sorry for anyone just getting out of high school, if I'm in one of the cities and I can't find another job in my field with my qualifications and work history, what chance does a high school grad have??
everything not related to some grift (ai or ai adjacent, ice etc) or dod/dow or exploiting healthcare seems to be in a slump right now in America
i wonder why, is it the stupid high fuel input costs or the fact non billionaires are so broke most spending is only immediately essential, or that no one wants to buy American goods post tariff and cutting all quality assurance post dodge fucker
Job hunting is like rolling a D20 till you land the same number 10 times in a row, and then you roll for emotional damage because you needed a 21 for a career in the field you trained for.
Unionize people, unionize. I watched someone get their job back after they hit someone. Another after stealing hours of time. Job immortality is possible.
Graduated with a biochemistry degree. Got rejected from everywhere I applied including, of all things, Taco Bell. Eventually took up the Queen's shilling
Highly recommend trades. Plumbing, electrician, heck, friends friend is an elevator maintenance/repair something and their company has more work than they can keep up with.
Anytime myself or any family member needs an electrician or plumber, they're backed up for days or weeks or months.
I agree. To be fair, it's more phisically demanding, so people tend to have shorter careers, but hopefully by the time you are 50 you can be a supervisor or move to an office job.
The money you make is decent to great, and you can work for yourself relatively early (ever dreamed of owning the means of production?).
That only works while there is a shortage. If everyone and their dog goes into the trades there will be a surplus of workers leading to low wages and higher unemployment
I feel like this is the biggest thing everyone overlooks. Doctors, lawyers, and engineers used to be the biggest paying jobs for boomers and going into genX, so later genX and millennial that followed the blueprint of "if you want to make a lot of money, go I to these fields" found out the hard was how the prisoner's dilemma is more than game theory. Now we have millenial doctors, lawyers, and engineers getting jobs that pay 60k with over 100k of student loans that they were told would be easy to pay back with their high paying jobs.
The trades have a good chance of doing the same thing. Right now you can make bank in the trades with no college debt. Just wait until we feed this to an entire generation and we have an excess of them and they are the ones making 60k (but at least no student loans? Normally...) and then they will tell their kids some variation of what they were told and repeat the same cycle.
Depends on what trade, where you are, where you look, etc. Schools you pay for are eagerly accepting new students (/customers), and being hard to get into doesn't mean impossible.
I learned a trade before I realized college was a better fit for me and I do think there's a bit a "grass is always greener" phenomenon when it comes to people thinking about the trades.
There are plenty of hardworking, skilled welders who have pretty unpleasant, low-paying jobs and originally intended to get a lucrative oil rig job but couldn't seem to get an offer. Ironically the ones I knew talked about how they were learning python on the side.
Yep, experience is what employers are looking for. It's best for college students to work alongside getting a degree if they have the time and resources to do so, even if it's a work study or internship.
To add insult to injury; I dropped out of college twice. I still don't have a degree, actually going back to try to get one or rather be a career student lol. But somehow I worked in education, managed a company of 300+, and spent the last 10 years repairing 10k-40k espresso machines. I guess I just was in the right place and the right time.
Well I lived in different states for the first two. Moved back to be close to family and started doing espresso repair since it was easy to learn; the downside is after a decade, my hands are in rough condition my back is in pretty bad condition. So I figured it's time to try something else.
This meme is me but thinking I had job security for working somewhere for over twenty years. Now I’m laid off for almost a year and this job market sucks with only niche it support experience. Moving to trades isn’t feasible at my age and I’ve no idea what the future holds with AI in the tech industry ands knowledge/office jobs in general.
58 Comments
Z745812939054@lemmy.zip · 81 pts · 2d
sometimes you can't even get a shitty job
diffaldo@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 15 pts · 2d
Even those become hard to find in this economy..
Smif_N_Lenin@piefed.social · 6 pts · 2d
The Big Beautiful Depression is just on the horizon! Courtesy of the Epstein Class!
possiblylinux127@lemmy.zip · 3 pts · 1d
Just wait until the recession hits
Smif_N_Lenin@piefed.social · 2 pts · 1d
Think we're already there lol
possiblylinux127@lemmy.zip · 3 pts · 1d
Not really as it is liable to get much worse
At some point wall street is going to realize that spending billions to make millions doesn't make sense.
Smif_N_Lenin@piefed.social · 4 pts · 1d
Hense going from Recession to Depression
NotASharkInAManSuit@lemmy.world · 36 pts · 2d
Congrats on your degree, good luck finding a server or bartending job.
diffaldo@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 15 pts · 2d
Hell yeah, that is what a degree is for!
NotASharkInAManSuit@lemmy.world · 11 pts · 2d
I used to get down on myself for getting into the trades and not going back to school for computer science.
My goodness, how your opionions can change.
Tja@programming.dev · 3 pts · 2d
Depends when this was, but computer science degree was a great choice 10 years ago. You would have been a senior or staff engineer by now, and even in the age of AI those are well paid and have good job security.
Don't get into CS now, junior positions are super hard to come by...
L7HM77@sh.itjust.works · 1 pts · 1d
Since we're on the topic of timing the job market, isn't now the best time to get into CS? In 4 to 8 years, there'll be another hiring rush to straighten the LLM mess out, combined with retirements...
mrmisses@lemmy.world · 35 pts · 2d
Took me 5 years!
Jimbo@pawb.social · 30 pts · 2d
I would say like holy fuck, but I've been looking on and off for a way out of my night shift job for 2 years, I'm well qualified in my field but I've barely got a couple interviews. Not sure if I'm doing something wrong but I don't think so just seems like everything's fucked lol
Lumelore@lemmy.blahaj.zone · 26 pts · 2d
Yeah everything's fucked. I'm currently working retail but I have a computer science bachelor's. I've been considering doing a pivot to teaching but everything's so terrible now that idk if it'd really even be any better.
lemmyng@lemmy.world · 14 pts · 2d
Lemme give you a personal example of how fucked everything is:
I was fired from my cyber security job back in March 2025. The only interview I got with a real human was with this one IT repair company that repairs school laptops. The interview went pretty well. Y'know, aside from the interviewer looking at my resume before asking me why I was applying for the job as I was overqualified. He then followed up with, "Is the job market really that bad now?"
I did my best to answer in a way that made me seem enthusiastic for the job, but deep down I knew he was right, and that I was overqualified for the job. Needless to say, they didn't move forward with me.
That was July 2025, and I haven't found a damn job since.
If we don't get tribunals for every single fucker who fucked the economy sideways, there is no hope or future for this country.
Jimbo@pawb.social · 5 pts · 2d
Yeah it's not much better even in New Zealand lol. I feel very sorry for anyone just getting out of high school, if I'm in one of the cities and I can't find another job in my field with my qualifications and work history, what chance does a high school grad have??
baines@lemmy.cafe · 9 pts · 2d
everything not related to some grift (ai or ai adjacent, ice etc) or dod/dow or exploiting healthcare seems to be in a slump right now in America
i wonder why, is it the stupid high fuel input costs or the fact non billionaires are so broke most spending is only immediately essential, or that no one wants to buy American goods post tariff and cutting all quality assurance post dodge fucker
HexesofVexes@lemmy.world · 35 pts · 2d
Students: I want to study science and make the world a better place!
Modern society: Rolls a die. Best we can do is Burger King.
ageedizzle@sh.itjust.works · 17 pts · 2d
Even burger king is hard to get a job at these days.
HexesofVexes@lemmy.world · 11 pts · 2d
Job hunting is like rolling a D20 till you land the same number 10 times in a row, and then you roll for emotional damage because you needed a 21 for a career in the field you trained for.
LovableSidekick@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 1d
I'm not really a job guy though, mind if I have a buddy of mine take a look?
InvalidName2@lemmy.zip · 28 pts · 2d
OH, and once you actually get a good job in the USA -- you can get laid off at any time for no reason and it's completely out of your control.
Fredthefishlord@lemmy.blahaj.zone · 14 pts · 2d
Unionize people, unionize. I watched someone get their job back after they hit someone. Another after stealing hours of time. Job immortality is possible.
pineapplelover@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 5 pts · 2d
We should learn from cops
Lushed_Lungfish@lemmy.ca · 19 pts · 2d
Graduated with a biochemistry degree. Got rejected from everywhere I applied including, of all things, Taco Bell. Eventually took up the Queen's shilling
baines@lemmy.cafe · 14 pts · 2d
i know multiple people personally (4 atm) with some variation of a 4 year bio degree from a respectable program
none of them work in their field
most one was making was like 35k a year in a lab with a directly relevant degree, quit after 6 months
Malica@lemmy.zip · 18 pts · 2d
Those universities should be sued for decieving kids into lifelong debt slavery on false promises of employment with their degrees.
AlecSadler@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 15 pts · 2d
Highly recommend trades. Plumbing, electrician, heck, friends friend is an elevator maintenance/repair something and their company has more work than they can keep up with.
Anytime myself or any family member needs an electrician or plumber, they're backed up for days or weeks or months.
Tja@programming.dev · 8 pts · 2d
I agree. To be fair, it's more phisically demanding, so people tend to have shorter careers, but hopefully by the time you are 50 you can be a supervisor or move to an office job.
The money you make is decent to great, and you can work for yourself relatively early (ever dreamed of owning the means of production?).
possiblylinux127@lemmy.zip · 5 pts · 1d
That only works while there is a shortage. If everyone and their dog goes into the trades there will be a surplus of workers leading to low wages and higher unemployment
MrEff@lemmy.world · 7 pts · 1d
I feel like this is the biggest thing everyone overlooks. Doctors, lawyers, and engineers used to be the biggest paying jobs for boomers and going into genX, so later genX and millennial that followed the blueprint of "if you want to make a lot of money, go I to these fields" found out the hard was how the prisoner's dilemma is more than game theory. Now we have millenial doctors, lawyers, and engineers getting jobs that pay 60k with over 100k of student loans that they were told would be easy to pay back with their high paying jobs.
The trades have a good chance of doing the same thing. Right now you can make bank in the trades with no college debt. Just wait until we feed this to an entire generation and we have an excess of them and they are the ones making 60k (but at least no student loans? Normally...) and then they will tell their kids some variation of what they were told and repeat the same cycle.
LovableSidekick@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 1d
Apparently it's working right now tho.
possiblylinux127@lemmy.zip · 2 pts · 1d
Is it tho? From what I heard trade schools are hard to get into and eployeers are looking for at least several years of experience
LovableSidekick@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 1d
Depends on what trade, where you are, where you look, etc. Schools you pay for are eagerly accepting new students (/customers), and being hard to get into doesn't mean impossible.
zoltanshields@lemmy.zip · 1 pts · 19h
I learned a trade before I realized college was a better fit for me and I do think there's a bit a "grass is always greener" phenomenon when it comes to people thinking about the trades.
There are plenty of hardworking, skilled welders who have pretty unpleasant, low-paying jobs and originally intended to get a lucrative oil rig job but couldn't seem to get an offer. Ironically the ones I knew talked about how they were learning python on the side.
The trades have their own problems.
possiblylinux127@lemmy.zip · 15 pts · 1d
It is so bad people are turning to club penguin
JoMiran@lemmy.ml · 13 pts · 2d
A college degree is the minimum requirement. You don't get shit with the minimum.
lemmyng@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 2d
Yep, experience is what employers are looking for. It's best for college students to work alongside getting a degree if they have the time and resources to do so, even if it's a work study or internship.
myyass@lemmy.world · 11 pts · 2d
To add insult to injury; I dropped out of college twice. I still don't have a degree, actually going back to try to get one or rather be a career student lol. But somehow I worked in education, managed a company of 300+, and spent the last 10 years repairing 10k-40k espresso machines. I guess I just was in the right place and the right time.
synapse3252@sh.itjust.works · 5 pts · 2d
Hey dude, that's impressive and i'm proud of you and your achievements!
myyass@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 1d
Thanks!
Tja@programming.dev · 3 pts · 2d
Why would you go back then?
myyass@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 1d
Well I lived in different states for the first two. Moved back to be close to family and started doing espresso repair since it was easy to learn; the downside is after a decade, my hands are in rough condition my back is in pretty bad condition. So I figured it's time to try something else.
Tja@programming.dev · 1 pts · 1d
Fair enough.
distal@lemmy.ml · 10 pts · 2d
Guess what! You'll get an even worse job if you don't have a college degree!
prex@aussie.zone · 6 pts · 2d
Don't need a degree to be the oxygen generator fixer in the post apocolyptic hellscape (HVAC tech)
_g_be@lemmy.world · 9 pts · 2d
Too true
baines@lemmy.cafe · 7 pts · 2d
so what you do is research what jobs are needed in your area and do a degree in that
you have to keep up on this sadly all 4 years
and even then you need to be willing to move and should probably take a generally applicable field like engineering
all of this really requires some kind of support group at the age of 17/18
so just be born rich
beyond that you have to actually focus on learning the material at the oversped rate likely to the exclusion of anything remotely fun
that said there are multiple job openings in my area for system engineers starting post 4 year degree about 100k
youngskywalker@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 2d
Where!?? No experience but a engineering degree seems just as hopeless as the rest
baines@lemmy.cafe · 2 pts · 2d
colorado alabama texas virginia
supposedly cali but col makes me doubt it’s worth it
r3g3n3x@lemmy.zip · 5 pts · 19h
This meme is me but thinking I had job security for working somewhere for over twenty years. Now I’m laid off for almost a year and this job market sucks with only niche it support experience. Moving to trades isn’t feasible at my age and I’ve no idea what the future holds with AI in the tech industry ands knowledge/office jobs in general.
youngskywalker@lemmy.world · 5 pts · 2d
Me after an easy ass interview for a job that requires no degree, but get rejected anyways !!!!!
diffaldo@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 1 pts · 2d
Have you tried the handshake method? ^/s^
Setiyeti93@lemmy.ca · 5 pts · 2d
Heather Trott from EastEnders. That sparked some weird nostalgia.
Never even liked EastEnders.
Zolidus@lemmy.world · 6 pts · 2d
Didn't she guest star on IT Crowd?
LovableSidekick@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 1d
I made the same discovery in 1976 lol.
SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.ca · 3 pts · 19h
uh..you can't do anything and you know fuck all after 4 years of college.