For about a decade, big tech firms, the government, and corporate media outlets pushed endless streams of propaganda at young people to “learn to code,” luring them with promises of six-figure salaries and job security.
That hype fueled a boom in computer science majors, with the number of undergraduates more than doubling since 2014. But the coding-boom narrative has since collapsed, and a growing number of computer science graduates are finding few opportunities – some even ending up in fast-food jobs at chains like Chipotle.
“Learn to code” actually turned out to be very terrible advice.
Take the corporate media news matrix: According to Bloomberg data, the story count of “learn to code” exploded between 2015 and early 2021. Post 2021, those stories have dramatically subsided as reality sets in, and layoffs at major tech companies like Amazon and Microsoft, combined with the rapid adoption of AI coding tools, have left many graduates unable to land jobs, according to The New York Times.
Data via Bloomberg…
“The rhetoric was, if you just learned to code, work hard, and get a computer science degree, you can get six figures for your starting salary,” Manasi Mishra, now 21, who was quoted by the NYT.
Mishra said in a viral TikTok video this summer that “I just graduated with a computer science degree, and the only company that has called me for an interview is Chipotle.”
The NYT pointed out that unemployment among computer science and engineering grads has risen as high as 7.5%, which is more than double that of art history or biology majors.
Delusions of Adequacy 
