Tech Graduates: The Hidden Challenges They Face

Entry-level workers from the ages of 22-25 may be finding themselves fresh out of a job these days as artificial intelligence (AI) continues to dominate industries across the world.

This is according to a recent study published by Stanford University, which found that jobs for this age demographic have declined by roughly 13% since the widespread adoption of generative AI (GenAI). And these changes are occurring in jobs most exposed to AI, such as software developers and computer programmers.

One explanation for the findings, according to the researchers, is that AI can replace young workers who are still gaining skills in their respective industries, raising questions as to what these entry-level professionals, particularly those in software, cybersecurity, and technology, should do to gain the skills they need to progress in their careers.

CISOs’ Perspective on AI

Though concerns of AI replacing entry-level technology jobs continue to grow, some feel that AI won’t be as big of an issue compared to other technologies.

“I think the concern about AI tooling possibly replacing entry-level roles should be a little bit less of a concern when it comes to security roles than other basic developer roles,” says Marshall Erwin, chief information security officer (CISO) at Fastly. “The basic reason for that is, even putting aside your sort of new AI trends, any security team is really struggling with volume.”

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He adds that with the challenges cybersecurity professionals face every day, companies can’t just “hire their way out of that problem.” To Erwin, adding automations into daily processes allows organizations to filter through the noise so that real, human professionals can focus on high-risk problems when they’re needed.

“I think AI is really going to be helpful in that respect,” he says. “We need better ways to filter through that noise and manage the volume of what we’re seeing on a day-to-day basis and that’s a problem we’ve had for a long time, and these tools are going to help us with that.”

Jason Manar, CISO at Kaseya, agrees, noting that while change is inevitable, there will still be employment available for those willing to adapt.

“There will be new opportunities, and you see this now with various engineering positions where there are more positions for generative AI and new positions within engineering,” he says. “So, is there consolidation that may take place with entry or junior level jobs? Yes, absolutely. Will there still be some type of junior job or entry level job? There will. I just think that’s going to be redefined as to what that is.”

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But according to Jessica Sica, CISO at Weave Communications, when reflecting on her personal experience while hiring entry-level professionals, the field is already getting increasingly harder to break into, and this may be regardless of AI’s influence.

“Everybody says the security industry is growing rapidly, but it’s getting harder and harder to get in,” she says. “And I think part of that is maybe more and more people want to get into security, but the entry level jobs I think are getting more difficult. Companies are getting more demanding.”

She adds that AI is only going to make it even more difficult to get into the field, particularly with entry-level jobs.

“I think some of those tasks are going to be replaced with AI,” she notes. “Not sure that we’re there yet, but when that happens, how do you get in and how do you move up if those entry-level jobs are getting harder to find?”

AI Raises the Bar for Entry-Level Tech Careers

Mudit Sinha, AI lead at Lineaje, is familiar with these concerns of how AI may affect employment. He graduated just two years ago with a bachelor of Science from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. Sinha landed his first job through networking — specifically, reaching out to the chief technology officer (CTO) of the company.

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“I was looking more into data analytics and a mix of AI back in the day, and the company had just started doing AI,” he says. “I did about three to four rounds of interviews, most of them with the CTO, the one with the CEO.”

This is exactly what Sinha recommends to fresh graduates or individuals looking for entry-level positions in the field — reaching out, introducing yourself, and showcasing a project that the company might be interested in.

As for how AI will reshape the cybersecurity industry Sinha describes as “growing,” he believes that the tool will only enhance the field.

“Everyone is expected to perform at a level higher than they previously were expected to perform,” Sinha says. “Juniors are now expected to do the same output as, let’s say, senior SDEs (software development engineer) or senior researchers because they have access to this really powerful tool. So, entry level people should not have the expectation that they are going to be treated as entry level applicants.”

While this may be a hard pill to swallow, Sinha advises entry-level applicants to accept the challenge, prepare to understand the latest advancements in AI, maintain a genuine interest in cybersecurity, and not underestimate the value of soft-skills in this industry.

“Ultimately people like interacting with other people, and that interaction piece is not really going away with AI, as far as I’ve seen,” Sinha adds. “Be sociable, be open to opportunities, and if you have the opportunity, keep talking to upper management or whoever you can.”