AI Jobpocalypse: How Entry-Level Tech Workers Are Fighting for Survival in an Automated World

In 2022, Rishabh Mishra enrolled in a top engineering college in Jabalpur, India, with a common tech dream: study computer science, write code, and eventually reach Silicon Valley.

Three years later, Mishra confronts a harsh reality.

Artificial intelligence has decimated entry-level tech roles that Mishra and his peers relied on. At the Indian Institute of Information Technology, Design and Manufacturing, fewer than 25% of his 400 classmates have job offers. With graduation in May 2026, panic is spreading across campus.

Listen: Rishabh Mishra explains how the reality of tech jobs differs from expectations.

"It is really bad out there," Mishra told Rest of World. "Everyone is so panicked — even our juniors. As the degree end nears, the anxiety is heightened among all of us." Some classmates consider pursuing higher education first, but Mishra warns, "After one year, if you return to the job market, your degree is even more irrelevant."

The Global "Jobpocalypse" for Junior Developers

Engineering students in India, China, Dubai, and Kenya face a "jobpocalypse" as AI automates tasks once handled by fresh graduates, such as debugging, testing, and routine software maintenance.

According to a SignalFire report, global hiring of fresh graduates by big tech companies has dropped by over 50% in the last three years. Although hiring slightly rebounded in 2024, only 7% of new hires were recent graduates. Shockingly, 37% of managers prefer using AI over hiring Gen Z employees.

"Even highly credentialed engineering graduates are struggling to break into tech."

EY reported that Indian IT services firms have cut entry-level roles by 20–25% due to automation and AI. Job platforms like LinkedIn, Indeed, and Eures noted a 35% decline in junior tech positions across major EU countries in 2024.

The World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report 2025 warns that 40% of employers expect to reduce staff where AI can automate tasks.

From Bidding Wars to Vanishing Opportunities

Vahid Haghzare, director at Silicon Valley Associates Recruitment in Dubai, recalls, "Five years ago, there was a real war for [coders and developers]. There was bidding to hire," with 90% of hires for off-the-shelf technical roles.

Since AI's rise, "it has dropped dramatically. I don’t even think it’s touching 5%. It’s almost completely vanished." His firm headhunts from China, Singapore, and the U.K.

While high-paying jobs at Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, and Meta are rare, companies hiring recent graduates now expect "additional responsibilities," like project management or sales. "They have to face the customer and have customer communications and maybe even do some selling," Haghzare said.

Shifting Ambitions and Skills Gaps

Some students, like Nishant Kaushik, who studied computer science in eastern India, now seek roles in sales or marketing.

AI has made engineering degrees less relevant, as workplace demands diverge from college curricula.

Rita Sande Lukale, an electronics engineering student at the Technical University of Kenya, hoped for a system architecture role but has seen such positions disappear.

Listen: Rita Sande Lukale describes how AI has replaced humans in simple repetitive tasks.

Entry-level jobs like data logging, system diagnostics, or code writing are now automated. Fresh graduates "must possess higher-level skills, necessary to understand algorithms and use engineering judgment to troubleshoot complex and automated systems," Lukale said.

She doesn’t see AI as a "job destroyer" but notes it fundamentally changes the type of engineers companies need. Adaptation and continuous learning are essential.

The Pressure to Upskill and Increase Output

Liam Fallon, head of product at GoodSpace AI, explains that graduates must not only master latest tools but also "up their output by 70% because 'they are using AI.'" This forces students to upskill independently, as universities struggle to keep pace with AI-driven industry demands.

Haghzare concludes that the traditional model—studying computer science for three to five years then job hunting—is "not sustainable." Students are "falling down a hole, and they don’t know how to get out of it."