I'm a computer science professor at UC Berkeley. Tech jobs are drying up and graduates are no longer guaranteed a role.

This as-told-to essay is based on a transcribed conversation with James O'Brien, a professor at the University of California, Berkeley. The following has been edited for length and clarity.

At least in technology, it's a very different landscape than it has been in the past. It's not just my students; it's a hard time for everyone right now.

Over the years, students I've worked with, taught, or known from other schools have typically had little trouble finding a job after graduating with a tech degree.

There were lots of opportunities. Quite often, recent graduates would receive multiple offers and be left to try to decide between two really great choices.

But now, things have changed. There's still demand for people, and some people are getting jobs, but not across the entire industry. Our view from Berkeley is also a little distorted because we're one of the top schools, so most of our students are still getting offers.

But rather than getting five great offers, they might only get one great offer or an offer from their second choice. This is certainly not what we've seen in the past.

Leave a Comment