Crisis in Entry-Level IT Jobs: How AI is Reshaping the Job Market for Beginners

Analysts at MIT Technology Review are sounding the alarm: the job market for young IT professionals is undergoing structural changes driven by artificial intelligence. Data shows that the decline in entry-level positions primarily affects roles where generative models are widely adopted—software development, customer support, and system administration. Meanwhile, experienced professionals in the same fields are not facing similar challenges.

The situation is exacerbated by a broader downturn in the job market for recent graduates. According to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, the unemployment rate among recent graduates reached 5.6% by late 2025, while the share of those working outside their field of study rose to 42.5%—the highest level since the pandemic. While experts hesitate to directly link these figures to AI, they acknowledge that the technology may be accelerating negative trends.

The issue extends beyond statistics. Young professionals report growing anxiety, financial instability, and burnout due to prolonged job searches. If AI continues to displace entry-level roles, it could delay the professional development of an entire generation and have long-term economic consequences—companies may lose their talent development systems, which rely on gradual experience accumulation.

Experts are calling for systemic changes. Educational institutions must revise their training programs, emphasizing AI collaboration skills rather than routine tasks that can be easily automated. Businesses are encouraged to invest more in upskilling newcomers, while young professionals should focus on developing competencies in applying artificial intelligence within their fields. The once-dominant advice to “learn to code” is losing relevance—AI already outperforms humans in handling template-based tasks.