AI Diminishes Value of Stanford Degrees, Displacing Junior Programmers

AI has devalued Stanford degrees, shifting "gold standard" to "bronze."

Artificial intelligence has devalued the degrees of Stanford programmers: the “gold standard” status has shifted to “bronze,” reports the Los Angeles Times.

Students from one of America’s top universities are shocked by the lack of job offers. Journalists note the rapid pace of change: when current graduates enrolled, ChatGPT did not yet exist, and today neural networks write code better than most humans.

“Stanford computer science graduates are struggling to find entry-level jobs at the most renowned tech companies,” noted Jan Liphardt, an associate professor of bioengineering at the university.

The rapidly advancing capabilities of generative artificial intelligence in programming have made experienced developers more productive, yet they have also worsened job prospects for beginners.

“The campus atmosphere is gloomy. People looking for jobs are very tense,” said a recent computer science graduate.

The crisis has affected educational institutions across California—from Berkeley to the University of Southern California. Holders of less prestigious degrees find themselves in an even more vulnerable position.

Eylul Akgul shared that she graduated with a computer science degree from Loyola Marymount University last year. She did not receive a single offer, so she returned home to Turkey to gain experience at a startup. Even after returning to the States with real experience, it took her four months to find a job.

“The job market for programmers is becoming very saturated,” she noted.

Technological Leap and the Job Market

After the launch of ChatGPT in 2022, it could program for 30 seconds per session. Modern AI agents can code for hours, quickly performing basic tasks with fewer errors.

Startups like OpenAI and Anthropic continue to expand their staff, but this does not offset the reduction in hiring in other areas. According to Stanford, employment among entry-level developers aged 22 to 25 has decreased by about 20% from the peak levels at the end of 2022.

Competition from AI is also felt beyond IT. Hiring for customer support and accounting positions has decreased by 13% compared to professions where automation is challenging (such as caregiving).

In Los Angeles, around 200,000 jobs are at risk. Algorithms can already handle 40% of the tasks performed by call center staff, editors, and personal finance experts.

Pride in Automation

Many tech startups openly declare reduced hiring amid the integration of artificial intelligence.

Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei said that 70-90% of the code for some of the company’s products was written by Claude. He predicts that in five years, nearly half of entry-level “white-collar” jobs will disappear.

Nenad Medvidovic, a professor of computer science at the University of Southern California, stated that if hiring managers previously needed ten programmers, today they require two highly skilled engineers and one AI agent.

“We no longer need juniors. Now artificial intelligence programs better than graduates from prestigious institutions,” said Amr Awadallah, CEO of AI startup Vectara.

Programmers Still Needed

Artificial intelligence is not yet ready to fully replace developers. It performs structured, repetitive tasks well, while human work has shifted towards oversight.

Modern models are powerful but unstable. They can solve complex mathematical equations but make errors in basic logic.

According to one study, neural networks have slowed down the work of experienced specialists by 19%, as they spend more time checking code and fixing bugs.

John David N. Dionisio, a professor of computer science at LMU, advises students to change their learning focus. The key skill is becoming the ability to manage artificial intelligence and thoroughly verify its work.

Back in August, Coinbase fired programmers who refused to use artificial intelligence in their work.