From News To Moves
AI is eliminating junior computer developer jobs and redirecting budgets into automation tools. Here’s why the platforms replacing entry-level coding roles are hot, while the hiring funnels feeding coding roles are not.
By Austin Payne
If you’re a recent computer science graduate, the job market is not what you were promised. Unemployment for new CS and computer engineering grads is now running at 6–8%, the highest in modern records for the degree, with underemployment stuck above 16.5% according to the New York Fed.
The reason isn’t a sudden drop in demand for software. It’s that AI copilots, Robotic Process Automation (RPA) agents, and low-code platforms are now doing much of the work once assigned to junior developers. Tech companies are reshaping their teams and their payrolls accordingly.
Hiring junior devs used to be a default line item for any company with a tech roadmap. Now those dollars are flowing into software licenses. A single senior engineer paired with AI tools can often outperform a team of juniors, without the onboarding, churn, or benefits costs. This is exactly what happened in the mid-2010s with RPA in back-office operations: early adopters of Robotics locked in margin gains, while service providers dependent on junior headcount were squeezed.
The CS education pipeline hasn’t caught up to reality. Students are still enrolling in record numbers, even as entry-level opportunities shrink. This creates an oversupply of candidates for a shrinking pool of roles, further depressing wages and pushing more work into gig platforms. The diploma says “Computer Science,” but it may as well say “Soon-to-be Freelancer.” And the combination of AI automation and the oversupply of developers on gig platforms is depressing their gig compensation.
Q3 budgets are being rewritten now. The Fed’s Q2 data showed no improvement in early-career job seekers finding stable, appropriate jobs, which means spending on AI automation is likely to stay elevated through at least year-end. If Q3 underemployment stays at or above 16% in the next NY Fed update, the automation play suggested could extend into 2026.
AI replacing junior developers is not an investment story about layoffs, as much as it is about Wall Street’s favorite story: margin expansion. To capture the upside from enterprise automation spend, we recommend ETFs that package exposure to AI platforms and infrastructure. To learn more about why we chose these ETFs as winners, click below:
AI is shaping hiring economics. The opportunity for investors is to align with the platforms and funds powering this automation wave. The winners will be those who pivot portfolios before enterprise spending fully resets around AI productivity.
The French government's crisis just deepened, bond yields are climbing, and demographics are working against Europe. For U.S. investors, the trade is clear: own the American infrastructure and security plays that Europe cannot live without.
Crypto is no longer crashing the gates. It is sneaking in through private equity playbooks, retrofitting old-school companies with blockchain rails and becoming its efficiency engine. Here’s how to play the crypto "ghost in the machine" momentum.
A global nuclear energy revival is underway, driven by AI power needs, climate goals, and rising geopolitical competition. Position yourself where the momentum is heading.
Next article
The brain-computer interface race is heating up, with OpenAI-backed Merge Labs challenging Neuralink. Here’s where your investment opportunities lie.
By Peter Christensen
Sign up to get our curated newsletter in your inbox.
