Every fall semester, thousands of students step onto campus with a mix of excitement and anxiety. Some have their majors locked in; others are undecided, weighing the long-term payoffs of their choices. And in 2025, that decision feels heavier than usual. With universities in the hot seat on issues ranging from admissions policies and grade inflation to the value of college degrees themselves, graduates are entering a job market that looks more turbulent than reassuring.
Choosing a major is, in many ways, creating a five-year economic forecast for yourself. Students are betting on what the world will look like upon graduation — and history tells us those forecasts are rarely smooth.
For example, the first wave of Gen Zers graduated college at the start of the pandemic, which no student could have foreseen when they began school. In recent history, recessions occur every six to seven years on average. Policy shifts, technological breakthroughs and global shocks can upend entire industries overnight. This volatility gives credence to students’ concerns about whether computer science and similar technical degrees are still valuable in the age of AI.
Is a Computer Science Degree Still Valuable in the Age of AI?
Yes, a computer science degree remains a highly valuable and durable asset. Despite volatility and AI disruption fears, data confirms CS and engineering majors are among the most lucrative fields. Computer science graduates boast a $76,251 average projected starting salary. The future needs CS professionals who excel in systems design, critical thinking and adaptation, not just coding.
The AI Disruption Narrative
AI adoption has accelerated faster than almost any prior technological wave. Unlike past disruptions, its reach cuts across all income classes and job types. White-collar professionals, once thought immune to automation, now must ask themselves many of the same existential questions that factory workers did decades ago. Additionally, trade jobs are receiving a greater amount of press. Many headlines are pointing to electricians, welders and heavy equipment operators as indispensable in scaling the physical backbone of the data center construction boom.
At the same time, some companies are experimenting with new hiring strategies that ignore college altogether, prioritizing skills over traditional scholarship among recent high school graduates. Add in mass layoffs across the tech sector — October alone had cuts at levels not seen in decades — and fears about one’s fate in the job market become amplified.
What Does the Data Say?
Looking at the data offers an alternative perspective than the one headlines might suggest, however. According to the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), computer science and engineering remain among the most lucrative majors:
- Engineering graduates: Average starting salary projected at $78,731, up 2.6 percent from last year.
- Computer engineering: $82,565 (up 6.5 percent).
- Software engineering: $82,536 (up 5.8 percent).
- Computer science overall: $76,251 ( up 2 percent).
Despite the volatility in tech hiring, CS majors continue to rank near the top of the salary charts. Compare that to math and sciences, which have dipped nearly 2 percent to $69,709.
Beyond Salaries: Opportunity Costs
Of course, salaries alone don’t capture the full picture of the everyday worker’s experiences in the job market. If you don’t have a job, then your salary is zero, technical degree or not. Would a less technical degree have yielded better outcomes in a market where every company is, in some way, a tech company? Is pivoting to adjacently related technical roles that emerge from the AI disruption easier without a technical degree?
Investments in AI are rising, and the technical transformations that are taking place require more technical skills, not fewer. I use the term “technical skills” here to broadly include all the practical abilities one possesses to perform tasks that involve evolving technologies. From abstract conceptualization to hard coding, those with CS backgrounds are equipped to handle the changes in the market. Even when programming demand shifts — for example, “vibe coding” may replace rote tasks — the deeper skills of systems design, critical thinking and innovation remain indispensable.
Why Companies Still Need Top Tech Talent
Layoffs in tech often reflect firm-specific issues: overexpansion, capital mismanagement or cyclical downturns. They’re not referendums on the value of technical degrees. Far from diminishing in value, organizations across sectors are upgrading legacy systems and reshaping how work gets done, highlighting the continual need for skilled technologists.
AI adoption isn’t a plug-and-play process; it demands human oversight to mitigate bias, ensure ethical implementation and redesign workflows so that technology complements rather than disrupts organizational structures. The future is not AI versus humans, but rather AI with humans.
That means demand for computer-science–trained professionals isn’t dissipating. Instead, it’s diversifying, expanding into roles that bridge technical skill with governance, process design and cross-industry innovation. With this transition comes the demand for a more diversified skill set within the same technical domain.
How Skills Evolve
Knowing how to code is no longer the express lane to a top tech role. Understanding emerging technologies and how to get in the weeds when necessary is still important, but it also must be accompanied with skills that bridge the gap between tech and business outcomes. This means skills like systems design, implementation and integration and, as cliche as it may sound, critical thinking.
As of today, AI systems can’t scale themselves, so we have to identify where the limits of these technologies lie and how to expand them. Additionally, processing data can be automated, but the ability to frame problems in creative, human-centered ways, is a uniquely human skill that keeps us in the lead. For example, AI can summarize employee surveys, but only a leader can translate them into a culture shift that inspires people.
A degree in computer science is not a boot camp certificate focused on coding. It’s a foundation for continued development and adaptation in an ever-changing economy. It positions professionals for growth alongside the technologies we use, not in place of them.
Recommendations for Students and Professionals
So, what should people be doing?
For Current CS Students
If you’re already in computer science, then don’t change course. Your prospects are just as good as they were before. As more industries move toward modernization and embedding AI into daily operations, the greater the need will become for people who can design systems, integrate technologies and solve problems creatively.
For the Undecided
Don’t rule out computer science and other technically adjacent fields. It’s one of the safest bets for long-term career success. Unlike short-term focused bootcamps, a CS degree gives you technical fluency and to pivot into emerging roles across industries in years to come.
For Graduates
If you’ve already graduated, recognize that your degree is a durable asset. It’s not a credential that expires. It’s leverage in the marketplace. Use it to pivot into new opportunities where technical expertise intersects with leadership, governance or innovation.
For Non-CS Professionals
Companies increasingly want diverse skill sets, but technical literacy will still be an asset. Even a baseline understanding of how systems work, whether through online courses or free tutorials for new software tools, can set you apart and help you thrive in a digital-first economy.
Computer Science Is Still Valuable
AI may be rewriting job descriptions and reshaping how we work, but it doesn’t function in a vacuum. As humans, we write the rules and determine what work needs to get done. The fundamental value of computer science and adjacently related technical degrees is not disappearing in the face of AI. In fact, AI is emphasizing the essential parts that make the degree worth pursuing. The future belongs to those who can think critically, design systems and adapt technology to human needs.
Computer science isn’t obsolete. It’s the compass guiding us through the disruption.
