A recent study by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York has confirmed what a lot of people have suspected. Getting a degree in Computer Science or Computer Engineering is now as bad as an art degree when it comes to finding a job. It now has people asking if they should even learn to code in 2026.

It’s no surprise given that software companies are staring down the barrel of AI development as well as laying off 10,000’s of workers every month. The Bureau of Labor Statistics said that ‘computer programming’ roles dropped 27% in just 2 years. This is happening fast, very fast.

Last year if you’d asked me I would have been totally confident that AI coding tools just aren’t there yet, and I was skeptical if they’d ever be. Today, I think people who are skeptical about AI being able to code at a professional level just aren’t using the tools right. In the right hands, AI assistants like Claude Code are WAY past just being auto-complete and now able to do complex, multi-step workflows that literally span days.

Amazon Senior Applied Scientist Marina Wyss

But in a shocking turn, it is now shown than half of majors are now worth pursuing as the return on the investment or chronic under-employment makes them not worth pursuing.

Young people are noticing. Only 35% of 2025 respondents said a college degree is important, down from 75% in 2010.

Majors with the highest unemployment rates for 2024 grads	Majors with the highest underemployment rates for 2024 grads
Anthropology: 7.9% Computer Engineering: 7.8% Fine Arts: 7.7% Performing Arts: 7.0% Computer Science: 7.0% Architecture: 6.8% Art History 6.7% Physics: 6.6% Early Childhood Education: 6.6% Environmental Studies: 6.3%	Criminal Justice: 65.8% Performing Arts: 63.9% Fine Arts: 58.9% Leisure and Hospitality: 58.1% Agriculture: 57.1% Anthropology: 55.3% Liberal Arts: 54.6% Foreign Language: 54.0% Animal and Plant Sciences: 53.5% Communications: 53.0%