05/11/2025

From High Hopes to Hard Truths: The New Reality of Building a Career in Tech by Isobel McCaffery

Everyone loves a story of humble beginnings and extraordinary success. In tech, these tales often feature young innovators turning simple ideas into global empires – Apple, Google, Amazon, Microsoft. Their journeys began with code, grit, and vision. But somewhere along the way, “learning to code” became framed as a guaranteed path to similar success – and that’s where the illusion that simply learning to code is a golden ticket to joining the top 0.01%.

In reality, the broader outlook for today’s aspiring developers is far less promising. With AI transforming industries and the job market evolving at a breakneck pace, coding by itself is no longer the dependable route to success it once appeared to be.

In fact, The New York Times reports that recent graduates in computer science and computer engineering face some of the highest unemployment rates among degree holders – 6.1% and 7.5%, respectively. That’s striking when compared with fields often dismissed as “impractical,” like biology, which sits at just 3%. The imbalance stems from a crowded job market filled with entry-level talent, alongside rapid advances in automation and AI that are reducing the demand for traditional coding roles and shifting the skills employers now seek. In simpler terms, there are more graduates competing for fewer entry-level opportunities.

So why, then, do we as a society continue to promote the idea that learning computer programming is a surefire path to lifelong success?

Chasing the Cyber Dream: What University Taught Me

While it would be naïve of me to claim there’s a clear, definitive answer to this question – and even more so to say that I know it for a fact – I can speak from personal experience. As a child of the early 2000s, I witnessed firsthand the widespread promotion of these narratives. And now, as someone just beginning their journey into the tech industry, I’m starting to feel the gap between the dream that was sold and the reality that exists.

When I was younger, I was surrounded by stories – both fictional and real – of people who used computer science to change their lives and make a difference. One that stuck with me was Abby from NCIS. I loved her style, her confidence, and the fact that she had her own lab where she could blast music while solving high-stakes problems. More than anything, I admired how she used her technical skills to protect the people she cared about.

From the moment I watched my first episode, I knew – that was who I wanted to be. That was the future I saw for myself. When I shared this dream with the adults around me, they all cheered me on, promising that by mastering computers, the world would open its doors.

It wasn’t until I began studying at university that I was confronted with the truth. As I started navigating the landscape, I quickly saw how crowded and competitive it had become. The skills that once seemed like a guaranteed ticket to success turned out to be just small pieces of a much larger puzzle.

Talking with professionals in the cybersecurity field, where I hope to one day make my mark, the most common advice I heard was: “Your bachelor’s degree means little. What you really need are connections and certifications.” Success in this field, I’ve learned, depends not only on technical expertise but also on adaptability, creativity, and often, a bit of luck.

And that’s something I really wish my high school teachers or university had told me before I started accumulating student debt.

So why didn’t they? Perhaps they fell victim to the narrative themselves. Maybe they only ever heard of the successes and never imagined the IT job market would become this competitive. Or perhaps they still believe that the only way to ensure success is through a university degree. Whatever the reason, one thing is clear: the systems and beliefs we’ve built around the tech industry need to be updated.

The Education System Is Out of Sync with Today’s Tech Reality

The current trajectory of education continues to funnel students into expensive university programs, framing them as the only guaranteed path to success in tech – obscuring the reality they’ll face and leading, all too often, to frustration, financial strain, and, in some cases, the abandonment of their dreams altogether.

Bridging this gap requires a more honest, nuanced conversation about what it takes to thrive in today’s tech industry. Career counsellors and educators need to update their advice to include alternative routes – such as vocational training, certifications, apprenticeships, and networking opportunities. Students deserve to hear about the value of human-centric skills, real-world experience, and continuous learning alongside formal education.

Moreover, industry leaders and educators must collaborate to design programs that meet today’s demands, offering clearer, more practical pathways into the workforce beyond traditional degrees. Only by aligning education with reality can we equip the next generation to thrive in a rapidly evolving tech landscape.