Earning a computer science degree used to be a viable path for any college student looking to secure a tech job right after graduation.
With the proliferation of AI tools like GitHub Copilottech companies may not need to hire as many software engineers as before since leaner teams can reasonably complete the same amount of code.
“As an industry, it’s going to shrink, and only people who really understand what they’re doing are going to survive,” Aditya Swami, who leads product development efforts at Singaporean venture firm Hatcher+, told Business Insider in July. .
Students considering switching majors in the face of the AI revolution may want to hold their horses. Computer science professors BI spoke with said earning a degree in the field is just as valuable, if not more so, in the age of AI.
AI has made computer science more, not less, important
“The wave of artificial intelligence is driving the demand for IT professionals in general because mature artificial intelligence is transformative and should be integrated into many aspects of life,” said Kan Min Yen, a professor of computer science at the National University of Singapore.
That, Kan said, is because computer science isn’t so much about coding as it is a problem-solving approach. He added that AI at its core is just another tool that software engineers can use in their work.
“The development and proper use of AI still requires fundamental knowledge of software engineering, data management and security, all tenets of a holistic computing education,” Kan said.
David Malan, a professor of computer science at Harvard, told BI that AI will not displace software engineers in the near term and will instead boost their productivity.
“Consider how many more features they can implement, how many more bugs they can fix, if they have a virtual assistant by their side,” Malan said.
And concerns about AI’s impact on tech jobs may also be overblown since most companies aren’t just looking for code monkeys to produce software.
“Although AI increases efficiency and allows people to do more with less, writing code is only one part of a software engineer’s role,” said Adrian Goh, co-founder of NodeFlair, a job board for tech professionals in Asia .
“Engineers also need to understand requirements from designers, project managers and business teams, translating those requirements into functional code—tasks that require a lot of context and nuanced understanding,” he added.
The rules of the game haven’t changed with AI
When asked whether computer science graduates should start carving out a niche for themselves in the job search by studying other subjects such as finance and law, Malan disagreed.
“No, the world is only getting more technological and will still need skilled and educated people to run it,” he said. “Chances are AI will impact finance and law as well.”
Instead, Malan suggested that students embrace lifelong learning while not neglecting the tried and tested approach of working on their projects.
“Having a portfolio of projects under one’s belt can certainly help, as long as you can use those experiences in applications and interviews to paint a picture of how you think and solve problems,” he added.
Apart from focusing on the technical aspects of the job, Kan said students should not forget their soft skills either.
Software engineering as a profession, he added, is truly a team sport that values communication, coordination and cooperation.
“Computer science is an evergreen profession, as it’s less about the tools and more about the mindset and the product,” Kan said.
“We don’t determine the value of a carpenter by her tools or a chef by his knives, but by the furniture or dishes they create. It’s the same with a professional trained in computer science using tools such as AI. “