Generative AI has swarmed the computer sciences field with its experiences in human software engineering, code production and the ability to produce reliable inputs for tech companies. Several computer science students voiced their concerns for the tech sector and the impacts on the job market.
Nathan Lorenc, a graduate student studying computer science, said the sheer number of applicants in the field makes searching for in-major employment a challenge.
“It’s very easy to apply and it’s very easy to review using technology,” Lorenc said. “That has made cold applications just impossible. If you had to go in and actually turn in a resume, like you used to, you’re not going to apply to everything all around the world. Yeah, granted, computer science is the field of being able to do something like that, but I think we are in that intermediary stage where it just became a whole lot easier to apply to everything, but now we’re trying to supplement that with technology that realistically overlooks a lot of people.”
With the use of AI in the selection of candidates, Lorenc said it can make processes ineffective through applicants using AI to create resumes and cover letters.
The process is done by adding specific keywords to documents which make the application more attractive to AI and can be applied to certain filters in its screening process, leading to a false reflection of the applicant’s skill set.
Christopher Elchik, a third-year studying computer science, said his experiences in the application process were highly competitive while looking for internships and co-ops in the area.
“I thought it was comparable to the scientists that sent out that Voyager 2 probe who were trying to communicate with aliens — sending out signals and getting nothing,” Elchik said. “One of the internships that I applied for, their application was only open for a couple of weeks. They had over 7,000 applications submitted, and this was for a medium-sized company.”
Elchik also weighed in on the uncertainty of the future of software engineering, as it is unclear what direction AI is headed and how advanced it might get.
“This field is changing a lot,” Elchick said. “If you ask me where I’m gonna be in five years, I don’t even know where this field is going to be in five years. So I’m trying to focus my studies around AI so I could ride the wave wherever it goes.”
Glenda Darrell, the assistant director at the Career Development Center who specializes in the College of Engineering, said it is important for students to take advantage of the resources available at the University to improve their future prospects in the industry.
“I encourage students to engage,” Darrell said. “Engage in their studies. Engage in the skill sets that they want to develop — and being able to have hands-on work experience, whether that’s in their project experience, whether that’s in clubs that you’re a part of — and hope that engagement will lead to internships and co-ops, where they can actually get hands-on work experience within a company.”
Darrell said to ease the fears of students — despite the overwhelming feeling of seeing what seems like unlimited applicants for a position — computer-related fields are still among the fastest growing in North Carolina.
“I understand the fear or hesitations that they may be having because it appears that the market may be saturated between layoffs, graduates and what companies call ‘right-sizing,’” Darrell said. “When you look at the North Carolina Department of Commerce and look at their career projections, computer and mathematical careers are the highest projected as far as annualized growth rate in the United States.”
The North Carolina Department of Commerce’s employment projections by market from 2022-2032, said computer and mathematical occupations are set to grow by 2.03%. The next closest field is healthcare support occupations with a projected growth of 1.72%.
Darrell said the department of bureau and labor statistics is a great source for students to turn to when concerned about AI infiltrating the job market.
“When you look at the US Department of Bureau and Labor statistics and their projected growth — the projected rate for computer science is 26%,” Darrell said. “And so those are two pieces of data that are researched and have a lot more credence and credibility behind them than random articles that you may read.”
Sandeep Kuttal, an associate professor in computer science, said AI is being used similarly to Google or Stack Overflow, a Q&A website designed as a forum to help programmers overcome issues they face in their work. However, Kuttal said the way AI is currently used in the industry will limit the potential of AI in the future.
“AI is smart for bringing that information to you and learning on what it has seen,” Kuttal said. “But anything which is new, human intelligence is needed to some extent. It does creativity as it can kind of put things together, maybe, but new information on new things — it’s not possible for it to generate — just because all these AI models learn on whatever the data is and then make predictions.”
Darrell said human computer science roles are not going away anytime soon.
“We’re in what they call the Fourth Industrial Revolution,” Darrell said. “We’ve been through the Industrial Revolution and each of the revolutions at each point, we had to learn new technology.”
Elchik said several fears of the unknown come with AI, but can ultimately be used to students’ advantage.
“I think it’s gonna be like decades ago whenever calculators first came out and people thought they were going to replace mathematicians,” Elchick said. “But instead, mathematicians just became better at their jobs, so I feel like with computer science, if you have an AI that can make you more efficient at writing code, it’ll make you a lot more efficient at your job.”
