Getting a job these days is much harder than getting admitted into Ivies

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My employer has an open position in software engineering, and we received over 5,000 applications. More than 500 applicants graduated from UVA, Virginia Tech, UMD, CMU, UNC, Duke, UCLA, USC, Yale, and other top universities. We narrowed the pool down to eight candidates for in-person interviews, and all eight are qualified to do the job, but we have to select just one.

Of those eight candidates, four have been looking for work since graduating in January 2025, and the other four have been searching since graduating in May 2025. One candidate from Yale told me that getting an engineering job these days is much harder than getting admitted to Yale.

I feel so bad for them.

Did the Yale person get an engineering degree from there? It’s not a very good program (#39). Not every department at Ivy League schools is necessarily good.

[Anonymous]

As an African migrant who migrated here as a Civil Engineer I must may I am saddened for this generation and the ones after them.

In my country, in a civil engineering department like mine probably at most 3 will be lucky to find a job a year after graduating. And most likely the Top 2 will pursue their graduate degrees not even trying to get a job knowing how competitive it is.

I am hopeful though for the US. The amount of capital existing in this country and the competitive nature of its people give me confidence that things will get better.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I feel just as bad (if not more) for the 40- and 50-somethings who've lost jobs in the last few years and can't get their foot back in the door, particularly those who are supporting families. Interesting how you only focused on young professionals.

I'm in of those 50+s who lost their job in the last year. Still unemployed and it's rough.

Having said, we deserve to pay attention to this generation. I feel like they are telling us a lot about where this country is headed and we are just ignoring them. I am 50+ so if I didn't save enough to retire yes I can blame myself and take responsibility for not being more financially responsible with an eye towards the future. But we don't want a generation so discouraged that it starts giving up on the country.

[Anonymous]

I don’t know the entry level job market well…but my CS kid who describes himself as an ML engineer has three offers and is able to work during the school year for one of the companies making like $150/hour.

Clearly some kids are in very high demand…I guess his skills are unique.

I will say he taught himself to use basically all the industry tools and requires little training.

[Anonymous]

I dislike my job, but I was one of two hired nationwide.

I was a diversity hire with very good but still somewhat shoddy qualifications; the other hire was a white male armed to the teeth with impeccable qualifications.

Of course, hiring freeze since Trump entered office.

I am very, very shocked whenever someone tells me they got a stable, full-time job.

All my family and friends have been unemployed or underemployed for 10+ years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don’t know the entry level job market well…but my CS kid who describes himself as an ML engineer has three offers and is able to work during the school year for one of the companies making like $150/hour.

Clearly some kids are in very high demand…I guess his skills are unique.

I will say he taught himself to use basically all the industry tools and requires little training.

Unless he has a PhD in AI, he’s just marketing himself well and catching some AI bubble money. He should not get complacent and should go to grad school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t know the entry level job market well…but my CS kid who describes himself as an ML engineer has three offers and is able to work during the school year for one of the companies making like $150/hour.

Clearly some kids are in very high demand…I guess his skills are unique.

I will say he taught himself to use basically all the industry tools and requires little training.

Unless he has a PhD in AI, he’s just marketing himself well and catching some AI bubble money. He should not get complacent and should go to grad school.

Why grad school?

[Anonymous]

In technology/engineering sectors, industry shifts can cause huge impacts, even to those with great resumes. In my experience, many people on the technology side try to transition to the management/business side to provide some insulation from these shocks. AI's impact will likely be broad, including big impacts to fields like medicine and law.

[Anonymous]

Underemployment rate for recent college grads is 42.5%. What are we doing as a country?…