In two years we have gone from nearly all of our computer science graduates getting jobs in the field to many of them struggling to get internships and jobs in the top companies if at all. If the past is any guide, a weak tech job market leads to fewer majors which leads to fewer slots for computer science faculty. We'll start to see these trends this year and they will accelerate quickly if the tech jobs market doesn't recover.
In fact the tech job market for computer science graduates has become much more challenging, ironically as the tech companies have had huge market growth with advances in artificial intelligence. Academia moves slowly, some departments are still catching up on hiring, but that will soon slow. Many computer science departments are adding AI majors and specializations and computer science enrollments over the next few years will be hard to predict.
Computer science is not protected from larger forces. Many universities are facing long-term fiscal challenges, and cuts in research and student funding from the US government aren't helping, leading to hiring freezes at many schools. The demographic cliff, a drop in the US birth rate around the 2008 fiscal crisis, will start hitting colleges in earnest next year.
The Trump administration has made it more difficult for foreigners to get student visas, leading to a projected drop in incoming international students between 30% and 40%. Recent changes to H1B's, namely the $100K fee an employer would need to pay, may discourage more students who study in the US with the hopes of building a career and a life here. International students, many of whom have gone into computer science, are a major source of tuition for many universities.
Universities would also need to pay the $100K to hire foreigners as faculty and postdocs. Startup packages for new computer science faculty typically run several hundred thousand dollars so this is not out of the question, but schools might be reluctant to pay the $100K in tight fiscal times. These rules may evolve via litigation or administrative reinterpretation.
Even in a turbulent market, visibility and adaptability matter most. Universities outside the US are trying to take advantage by going after students and faculty. More than ever you should consider positions around the world, especially, but not only, if you are not a US citizen or permanent resident. Other countries have their own challenges, so tread carefully.
On to specific advice for students on the academic job market.
CATCS maintains a Theoretical Computer Science Jobs posting site. More generally in computer science, there is the CRA Database of Job Candidates and the CRA and ACM job postings.
And in general make sure you stand out. Areas related to data such as Artificial Intelligence, Data Science and Cybersecurity, will draw the most interest. Best if you can tie your research to those areas, or at least that you are open to teaching in them. Make sure your teaching statement talks about how you will handle AI in the classroom.
Have a well-designed website with all your job materials and links to your papers. Make sure your Google Scholar, LinkedIn and GitHub (if relevant) sites are accurate and up to date. Make a short video describing your research to a general computer science crowd. Take advantage of all the links above. Network at FOCS or SODA if you can get there. Reach out directly to professors you know at schools you are interested in. And start now.
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