Entry-Level Tech Jobs Have Plummeted 50% for Gen Z – Here’s How to Beat the Odds and Still Launch Your Career

If you’re a recent graduate looking to break into tech, here’s a statistic that should terrify you: Entry-level tech positions have plummeted by over 50% at major companies compared to pre-pandemic levels. That dream job you’ve been working toward for four years? It might not exist anymore.

The numbers are staggering. Big Tech companies now allocate just 7% of their new hires to recent graduates—down from 15% before the pandemic. Meanwhile, startups have slashed their new grad hiring from 30% in 2019 to under 6% today, according to SignalFire’s comprehensive analysis of 650 million professionals.

But here’s the thing—while the landscape has changed dramatically, it hasn’t become impossible. You just need to play by different rules.

The Brutal Reality: Tech’s Entry-Level Apocalypse

The scale of this crisis extends far beyond a typical economic downturn. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York reports that unemployment among recent college graduates jumped to 5.8% in the first quarter of 2025—the highest reading since 2021. Even more concerning, 41.2% of new graduates are underemployed, working jobs that don’t require their degrees.

Big Tech companies reduced new graduate hiring by 25% in 2024 compared to 2023. The share of new graduates landing roles at the Magnificent Seven companies (Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta, Microsoft, NVIDIA, Tesla) has dropped by more than half since 2022.

This isn’t just affecting average students. Even top computer science graduates from prestigious universities are struggling to break into Big Tech. As one UC Berkeley computer science professor noted, it used to be common for seniors to receive multiple six-figure job offers with five-figure signing bonuses. Those days are gone.

Interview Guys Tip: Don’t take this personally. The hiring freeze isn’t about your qualifications—it’s about fundamental industry changes. Companies are prioritizing AI tools and experienced workers over training programs, creating what economists call “the experience paradox.”

Why Traditional Job Search Strategies Are Failing Gen Z

The old playbook that worked for millennials is completely broken. Mass applications to job boards now yield diminishing returns, with some graduates applying to over 200 positions and receiving minimal responses.

The AI Factor

Research shows that entry-level jobs are particularly susceptible to automation because they often involve routine, low-risk tasks that generative AI handles well. A staggering 37% of managers say they’d rather use AI than hire a Gen Z employee, according to SignalFire’s data.

Companies like Salesforce and Shopify have explicitly stated they’re looking to meet growth needs with code rather than humans. When AI can handle coding, debugging, financial research, and software installation, companies need fewer junior employees to do that type of work.

The Experience Paradox

Today’s tech employers aren’t looking for potential—they’re looking for proof. New graduates face an impossible Catch-22: you need experience to get the job, but you need the job to get experience. Companies are posting junior roles but filling them with senior individual contributors, creating fierce competition for the few true entry-level positions that remain.

The Expectation Mismatch

Adding insult to injury, there’s a massive gap between what Gen Z expects to earn and economic reality. Recent data shows that graduating students expect an average starting salary of $101,500, while the actual average is $68,400—a $33,100 disconnect that’s setting up disappointment and prolonged job searches.

The Hidden Opportunity: Where Gen Z Actually Has an Advantage

Despite the doom and gloom, Gen Z possesses unique advantages that previous generations didn’t have when entering the workforce.

Digital Native Advantage

You’ve grown up with technology in ways that older workers haven’t. You intuitively understand social media algorithms, are comfortable with remote collaboration tools, and can adapt to new platforms faster than anyone else in the workforce.

AI Fluency

While AI is eliminating some jobs, it’s also creating new ones. Gen Z’s comfort with experimenting with ChatGPT, Claude, and other AI tools positions you to become “AI multipliers”—professionals who can leverage these technologies to deliver outsized value.

Remote Work Acceptance

Unlike older generations who had to adapt to remote work during the pandemic, you’ve been collaborating digitally for years. This gives you an edge in the growing number of distributed teams and remote-first companies.

Interview Guys Tip: While Big Tech has frozen hiring, nearly 2,000 well-capitalized startups launched in late 2024 and are scaling rapidly. These companies need talented people and are more willing to take risks on new graduates who can demonstrate value.

The Strategic Pivot: 5 Proven Strategies to Beat the Odds

Strategy 1: Master AI-Adjacent Skills

Don’t compete with AI—collaborate with it. Focus on becoming an “AI multiplier” who can leverage these tools to deliver exponential value.

Key skills to develop:

• Prompt engineering and AI tool optimization
• Understanding how to quality-check and improve AI output
• Data analysis and interpretation skills that make AI more effective
• Creative problem-solving that guides AI toward better solutions

Actionable step: Spend 30 minutes daily experimenting with different AI tools. Document what works, what doesn’t, and how you can improve the outputs. This becomes portfolio material that demonstrates your AI fluency.

Strategy 2: Rewrite Your Resume for the New Reality

Traditional resume advice doesn’t work when 70% of hiring managers are screening for different skills than they were three years ago.

Focus on results, not responsibilities. Instead of “Managed social media accounts,” write “Increased engagement by 40% across three platforms using data-driven content optimization.”

Highlight cross-functional skills. Modern startups need people who can wear multiple hats. Show how you’ve bridged different areas—technical skills with communication, creative thinking with analytical abilities.

Include relevant coursework and projects. Since work experience is harder to get, your academic projects, hackathons, and personal initiatives become more important. Describe them using business language and quantifiable outcomes.

For detailed resume optimization strategies, check out our ATS Resume Hack Sheet and Resume Red Flags guides.

Strategy 3: Network Like Your Career Depends on It (Because It Does)

With public job postings becoming scarce, the hidden job market becomes your primary avenue for opportunities.

The cold outreach strategy: Identify decision-makers at companies you want to work for. Send personalized LinkedIn messages that offer value—perhaps insights about industry trends or solutions to problems you’ve noticed. Our guide on turning cold connections into job referrals provides specific templates and timing strategies.

Industry events and communities: Attend virtual and in-person meetups, hackathons, and conferences. These environments let you demonstrate your knowledge and passion in ways that resumes can’t.

Reverse mentoring: Offer to help older professionals understand new technologies, social media platforms, or AI tools. This positions you as valuable while building relationships with decision-makers.

Interview Guys Tip: Use our secret LinkedIn search strings to find hiring managers and recruiters who aren’t actively posting jobs but might have upcoming openings. Sometimes the best opportunities come from companies that haven’t decided to hire yet.

Strategy 4: Embrace Alternative Pathways

Traditional full-time hiring may be frozen, but other paths to experience and income remain open.

Freelance projects: Build a portfolio of real work while earning income. Platforms like Upwork, Fiverr, and specialized sites in your field offer opportunities to work with businesses that need immediate help.

Open-source contributions: Contributing to established projects demonstrates your technical skills, collaboration abilities, and initiative. Many hiring managers check GitHub profiles as closely as resumes.

Contract-to-hire opportunities: Many companies are using contract work as a “trial run” for permanent hires. It reduces their risk while giving you a chance to prove your value.

Build something: Create a side project, app, or business that solves a real problem. Even if it doesn’t become profitable, it demonstrates entrepreneurial thinking and practical skills.

Strategy 5: Recalibrate Salary Expectations Strategically

Understanding the $33,100 expectation gap helps you approach negotiations more realistically while still advocating for fair compensation.

Research regional variations: That $68,400 average varies significantly by location. Tech roles in smaller cities might start lower but offer better cost-of-living ratios and faster advancement opportunities.

Negotiate the total package: If base salary is constrained, negotiate for equity, professional development budgets, flexible work arrangements, or accelerated promotion timelines.

Consider geographic arbitrage: Remote work opens opportunities to earn big-city salaries while living in lower-cost areas. This can offset initial salary gaps while you build experience.

Focus on learning trajectory: Sometimes the best career move is accepting a slightly lower salary at a company where you’ll learn faster and advance quicker.

For salary negotiation strategies, check out our salary negotiation email templates and learn about determining your worth.

Managing the Long Game: Career Planning for an AI-Driven World

This crisis isn’t temporary—it represents a fundamental shift in how the tech industry operates. Success requires thinking beyond your first job to building an “AI-resilient” career.

Building Anti-Fragile Skills

Focus on capabilities that become more valuable as AI advances. These include:

• Emotional intelligence: AI can’t replicate human empathy, cultural understanding, and relationship-building
• Creative problem-solving: While AI can execute solutions, humans excel at defining problems and evaluating trade-offs
• Strategic thinking: The ability to see patterns, anticipate consequences, and make judgment calls remains uniquely human

The Continuous Learning Mindset

Interview Guys Tip: In a world where technology changes every six months, your ability to learn continuously matters more than what you learned in college. Document your learning journey and make it part of your personal brand. Employers are looking for people who can adapt and grow with their companies.

Technology moves too fast for any degree to remain current. Develop systems for staying updated:

• Follow industry thought leaders and publications
• Participate in online communities and forums
• Take targeted courses in emerging technologies
• Build projects that incorporate new tools and frameworks

Timeline Expectations

Be realistic about timing. Your job search may take 6-12 months longer than previous generations experienced. Use this time strategically:

• Build multiple income streams through freelancing or part-time work
• Continue developing skills and building your portfolio
• View your first job as a launching pad, not a destination

The average Gen Z worker will have 12-15 jobs over their career. Focus on gaining diverse experiences that compound over time rather than finding the “perfect” first job.

Your Crisis Playbook for 2025

The entry-level job market has fundamentally changed, but it hasn’t disappeared. Gen Z graduates who acknowledge this new reality and adapt their strategies accordingly will not just survive—they’ll thrive.

Action Items for the Next 30 Days:

1. Audit your skills against AI-adjacent job requirements and identify 2-3 areas for improvement
2. Research 10 companies in your target industry that are still hiring, including startups and mid-size firms
3. Start building a portfolio of AI-enhanced projects that demonstrate your problem-solving abilities
4. Begin networking conversations with industry professionals using our proven templates
5. Recalibrate expectations based on realistic market data while maintaining your long-term salary goals

The Bottom Line

The traditional path from college to corporate job has been disrupted, but new pathways are emerging for those willing to adapt. The key is to stop playing by yesterday’s rules and start writing tomorrow’s playbook.

Focus on becoming indispensable by developing skills that complement AI rather than compete with it. Build relationships that open doors to opportunities that never get posted publicly. Most importantly, maintain a learning mindset that allows you to evolve with the rapidly changing technology landscape.

The job market may be tougher, but it’s also more meritocratic than ever. Companies desperately need people who can deliver results, solve problems, and grow with their organizations. If you can demonstrate these capabilities—through projects, contributions, and strategic networking—you’ll find opportunities even in this challenging environment.

Your generation faces unique challenges, but you also possess unique advantages. The question isn’t whether you’ll find success in tech—it’s how quickly you can adapt your approach to match the new reality.

---