Americans 'Learned To Code' At Obama's Behest, Can't Find Jobs

Manasi Mishra, a 21-year-old with a degree in computer science (CS) from Purdue University, shared in a TikTok video that despite her intelligence and hard work, she struggled to find a job for nearly a year. The only company that called her back for an interview during this time was Chipotle, and she did not get the job. It was only after her video went viral that Mishra finally secured a job offer last month.

Mishra’s experience reveals an alarming trend: Many recent graduates who major in CS are struggling to find employment. According to a report by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, those with degrees in CS and computer engineering (CE) face unemployment rates of 6.1 percent and 7.5 percent, respectively — figures that are more than double the rates seen among recent graduates in fields like art history (3 percent) and ethnic studies (2.6 percent). Furthermore, CS and CE rank as the third and eighth worst majors for unemployment out of the 70-plus majors the report tracked.

These unemployed CS graduates have compelling reasons to be frustrated, especially when, for more than a decade, tech leaders and leftist politicians have told them that learning to code is the sure way to high-paying jobs and a promising future.

Since the early 2010s, major tech companies like Microsoft and Facebook have voiced concerns about a lack of skilled programmers. In response, twins Hadi and Ali Partovi, who are successful tech entrepreneurs and investors, launched Code.org in 2013 to advocate for CS education in K-12 schools. Their website features inspiring endorsements from influential figures like Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg, reinforcing the importance of coding skills for the next generation.

Few political figures have championed the call for young people to “learn to code” as fervently as former President Barack Obama. In 2013, he kicked off Code.org’s “Computer Science Education Week” with a video message, urging every student to embrace coding, proclaiming that “learning these skills isn’t just important for your future — it’s important for America’s future.”

The following year, major tech companies backed a $30 million campaign to promote CS education in schools. To show his support, Obama visited a New Jersey classroom and became the first president to write a line of code, inspiring a generation to pursue coding.

A few voices expressed concerns even back then. Some questioned the supposed shortage of computer programmers, noting that only about two-thirds of computer and information sciences graduates secured jobs in their field within a year. Others worried about the lack of research supporting the effectiveness of CS curricula from Code.org and the appropriateness of K-12 education focused primarily on tech companies’ needs.

Advocates who viewed “learning to code” as a panacea for career success overlooked these concerns. In 2016, Obama launched the “Computer Science for All Initiative” (CS for All), which aimed to provide “every student hands-on computer science and math classes that make them job-ready on day one.” This initiative included $4 billion for states and $100 million for school districts to enhance computer science education. Obama continued to advocate for the “learn to code” movement even after leaving office.

Obama’s former Vice President Joe Biden took a step further in 2019 by suggesting that coal miners learn to code in order to transition to “jobs of the future.” Biden emphasized, “Anybody who can throw coal into a furnace can learn how to program for God’s sake!” His remarks were criticized as “tone-deaf and unhelpful.”

Nevertheless, many young people, like Mishra, took the calls for action from Obama and technology leaders to heart. The number of college students majoring in CS-related fields more than doubled over the past decade, reaching 170,000 last year. Some of these students likely financed their education with student loan debt. Unfortunately, many of these graduates are now struggling.