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The dream of landing a stable, high-paying job in tech is increasingly elusive for recent computer science graduates. Contrary to popular belief, new data suggests that those with computer science degrees are grappling with significant job market challenges. According to a report by Newsweek, computer science (CS) majors are facing a daunting 6.1 percent unemployment rate, while their counterparts in computer engineering fare even worse at 7.5 percent.

The latest labor market report from the New York Federal Reserve paints a stark picture for these graduates. When compared to the general population of recent graduates, who experience a 5.8 percent unemployment rate, CS and computer engineering students are encountering significantly tougher conditions. To put it in perspective, graduates in anthropology and physics fare worse at 9.4 and 7.8 percent respectively, but computer engineering still ranks third-highest in unemployment rates, with computer science not far behind at seventh.

Experts are pointing to several factors behind this trend. Bryan Driscoll, an HR and business consultant, highlights that the tech job market "still rewards pedigree over potential." He notes that the oversupply of CS degrees hasn't addressed the exploitative and gatekept nature of the tech hiring pipeline. "Entry-level roles are vanishing, unpaid internships are still rampant, and companies are offshoring or automating the very jobs these grads trained for," Driscoll says.

Automation seems to be a key issue, with artificial intelligence replacing many Jobs recent graduates had expected to fill. This, combined with a wave of major layoffs in recent years, has led to a second phase of the tech industry's downturn. Michael Ryan, a finance expert, criticizes the preparedness of CS graduates, remarking, "Every kid with a laptop thinks they're the next Zuckerberg, but most can't debug their way out of a paper bag." He adds that the "learn to code" movement, which once promised a lucrative future, has now led to a market flooded with job-seekers, driving wages down.

As graduates ponder their next steps, the picture remains grim. Aside from returning to school for more secure disciplines, some are resorting to extreme measures to make ends meet. One laid-off tech worker even started selling her blood plasma, according to a report by SFGATE, highlighting the dire straits many find themselves in.

For now, the reality remains that the promise of coding as a ticket to success is increasingly being questioned, with recent graduates facing a labor market that is far more challenging than they had been led to believe.