If I was 22 and starting out as a software engineer today

Welcome back to I'm a Software Engineer ~ What Next? The podcast for devs figuring out their next move. Hosted by James Wilson and Matt Sinclair, we talk honestly about what it takes to build a meaningful career in tech. In 2002, a UK graduate job got 38 applications. Today it gets a record 140. So if you were 22 and starting out as a software engineer today, what would you do? James brings the data from the recruiter's side of the desk. Matt, who started more than 30 years ago when the industry was desperate for anyone who could code, admits he's the beneficiary of a ladder whose bottom rungs have since been sawn off. In this episode, we cover: Should a 17-year-old still choose computer science? Graduate unemployment, Stanford's "Canaries in the Coal Mine" study, and falling UK and US enrolments SignalFire's numbers: new-grad hiring at big tech is down 65% on 2019, but engineers' share of new hires rose from 46% to 55% Software engineering isn't disappearing; its entry point is. The junior job was the how, and the time cost of how is now close to zero Anthropic's study of 52 mostly junior engineers: the AI group scored 50% on a quiz against 67% for hand coders, and those who asked the AI why did best José Valim's merge quiz: an LLM tests you on the code before your pull request is approved Learning to code now means acquiring taste, building as much as you can, and not becoming Homer Simpson's drinking bird The forward deployed engineer: a BA-flavoured engineer, an engineer-flavoured BA, or a rebrand? Just graduated? Stop mass-applying: employers are redesigning recruitment as AI cheating doubles The CV is dead as a trust signal: Matt's three-finger rule, "what have you built?", and LLMs as Dunning-Kruger as a service Does the degree still matter? What recruiters look for, and Matt's three legs of active independence: fundamentals, tools and people Got the offer? A £33,000 average graduate salary against £68K to £80K at the top: know your number, then chase the interesting role Taste as art: judgement comes from calls that sometimes fail, and Lauren Hutton on fashion and style The verdict: Matt's advice to his 22-year-old self, and why uncurated LLM code is good news for engineers ⏱️ Chapters 0:00 From 38 applications per graduate job to 140 0:30 Matt's caveat: the ladder's missing bottom rungs 3:32 Should you still become a software engineer? 6:56 New-grad hiring down 65%, engineers' share up 9:50 The job isn't disappearing, the entry point is 11:36 Anthropic's study: learning with AI or by hand 13:10 José Valim's merge quiz 14:01 How to learn now: taste and building things 16:42 Curiosity, and the forward deployed engineer 19:27 BA-flavoured engineer or engineer-flavoured BA? 23:26 Just graduated? Stop mass-applying 24:29 The CV is dead: what have you built? 27:01 Taste, and Dunning-Kruger as a service 28:02 Graduate CV signals, and is the degree dead? 30:13 Fundamentals, tools and people 32:03 Follow your curiosity 33:47 You've got an offer: what do you optimise for? 35:55 Know your number, then chase the interesting role 39:22 Taste as art: judgement comes from calls that fail 41:41 Lauren Hutton: fashion and style 42:36 The verdict: advice to a 22-year-old self 44:34 A positive note to finish on 🗒️ Show Notes Institute of Student Employers, "ISE top 10 stats of 2025 you need to know": https://ise.org.uk/knowledge/insights... New York Fed, "The Labor Market for Recent College Graduates": https://www.newyorkfed.org/research/c... Stanford Digital Economy Lab, "Canaries in the Coal Mine?": https://digitaleconomy.stanford.edu/p... QMPF on the UCAS 2026/27 application data: https://www.qmpf.co.uk/ucas-2026-27-a... National Student Clearinghouse, "Computer Science Enrollment Is Cooling": https://www.studentclearinghouse.org/... SignalFire, "State of Tech Talent Report 2026": https://www.signalfire.com/blog/signa... Anthropic, "How AI assistance impacts the formation of coding skills": https://www.anthropic.com/research/AI... IT Jobs Watch, graduate developer salaries in Central London: https://www.itjobswatch.co.uk/jobs/ce... Matt Sinclair, "The Time Cost of How Is Zero": https://matthewsinclair.com/blog/0194... Matt Sinclair, "Taste as Art": https://matthewsinclair.com/blog/0195... 🎙 Hosts Matt: https://matthewsinclair.com Matt:   / matthewsinclair   James:   / james-wilson-92170656   🌐 More from us: https://whatnext.dev/ https://quantumfaxmachine.com/