“I don’t feel sure that I’m gonna get a job by the time I graduate,” senior Nashali Vicente Lopez said.
Lopez is one of many students preparing to graduate without a clear answer on how Artificial Intelligence (AI) will affect her career. She started at Cal Poly as a computer science major to become a software engineer, but as AI tools advanced, she began to wonder if her future was being automated out from under her.
“AI made me question whether I was in the right major,” Lopez said. “It can already do the things I was trying to learn.”
Instead of switching majors, Lopez chose to study a concentration in privacy and security, a field she hopes will be less vulnerable to automation.
Lopez is one of more than 1,100 students enrolled in Cal Poly’s Department of Computer Science and Software Engineering, a group entering the workforce at a time when the demand for traditional programming jobs is shrinking.
A Stanford Digital Economy Lab study found that employment for workers aged 22 to 25 in the most AI-exposed jobs, such as customer service and junior coding roles, has fallen by about 13% since 2022.
That uncertainty stretches beyond Cal Poly. Across the country, students graduating in the Class of 2026 are preparing to enter a labor market that looks very different from the one they expected four years ago.
The average U.S. unemployment rate this year for degree holders ages 22 through 27 was 5.3%, considerably higher than the nation’s overall 2.7% jobless rate, according to the New York Federal Reserve.
Lopez hasn’t been able to land an internship, despite attending career fairs and applying to job openings. Many companies at Cal Poly’s career fairs weren’t even looking for computer science majors, she said.
Obtaining an entry-level job
Dr. Ryan Jenkins is a professor of philosophy at Cal Poly and the associate director of Ethics + Emerging Sciences Group. He researches how emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence shape human lives.
“The genie is out of the bottle. We’re not going back to a world before we had these tools. Entry-level positions are often the lowest-hanging fruit for automation.”
Dr. Ryan Jenkins, professor of philosophy at Cal Poly and the associate director of Ethics + Emerging Sciences Group
He added what makes this “wave” of advancement different is that it is targeting white-collar jobs, roles that typically require applicants to have a bachelor’s degree or higher.
“The question that every graduate will face is, why hire you instead of using AI?” Jenkins said. “Students need to prove what they can do that AI can’t.”
Without internships or clear entry points, several students worry they will be competing not just against other graduates, but against the very technology they’ve been told to master.
Lopez said that reality feels discouraging.
AI on Campus
Google Trends data for San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara Counties shows a sharp spike in searches for ‘ChatGPT’ beginning in late 2022, with interest dipping annually during the summer and climbing again once classes resume in September.
Isla Vista and San Luis Obispo, both college towns, have significantly higher search interest than other municipalities in the region.
Lopez has used AI as a study tool, but worries employers may see it differently.
In a recent survey from the Digital Education Council, 86% of students said they use artificial intelligence in their studies.
“As a student, it’s embarrassing to admit you use ChatGPT,” she said. “But at the same time, I’ve learned from it. I know its strengths and weaknesses, and I think I could explain that to an employer.”
Students across the campus feel this uncertainty. Cal Poly’s Student Academic Integrity policy does not include an AI policy.
Professors are left to set their own rules that may differ from class to class. Some courses openly encourage the use of AI as a tool for brainstorming or coding assistance, while others prohibit it altogether.
Philosophy professor Patrick Lin, director of Cal Poly’s Ethics + Emerging Sciences Group, said his own assignments are designed to be “reasonably AI-proof,” while still offering the same educational value as traditional work. He also emphasized that any solution has to be sustainable for instructors, who are already overworked.
In spring 2025, Cal Poly announced students, faculty and staff would have access to ChatGPT Edu, OpenAI’s education-focused platform. The tool officially launched on April 28, already garnering 2149 unique active users by the end of April. The move followed a system-wide rollout across all Cal State campuses, giving students access to AI tools for writing, coding and research.
READ HERE: ChatGPT Edu AI tool to launch at Cal Poly
Cal Poly officials say the university is staying informed about how AI is reshaping the workplace.
“Cal Poly, and the ‘Learn by Doing’ education it provides, prepares students to be ready to make an impact in their career and their community from day one,” Keegan Koberl, a university spokesperson, said.
Koberl said career counselors are following the latest research, trainings and employer feedback on AI, and Career Services regularly consults with its advisory council to hear directly from industry representatives.
On Oct. 21, Career Services will host a Computing and AI Career Fair at the Rec Center, giving students a chance to connect with employers in fields most directly affected by artificial intelligence.
Being ‘Ready Day One’
A new Handshake report found that 61% of college seniors nationwide feel pessimistic about their careers. Almost half of them said their concerns are linked to AI.
For Lopez, those numbers feel familiar.
“The job market was already competitive. It’s becoming so tight that I’m worried about my future. Most people did get into CS because of software engineering, and now it seems like AI is going to be doing most of that job.”
Nashali Vicente Lopez, computer science senior
Job postings that mention AI have jumped nearly five times since 2023, according to Handshake.
Most hiring managers now expect new hires to be comfortable using the technology, even as they fear it will make them replaceable.
“Employers are already expecting graduates to know how to use AI,” Jenkins said.
He added students must learn what their value is over AI in this evolving workspace.
The university’s ‘Learn by Doing’ model is based on practical and interactive experiences, but AI challenges what that experience should look like.
“We’re learning technical stuff starting day one,” Lopez said. “I don’t think it really prepares you for the job market. Sometimes you question: How is this assignment actually helping me? How is this useful in the real world?”
Being ready no longer means just mastering traditional skills. It also means knowing how to use AI effectively without letting it define your work.
“The risk is that the more hard work we turn over to AI, the more those things — empathy, ethical sensitivity, intellectual curiosity — are being corroded,” Jenkins said.
This story originally appeared in the October print edition of Mustang News. Check out more from the edition at news stands around campus and San Luis Obispo.
For more stories from the October print edition check out the featured print section on our website or the full issue.