alt Hacker NewsWhy does it have to be one thing? It's likely a whole lot of things that are contributing to this, including education and their parenting.
Why does it have to be one thing? It's likely a whole lot of things that are contributing to this, including education and their parenting.
IMO it's multi-faceted but all revolving around how broken hiring is for juniors.
- HR is rarely equipped or incentivized to select true entry-level candidates without an obvious record of success in a similar prior role
- Algorithmic job boards are brutal and they make juniors anxious or under pressure to have all the answers if they are seen at all
- Seniors that in the past would take hiring risks because they saw something of their own children in a junior candidate are, in 2026, a lot more likely to still have young children they want to WFH focus on
- College is very expensive now and CS programs can be selective. I continually see a disconnect where seniors interview for the curiosity and passion that served them well in their career but the candidate's parents told them to do CS for the ROI. Fair I guess, but these are different people to manage.