Is computer science still worth studying?
Worum es bei dieser Frage geht
For two decades, computer science was the safe choice: strong demand, high pay and a short path from degree to job. Since AI coding assistants became part of everyday programming, that picture has become less clear. In the US, enrolment in computer science fell in 2025 and 2026 for the first time in about twenty years, hiring for young developers has slowed, and in Germany the reported shortage of IT specialists has roughly halved since 2023.
The disagreement is about what these signals mean for someone choosing what to study now. Is this a temporary dip after a hiring boom, or a lasting change in what entry-level software work looks like? Does a degree still teach what employers will need once AI writes much of the routine code, or is the value moving to other fields, to combining computing with another subject, or to paths outside university?
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No: most people should choose another path
Choose a field or trade where entry-level work is less exposed to automation, or learn programming alongside a different degree or job instead.
3 Begründungen2 Quellen5 Einwände aus anderen Positionen
Am besten belegte Begründung
AI tools now do much of the routine coding that used to be given to beginners, so there are fewer entry-level jobs to learn on.
Yes, fundementals will outlast tools
Study computer science as a full degree.
2 Begründungen1 Quelle1 Einwand aus einer anderen Position
Am besten belegte Begründung
Someone still has to judge whether AI-written code is correct, secure and fast, and that takes the understanding a degree teaches.
Yes, but combined with another field
Study computing together with a domain such as medicine, biology, economics, law or engineering, as a double major, a minor, or a combined programme like Wirtschaftsinformatik or Bioinformatik.
1 Begründung1 Quelle
Am besten belegte Begründung
The scarce skill is applying computing to a real problem in a field you understand, not writing generic code.
Only if you would study it anyway
Study it if the subject itself interests you, but don’t choose it mainly as a safe route to a well-paid job.
2 Begründungen3 Quellen1 Einwand aus einer anderen Position
Am besten belegte Begründung
The idea that a computer science degree guarantees a well-paid job no longer holds for new graduates.
Wo sie sich widersprechen
Einwände, die eine Position gegen die Begründungen einer anderen erhebt, die meisten zuerst.
Yes, fundementals will outlast tools erhebt Einwände gegen No: most people should choose another path
3 EinwändeOnly if you would study it anyway erhebt Einwände gegen No: most people should choose another path
1 EinwandYes, but combined with another field erhebt Einwände gegen No: most people should choose another path
1 EinwandYes, but combined with another field erhebt Einwände gegen Yes, fundementals will outlast tools
1 EinwandYes, fundementals will outlast tools erhebt Einwände gegen Only if you would study it anyway
1 Einwand
Offene Fragen
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- Quelle hinzufügen
Quelle angefragt · No: most people should choose another path
Many trades and care professions face shortages and are harder to automate than office work done at a screen.
- Quelle hinzufügen
Quelle angefragt · Yes, fundementals will outlast tools
Cheaper software has usually led to more software being built, not less work for the people who build it.
- Quelle hinzufügen
Quelle angefragt · Only if you would study it anyway
People who enjoy a subject tend to stay with it through a bad job market, and that persistence is what gets them hired.
- Quelle hinzufügen
Quelle angefragt · No: most people should choose another path
Self-taught programmers rarely learn the theory and systems knowledge that matters most when AI handles the routine code.
- Quelle hinzufügen
Noch keine Quelle · Yes, fundementals will outlast tools
Algorithms, data structures, operating systems and theory have stayed useful through every change in programming tools so far.
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Quellen
- Stanford published factsdigitaleconomy.stanford.edu
- Stanforddigitaleconomy.stanford.edu
- METRmetr.org
- Bitkom-Studie 2026bitkom.org
- newyorkfednewyorkfed.org
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