Is studying computer science still a worthwhile path for students in the AI era?

Victor Lazarte · Apr 14, 2025

Young people should still study computer science, even though most of them will not become developers

By analogy to calculators not ending the value of studying math: you learn to understand the defining technology of the era, and there is enormous transfer learning — logical thinking, breaking big tasks into small ones, rigor — which stays valuable

Scope: acknowledges much of early coursework is stuff computers can already do

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Severin Hacker · May 19, 2025

A CS degree retains value because it teaches logical thinking and problem-solving fundamentals rather than coding

CS is applied mathematics and teaches how computers work; the coding-detail part is what will go away

Scope: applies to the best CS courses; the coding-specific details will become obsolete

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Varun Mohan · Jun 2, 2025

Young people should focus on problem-solving and high agency rather than on learning particular programming languages; computer science is essentially the study of problem solving

The ability to break a problem into distinct pieces and execute on them is the durable skill, whereas specific languages matter much less

Scope: framed as advice to an 18-year-old choosing university study

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Martin Casado · Jul 28, 2025

Understanding how computers work remains essential to being effective with computer systems, so CS education retains its value

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Arvind Jain · Jul 11, 2026

Studying computer science today is still fine and students shouldn't be worried by what others are telling them

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Amjad Masad · Apr 25, 2026

Students should not study computer science unless they are intrinsically drawn to it; the easy-money case for a CS degree is gone

Post-2005 CS became a hyped path to money via boot camps and exploding departments, but the guaranteed high-paying job at a company like Google no longer exists

30:51 Study cs only out of intrinsic interest the money case is gone

Roman Chernin · Jun 8, 2026

The two skills that will be in demand in ten years are empathic human communication and creativity, not hard skills like math and engineering

He no longer believes what he thought ten years ago, that math and engineering were the most important things to learn; soft skills and the ability to try new things will be what's scarce

58:07 Soft skills and creativity outlast hard technical training

Fernando Fanton · Jul 27, 2025

The value of physics and maths keeps rising and they matter more than a CS degree, because they are the cornerstone of computer science while languages like JavaScript are just implementations

Physics and maths change how your brain works, whereas a specific language is an implementation detail of something deeper

63:12 Physics and maths fundamentals outvalue cs specific training

Avishai Abrahami · Jul 13, 2026

If he were a university student today he would be terrified, because it's unclear whether what you're studying will still exist in a year

The knowledge being taught may be obsolete before the degree ends

36:58 Uncertain whether the field you study still exists on graduation

Harry Stebbings · Jul 13, 2026

University curricula change far too slowly to keep pace with AI, so computer science students are effectively being taught pre-ChatGPT material

In the UK it takes about three years to change the material in a yearly program, while models like Claude have transformed in that span

37:17 Curricula move too slowly so degrees teach obsolete material