AI Burns Through Junior Devs: Young Coder Jobs Plunge 19%, Promotion Chain Breaks
xiaohu · x · 2026-07-06
The number of software developers aged 22-25 in the US has dropped 19% from its 2022 peak, while developers aged 41-49 have increased by 14%. Meanwhile, GitHub added 36 million new accounts last year (its fastest pace ever), and new iOS app submissions rebounded by 24% in 2025 after eight consecutive years of decline, indicating a massive influx of non-developer creators.
By job title: computer programmers decreased by 16% over the year, whereas judgment-heavy roles like data scientists and systems analysts grew by 12% and 4.4%, respectively. The traditional "junior coder grinding up to senior" mentorship pipeline is breaking, transforming programming from a specific job title into a ubiquitous foundational skill.
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