In Solapur, Maharashtra, Zuha Jagirdar, 18, has a good feeling about her chances in the job market when she graduates. “As an electronics and telecommunications student, I was targeting jobs in my core fields: electronics, telecom, and information technology (IT). But my biggest goal, the one I’m still aiming for, was to get into electronics research. I’ve always been fascinated by how things work at a fundamental level and the idea of being part of that discovery process has always been my main driver,” she says.
Jagirdar is speaking on the sidelines of the Discord group of /r/Btechtards, a meme-filled subreddit’s boisterous and noisy discussion board, where IT students and graduates from across the country bond over light-hearted takes on what is shaping up to be a grave situation: the rapid advances in artificial intelligence (AI) and a shrinking job market that threaten to undermine the years of effort they are putting in. On the top of the subreddit is a meme released after ChatGPT’s latest model was announced this month. It features a dog on the phone saying, “Dad, those web development students are really done for”, with slightly more unprintable language.