The IT job market your child faces isn't the one you knew

Parents want to help, and the most powerful help you can give is good guidance. But guidance is only as good as the map it's based on — and here's the uncomfortable truth for well-meaning parents: the IT job market has changed so fast that the map many of us carry, from our own careers or from a few years ago, is quietly out of date. Guiding your child from an old map, however lovingly, can point them in a direction the current market no longer rewards. So it's worth updating what's actually changed.

Entry-level hiring has shrunk — and toughened

The biggest change is at the entry level, exactly where your child is trying to break in. Companies used to hire freshers in large volumes for routine, well-defined work. AI tools now do much of that routine work, so companies hire fewer freshers and expect more from each one. At the same time, the number of graduates competing for those fewer spots has grown enormously. The result is an entry point that's both narrower and more demanding than the one you likely remember. This is why a capable child can do "everything right" and still struggle — not from lack of effort, but because the door itself is smaller.

What gets hired has shifted

The kind of person who gets hired has also changed. It used to be enough to demonstrate that you could do the technical tasks. Now, because AI handles many of the routine tasks, employers increasingly want people who can think — frame problems, use judgment, understand the business, adapt, and direct AI rather than compete with it. "Can execute tasks" has quietly become table stakes; "can think and adapt" is what stands out. A child prepared only to be a good task-doer is prepared for the part that's being automated.

The map you carry may point the wrong way

Here's the sensitive part. Advice that was excellent in your time — "any coding job is a safe start," "just get into a big company and you're set," "specialisation is risky, stay general," "the degree is what matters" — was true for the market you knew. Applied to today's market, some of it points the wrong way. This isn't a criticism of your judgment; your read on effort, character, and values is timeless. It's specifically the technical career map that's worth updating, because that's the part the industry rewrote.

Guiding from today's map

None of this means stepping back — your child needs your support and steadiness more than ever. It means guiding from an updated map. Understanding what's genuinely changed lets you encourage the right things (direction, adaptability, thinking skills, using AI well) instead of the things that used to work. That's exactly what the ProThink Parents & Mentors workshop is for: giving parents an accurate, current picture of the IT landscape, so your guidance helps your child navigate the market they're actually in.

FAQ

How is the IT job market different from when I started my career?

The entry level has shrunk and toughened — AI now does much of the routine work companies once hired freshers for, so they hire fewer and expect more, while graduate numbers have grown. And the kind of person hired has shifted from "can do the tasks" to "can think, judge, and adapt." The door is smaller and the bar is different.

Why can my capable child do everything right and still not get a job?

Because "everything right" was defined by an older market. Entry-level roles are fewer and more demanding, and being a good task-doer — once enough — is now table stakes because AI handles routine tasks. It's a direction-and-positioning problem, not effort or ability. The door itself is smaller, which no amount of the old-style effort fully overcomes.

Could my own career advice be pointing my child the wrong way?

Possibly, if it's built on a technical career map from your era. Advice like "any coding job is a safe start" or "the degree is what matters" was true then but can misdirect now. This isn't about your judgment of character and effort, which stays valuable — it's specifically the technical career map that the industry has rewritten and that's worth updating.

What skills should my child focus on for today's IT market?

The ability to think, not just execute: framing problems, using judgment, understanding the business, adapting, and using AI tools well rather than competing with them. Because AI handles routine tasks, "can execute" has become table stakes and "can think and adapt" is what stands out. Direction and adaptability matter more than mastering any single tool.