Ask HN: Would you advice someone to study CS in 2026?
A Hacker News user asks the community whether studying computer science in 2026 would be advisable, sparking discussion about the current state of the CS job market, AI's impact on the field, and future career prospects for graduates.
Background
- Hacker News (HN) is a tech-news and discussion site run by the startup incubator Y Combinator. An "Ask HN" post is a question posed directly to the site's highly technical, mostly software-industry audience.
- This thread asks whether studying Computer Science (CS) as a university degree is still a smart bet in 2026, reflecting current anxieties in the industry: layoffs at big tech firms, AI tools automating coding tasks, and a flooded entry-level job market.
- The question matters because CS has been the default "safe" high-earning degree for two decades. The replies capture an ongoing debate: is the degree itself becoming less valuable, or is this just a cyclical downturn in a field that still has long-term demand?