Juniors no, thank you
This week, I sat down for a drink with a friend who’s looking to make a career change. After finishing a vocational degree in cross-platform app development, he’s trying to land his first job as a developer—beyond the internship he did during his studies.
He spoke with excitement about everything he’d learned, the personal projects he’s been working on, what he hopes to find in a team… and at the same time, with a mix of frustration and resignation: no one is replying to his applications. And when they do, it’s only to say they’re “looking for someone with experience.”
And I couldn’t help but think how hard it is these days to get that first break in tech as a junior.
For four years, I was the Director of a coding school. I saw dozens of people completely reinvent themselves—studying full-time for months, graduating eager to start their tech careers… and actually making it!
That big doorway into the tech world still exists today…but it feels smaller than ever.
Not because there are no opportunities, but because there are far fewer…
And the few that do exist force junior developers to compete at a disadvantage—not just against other candidates, but against AI tools that can complete, in seconds,
the kind of tasks that used to serve as a gateway into the profession.
The Bootcamp Bubble
Over the past decade, we witnessed a true boom in coding bootcamps. In Spain—like in many other countries—dozens of schools sprang up, promising a fast track into the tech world: intensive, hands-on training with supposedly sky-high employment rates. In fact, more than 80% of these programs in Spain launched within the past five years, fueled by the demand for tech talent and the narrative that “anyone can learn to code.”
Not long ago, while chatting with a colleague who led one of the country’s most well-known coding schools, we recalled something with a touch of nostalgia:
"Our focus was never really on education itself—it was on employability."
And for a while, that was true. Demand was high, and so were the opportunities.
But as the years went by—and especially after the market downturn that began in 2023—so many people tried to capitalize on that promise, and the model was pushed so hard, that it eventually deflated and stopped being sustainable.
When the Market Contracts
Another undeniable reason juniors have been pushed out is the tech sector’s deep contraction since 2023. According to The Pragmatic Engineer, software engineering job openings hit a five-year low in 2025. After the post-pandemic bubble burst and Big Tech began mass layoffs, many companies downsized to the bare minimum. That restructuring put even highly experienced professionals back on the job market. At the same time, many companies realized they could “hold out” longer with leaner teams—or even lean on automation—before hiring again.
In this new reality, the product-focused companies that are hiring have a wide pool of mid- and senior-level talent to choose from, allowing them to be far more selective. They no longer need to take a chance on inexperienced candidates—they can bring in professionals with solid foundations who ramp up quickly and start delivering value almost immediately.
The direct consequence of this new balance is clear: in a market saturated with qualified talent looking to get rehired, opportunities for junior profiles are mostly found at consulting firms, which each year take in the best new grads through structured internship programs—though even those hiring numbers are beginning to shrink.
Today I was speaking with a German VC who mentioned that in consulting, the number of junior hires has dropped from 100,000 a year to just 30,000.
That’s 70,000 people who now need to look for a different job."
Artificial Competition
Today, the adoption of artificial intelligence to replace technical tasks is no longer a promise of the future. In the U.S., companies like Klarna have reduced technical staff by automating programming, testing, and support roles—integrating AI systems that can now rival the work of a junior developer. In 2023, Klarna replaced 700 customer support employees with an AI solution. While the company later adjusted the rollout due to its impact on user experience, the move made one thing clear: this trend can scale faster and further than many expected (allwork.space).
More and more companies are automating entry-level tasks—writing simple code, running tests, setting up basic environments—the very activities that once helped new developers get their feet wet and learn in their first few months on the job.
Some estimates suggest that junior job openings have dropped by as much as 60% in just two years, as AI takes over basic functions and companies redirect their budgets away from training and toward automation tools (Advancio, 2025).
The Rise of the AI-Augmented Engineer
In this new landscape, a new kind of profile is starting to emerge: the AI-augmented engineer. These aren't veterans with years of experience—they’re individuals with a solid technical foundation and the ability to work side by side with generative tools.
Formation.dev and Fonzi AI, coming from different perspectives, both highlight a similar vision: the junior developer of the future isn't a quiet observer solving menial tasks, but someone who knows how to wield AI as an extension of themselves.
Still, for that evolution to happen, someone has to open the door.
Because no engineer—no matter how AI-enhanced—can contribute anything if nobody gives them that first shot.
But Is Anyone Thinking About the Consequences?
In a sector that moves so fast, we rarely pause to consider the medium-term consequences of our decisions. And yet, the impact of shutting out junior talent is anything but theoretical.
- Without a pipeline, the system breaks down.
If we stop bringing in junior profiles today, a few years down the line we could be facing a serious shortage of experienced professionals. The demand will still be there, but the supply won’t be. That would put even more pressure on hiring processes, drive up senior salaries, and make it even harder to maintain sustainable teams.
- Less access means less diversity.
By limiting entry to only those with experience, we may also end up filtering by age, background, or non-traditional paths. And with less diversity, we lose our ability to innovate, to challenge the status quo, to build products that are inclusive and representative.
- A more elitist industry.
In this scenario, the few opportunities that remain would mostly go to those who can afford to wait without income, who have the right connections, or who fit the traditional mold. Everyone else would be pushed to the margins.
And without realizing it, we’d be turning access to the tech industry into a privilege reserved for the lucky few.
The implicit message might become: “If you don’t already have years of experience, there’s no place for you here.”
And if that logic takes hold, we risk building a closed, homogenous, and inaccessible ecosystem—a place where the only ones allowed in are those who were already inside.
And that’s not innovation. That’s decay.
Doing Our Part
At Manfred, we don’t claim to have all the answers. But we do have one conviction:
If we want a healthy industry, we have to take care of its foundation.
That’s why we’ve decided to do our bit.
Starting today, through Manfred Daily, our awesome Telegram channel, we’ll offer the chance to share one real junior-friendly job opening every day—for free. If you have an opportunity that could be someone’s first step into the industry, send it our way.
So that my friend—and many others still waiting for their first chance—don’t get left behind.
And so that those coming up behind them can find a door that’s still open, however small it may be.