In 2025, landing your first job in tech is becoming one of the hardest challenges in the industry.
Even with a degree, certification, or a strong portfolio, jobseekers are finding fewer open doors than ever before.
The traditional entry-level role—once seen as the launchpad for early-career talent—is quietly disappearing.
It’s a shift that affects both sides of the hiring equation. Jobseekers are stuck in a cycle of rejection for roles that list “entry-level” but demand one to three years of experience.
On the employer side, hiring teams are under pressure to find talent that can perform immediately without long ramp-up periods.
The middle ground, a space for growth, mentoring, and internal development, is getting squeezed.
While much of the focus in recent years has been on hiring based on skills instead of degrees, there’s a deeper structural challenge now emerging: the lack of any accessible starting point for new professionals in tech.
How Entry-Level Tech Jobs Are Disappearing
In past decades, companies used junior roles to groom new talent. Today, many of those positions are being restructured, absorbed by automation, or combined with mid-level responsibilities.
Entry-level in title remains, but the content of the job reflects something far more demanding.
AI is a major factor. Tasks once handled by interns or junior developers (e.g., debugging, testing, writing documentation) are now handled by tools.
What was once busy work has been optimized out. This leaves fewer practical functions for new hires to start with, and fewer opportunities for hands-on learning within a paid environment.
At the same time, many employers are reluctant to dedicate resources to training. They want candidates who are productive on day one.
When that expectation extends to roles once considered foundational, it removes the bridge that once helped early-career professionals cross into the workforce.
Cost of Skipping the Start
When the industry cuts out its lowest rung, it affects everything above it. The most immediate consequence is a shortage of experienced talent over time.
Without a reliable system for bringing in and developing junior hires, companies will face increasing pressure to compete for mid-level professionals who are in high demand.
It also leads to a concentration of opportunity. Candidates who attend bootcamps tied to large employers or those with personal networks may still break in, but others are left behind.
This deepens inequity, narrows the talent pipeline, and stunts diversity.
The result is a growing class of tech-trained individuals who never get to practice their skills inside a real company. They become a floating population of underutilized talent: ready to contribute, but locked out by experience requirements that seem impossible to meet.
What Entry-Level Looks Like in 2025
The phrase “entry-level” has shifted in meaning. Job postings may use the term, but often include tasks that require a nuanced understanding of frameworks, collaboration in agile environments, and experience shipping production code. This is no longer a training ground; it’s a proving ground.
Internships are still available, but many are unpaid or offer limited mentorship. Apprenticeships remain rare, and few companies have the structure to support long-term internal development for early-career hires.
Some startups try to fill the gap by offering opportunities to new coders, but without consistent onboarding or documentation, the learning curve is steep. Even for candidates with initiative, the lack of guidance leads to frustration, misalignment, and in many cases, burnout.
Why This Matters for Employers
Cutting entry-level roles may feel efficient in the short term, but it creates fragility. Without a healthy flow of incoming talent, teams age, hiring costs increase, and institutional knowledge walks out the door with each resignation.
A lack of junior staff also puts pressure on mid-level employees to carry workloads they may not be staffed for.
More importantly, early-career hires bring perspective. They ask questions others overlook. They challenge the process through fresh eyes.
And they often bring an energy that invigorates teams. Removing that layer might stabilize operations in the short term but can reduce long-term agility.
The Experience Bottleneck
The tech industry now faces an experience bottleneck: too many trained workers, not enough realistic entry points.
Universities, coding bootcamps, and self-paced programs continue to produce qualified individuals.
What’s missing is the system that welcomes them in.
For companies, the assumption that every hire must be immediately billable, productive, or senior-level is unsustainable.
Especially in competitive markets, the ability to grow talent internally should be a core strategy, not a cost center.
Hiring teams often point to time and resources as reasons they avoid early-career candidates. But the long-term cost of ignoring them is steep.
Companies may find themselves locked into cycles of expensive recruitment for mid-level roles while missing out on candidates who could have developed into ideal employees with the right support.
How Companies Can Bring Back Entry-Level Talent
- Redefine the role: Make it clear what a new hire is expected to know and what they’ll learn on the job. Entry-level should be structured as a growth role, not a discounted version of a mid-level position.
- Invest in structure: A clear onboarding path, paired mentorship, and basic documentation go a long way. Even small improvements in early-stage support can make these roles more sustainable for both the company and the hire.
Companies that treat entry-level roles as an investment rather than a risk tend to retain talent longer and benefit from internal promotions instead of external churn.
Looking Ahead
The job market in tech is more competitive than ever. Automation, AI, and shifting priorities are changing how teams are built.
But entry-level roles still matter. They aren’t a luxury; they’re a foundation. A healthy hiring strategy includes a path for those who are ready to grow.
The vanishing entry-level job is not a result of lackluster candidates. It reflects an industry pushing for speed over sustainability.
Companies willing to rethink this part of their hiring funnel can gain a long-term advantage by building a pipeline that’s not only deep but loyal.
TBest Services helps employers shape smarter hiring strategies.
If your team is struggling to find qualified talent or you’re unsure how to integrate early-career professionals into your workflow, we’re here to help.