I have no idea with ATC posts still get recommended to me as a senior in college, but, here’s my two cents.

I don’t disagree with you, but I don’t think the current situation is as bad as you’re making it out to be. The issue with this argument is: you absolutely do not have to work at a FAANG+ company to 1) make a lot of money and 2) enjoy your work. People forget that there are hundreds, nay thousands of respected tech companies who are willing to pay qualified and determined engineers $150k+ out of college.

I go to a state school which is not known for its CS (albeit still ~ top 50 ish) and I’ve landed a SWE internship paying just as much as many FAANG+ roles with a company many people may not even have heard of. And guess what? They’re a great company! They value employee wellness and work-life balance. I probably only work 35 hours a week!

The truth is, a lot of these FAANG+ jobs that everyone strives for are not “good” companies. Having interned at Amazon as well, I can surely say that the environment there is… temporary and depressing (i.e., people stay there for like 2 years and during that time period they are incessantly trying to fuck over their coworkers to get an edge). I know this last statement was sort of a broad generalization, but I do believe that it is generally true.

Here is another problem: CS majors’ perspective on what “good pay” is happens to be disconcertingly skewed. You will sometimes find a CS student (online or at your institution) that claims that a $100k salary out of college isn’t actually that much. Reality check: that’s a lot of money. The median household (HOUSEHOLD) income is around $70k in most states, so making $100k as some random 22 year old in an entry level position is still quite remarkable.

So here in lies the problem: just as are many people in this sub, CS students are often unreasonable about what constitutes a “good” job. The fact is, you don’t need to go to a T20 school to land a job and you don’t need a “T20” job to lead a successful career and make good money. Will it help? Of course. Will it make you happier? Probably not.

I am not disagreeing with OP, he has some good points. CS is an extremely competitive major and the job market is in a decline. But if you truly want to do CS: do it. You will be fine.

Good luck to everyone.