In 2022, Rishabh Mishra joined a high-ranking engineering college in India’s Jabalpur with the most predictable dream in global tech: study computer science, write code, and one day make it to Silicon Valley.

Three years later, Mishra faces a sobering reality.

Artificial intelligence has gutted entry-level roles in the tech industry that Mishra and his classmates were counting on. Among his 400 classmates at the Indian Institute of Information Technology, Design and Manufacturing, fewer than 25% have secured job offers. His course ends in May 2026, and there’s a sense of panic on the campus.