Is AI Taking IT Jobs? CompTIA’s James Stanger Breaks Down the Data on Get Into IT Live
If you’re in IT and wondering whether AI is about to make your job disappear, you’re not alone, and according to Dr. James Stanger, CompTIA’s chief technology evangelist, you’re also working from the wrong data. Stanger joined Get Into IT Live to walk through what’s happening in IT hiring right now, backed by 25 years advising corporations, governments, and schools worldwide on security and IT education.
Is AI Really Taking IT Jobs? The Numbers Say No
CompTIA analyst Seth Robinson compiles the organization’s monthly tech jobs report, and it paints a far more complicated picture than “AI is coming for your job.” Research firm IDC projects that more than 90% of organizations worldwide will struggle with the IT skills shortage by 2026. Robert Half backs that up: 93% of tech leaders admit their own teams lack the staff or skills to hit this year’s goals.
The industry must replace roughly 323,000 tech workers every year through 2036, just from retirement and career changes. The jobs exist. The people to fill them don’t, at least not yet.
Why Entry-Level IT Job Postings Ask for the Moon
So if the jobs are there, why does landing one feel impossible? Stanger pointed to a shift from the old “ladder model” of hiring to what he calls the “diamond model.” Companies used to let people climb in from the bottom. Now they want a fully formed diamond on day one: degree optional, four years of experience required, even for entry-level roles.
Some of these job postings ask for the moon, and Stanger doesn’t pretend otherwise. But he chalks it up to AI-driven chaos in hiring, not proof that entry-level jobs are disappearing.
What AI Skills Do IT Employers Want?
Job postings requiring AI skills jumped past one million in the past year, according to CompTIA’s data. That phrase has less to do with prompting a chatbot than most people think. Stanger named four things employers mean by it:
- Foundational domain knowledge. AI tools amplify existing skill. They don’t replace the need for it.
- Prompting skill, not what Stanger calls the “CAP model”: copy and paste. He pushes IT pros to think through problems instead of pasting AI output straight into their work.
- Efficient token use. Tokens cost money, and employers notice who wastes them.
- Comfort working with AI agents, which means understanding your own workflows well enough to hand pieces of them off.
Do You Still Need a Degree for an IT Job?
Some employers are dropping the four-year degree requirement from job postings, Stanger said, pointing to conversations happening in Congress right now about doing the same for defense and government roles. But he doesn’t expect the bias to disappear as fast as the paperwork does. Even as postings stop requiring a degree, he predicts an unspoken “where’s your degree” standard will linger underneath for a while yet. So if not a degree, who provides the stamp of approval on someone’s skills?
Stanger’s answer lines up with why IT training programs like the ones at MyComputerCareer exist: schools that listen to industry needs and deliver focused, current skill sets are the ones winning out. Recent grad James Eisenhower makes the case. Twenty years in the military, 15 years working in IT, a master’s degree already in hand, and he still needed specific certifications to land the role he wanted. He earned two and is now at AWS.
What Will Entry-Level IT Jobs Look Like in Two Years?
Stanger’s read on the next two years: entry-level IT is shifting left. Employers increasingly expect new hires to start in the middle rather than the bottom, since AI now handles a lot of the repetitive keyboard and mouse work that used to double as on-the-job training.
His advice for anyone worried about getting squeezed out? Build the architectural, big-picture thinking AI can’t replicate. As he put it, “entry-level people are going to have to be more decision makers than keyboard tappers.”
The Bottom Line
Stanger’s core argument boils down to one line: “If a profession’s not changing, that’s the one that gets automated.” IT has always evolved fast. The pace right now feels different, but the jobs, and the need for skilled people to fill them, aren’t going anywhere.
Want the full conversation, including Stanger’s take on why cybersecurity keeps outpacing every other tech specialty and his prediction for the entry-level job market two years out? Watch the full episode on Get Into IT Live.
Curious what “AI skills” look like in an IT training program? MyComputerCareer’s refreshed ITSA program now includes Microsoft AI 901 as one of its four core certifications. Take a look at what’s covered.