What actually changed
Pure entry-level software development hiring — the "write a CRUD screen, write a boilerplate test" version of a junior role — is more saturated than it used to be, and AI coding assistants have genuinely taken over some of the simplest tasks juniors were historically hired to do. That is a real shift, not a myth, but it is specific to that slice of work. It has not made software teams stop hiring juniors; it has raised the bar on what a junior needs to bring, and it has not touched most of the roles below at all. Treat this as where the odds are better right now, not as advice to abandon development.
QA / Test Engineer
Skills needed
Manual testing fundamentals, one test-automation tool (Selenium or Playwright), basic SQL, and the ability to write a clear bug report.
Proof without a job
Write a test plan and a handful of automated test cases for any public open-source project or your own project, and publish it as a repo.
First 90 days
Weeks 1-2 learn the product and existing test suite; weeks 3-6 own testing for one feature end to end; weeks 7-12 start writing new automated cases independently.
Technical Support Engineer
Skills needed
Comfort reading logs and error messages, basic networking/OS knowledge, clear written communication, and patience with repetitive questions.
Proof without a job
Answer real questions on a forum for a tool you use (Stack Overflow, a product's community forum, Reddit) and link a few well-received answers.
First 90 days
Weeks 1-3 shadow tickets and learn the product; weeks 4-8 handle simple tickets solo with a senior reviewing; weeks 9-12 take on harder tickets and start spotting patterns worth escalating.
Junior Cloud / DevOps
Skills needed
Linux basics, one cloud platform's free tier (AWS, GCP or Azure), Git, and a basic understanding of CI/CD concepts.
Proof without a job
Deploy a small personal project with a working CI/CD pipeline and document the setup in the repo's README.
First 90 days
Weeks 1-3 learn the team's actual infrastructure and tooling; weeks 4-8 handle small, supervised infra tasks; weeks 9-12 take ownership of one recurring operational task.
Data Analyst
Skills needed
SQL (genuinely comfortable, not just syntax), Excel or Google Sheets at an advanced level, one BI tool (Power BI or Tableau), and basic statistics.
Proof without a job
Take a public dataset and publish a short analysis with a clear question, a visual, and a written conclusion — not just charts with no narrative.
First 90 days
Weeks 1-3 learn the data sources and existing dashboards; weeks 4-8 build one dashboard or report with supervision; weeks 9-12 handle ad hoc analysis requests independently.
Business Analyst
Skills needed
Requirements gathering, basic process mapping, Excel, and the ability to write a clear, structured document a non-technical stakeholder can follow.
Proof without a job
Pick a real, small inefficiency (in college admin, a club's process, a local business) and write a one-page process-improvement document for it.
First 90 days
Weeks 1-3 learn the business domain and existing processes; weeks 4-8 shadow requirement-gathering sessions; weeks 9-12 own documentation for one small initiative.
Inside Sales / SDR
Skills needed
Clear spoken and written English, basic product knowledge, comfort with cold outreach, and resilience to rejection.
Proof without a job
Practice a two-minute pitch for any product you use and record yourself delivering it clearly and concisely.
First 90 days
Weeks 1-2 learn the product and pitch; weeks 3-6 shadow calls and send supervised outreach; weeks 7-12 run your own outreach and start booking qualified meetings.
Customer Success
Skills needed
Empathetic, structured written communication, basic product knowledge, and the ability to de-escalate a frustrated customer calmly.
Proof without a job
Volunteer to help moderate or answer questions in a community you're active in, and note specific situations you handled well.
First 90 days
Weeks 1-3 learn the product and common customer issues; weeks 4-8 own a small set of accounts with support; weeks 9-12 run renewal or check-in conversations independently.
Implementation / Onboarding
Skills needed
Project coordination, basic technical literacy in whatever the product is, clear documentation habits, and comfort managing multiple stakeholders.
Proof without a job
Document a step-by-step setup guide for any tool with no existing guide, written for a complete beginner.
First 90 days
Weeks 1-3 learn the product setup process end to end; weeks 4-8 co-run onboarding for one client with a senior; weeks 9-12 own onboarding for a small client independently.
Mechanical / Field Engineer
Skills needed
Core mechanical fundamentals from your degree, CAD software proficiency, safety-standard awareness, and hands-on troubleshooting comfort.
Proof without a job
Document a hands-on project (a CAD design, a repair, a build) with photos and a written explanation of the problem and your approach.
First 90 days
Weeks 1-3 learn site/plant safety protocols and existing equipment; weeks 4-8 shadow senior engineers on real tasks; weeks 9-12 handle routine tasks with reduced supervision.
