No Juniors Today, No Seniors in 2031

Junior software engineering postings are down ~40% from pre-2022 levels, with entry-level hiring at the 15 largest tech firms falling 25%. Big tech has shifted to senior-only hiring, and the few remaining junior roles now include LLM-detection tests. The argument: skipping the junior pipeline today eliminates the senior talent pool by 2031, a structural risk practitioners and hiring managers should model now.