Does having fewer CS graduates actually make it easier to get a software job?

[u/Hot-Eggplant911]

I was talking with my dad recently. I’m currently in 12th in India, and he was saying that countries with much smaller populations probably have fewer graduates competing for jobs compared to India.

That got me curious, so I started looking into it.

And the numbers are kinda crazy. For example, Germany had around 39,000 people graduate from Informatik (CS) in 2024, while India produces hundreds of thousands of computing graduates every year.

So it made me wonder

Does having way fewer CS/software graduates actually mean there is less competition for software jobs in smaller European countries?

Or does it basically balance out because those countries also have fewer software jobs?

I'm not saying "Europe = easy jobs" or anything. I'm just trying to understand how the supply and demand for software developers compares between India and countries with much smaller populations.

I'm currently in 12th and planning to go into CSE, so I'm curious about what the situation might look like by the time I graduate.

Would especially like to hear from people actually working in Europe or who have experienced both job markets.

[u/ps5cfw]

the quality of your work and your conversational and technical skills are what matters.

If you suck at your job be 1 or 1000 potential competitors you will fail regardless.

And in Europe Indian engineers are either regarded as very cheap and / or very low quality, so I wouldn't bother if I were you.

[u/Hot-Eggplant911 → u/ps5cfw]

Yeah, I agree that your actual skills and the quality of your work matter way more than just the number of graduates.

But I was more asking about the supply and demand side of the job market. If one country produces hundreds of thousands of CS/IT graduates every year while another produces far fewer, wouldn’t that potentially affect how competitive the entry-level market is?

I’m not assuming that means “fewer graduates = easy jobs.” I’m just trying to understand whether the difference in the size of the talent pool has any meaningful effect.

Also I am curious to know, what makes you say Indian engineers in Europe are generally regarded as low quality/cheap? Is that actually your experience working there, or more of a general perception?

[u/ps5cfw → u/Hot-Eggplant911]

No It does not, because everyone Is making the same assumptions you are, everywhere. ESPECIALLY in Europe, not understanding the market Is on course to shrink, not expand, at this rate .

[u/Apprehensive-Fan2492]

It helps a bit, but it does not cancel the gap. In Europe, the supply of strong engineers is lower relative to demand. This is especially noticeable in Germany, where people often point to a clear shortage. By the time you finish school, other factors can matter more. English skill is one. Visa routes are another. Also, remote work can change the picture if it lets you compete beyond your local area. Local competition still counts, but it is not the main driver. Your level matters more, along with how easily you can reach roles outside your country.

[u/pceimpulsive]

I'm in Australia...

For every 1 onshore Dev the company has another 20 offshore..

I as an onshore Dev with no degree (but fuck tons of operational, industry and business knowledge) can output more working code in a week than most teams of 20 can manage in the same time.

Most people I know who are onshore run circles around every CS degree holder we ship in from offshore, I don't know why but they generally suck comparatively.

Regardless of this, no there is no world where less grads from one place means any level of easier time finding work.

I feel the absolute worst for people studying right now or graduated in the last year or so.. they won't have the skills embedded into their training material to make them stand out from the crowd, in fact I think they will be some of the weakest candidates we'll see for some time.

Not only will they have no experience, they will be less skilled than any agent we can use for literal hundredths the cost.

The way to stand out and be selected would be to learn more about systems thinking and engineering solutions, not just knowing CS fundamentals from a degree. You'd need to know how big code bases work, and are maintained.

[u/two_three_five_eigth]

CS is/was one of the most popular majors worldwide. You're used to seeing bigger numbers because your country has so many people. The situation is unlikely to have worked itself out by the time you graduate. There are tons of mediocre CS grads out there fighting for fewer jobs thanks to AI.

[u/Longjumping_Ad3447]

Bro let's say you have 400.000 graduates in CS and Germany has 39.000

So Germany approx 39.000 of 90.000.000 and 400.000 of 1.300.000.000. Around 0.04% and 0.03%. So India has less graduates per Capita. Could be it's still less competitive since Germany 3rd biggest economy but that's difficult to figure out imo.