IBM’s chief scientist has advice for recent grads hoping to land a software engineering job: Stop only chasing the tech giants everyone else is pining after.
“Don’t just go for the standard ‘I’m going to go and work for Google, Microsoft, IBM,'” Ruchir Puri told Business Insider.
Puri, who has spent over three decades at IBM, said that as AI reshapes every industry, software engineers are needed across all sectors — whether that’s transportation, manufacturing, or retail. He said job seekers should widen their search “beyond a narrow set of technology companies” and also consider the “massive enterprise landscape.”
For example, a company like John Deere, the world’s largest agricultural equipment manufacturer, may not be top of mind for a software engineer looking for a job. However, Puri said the company is a household name, making a measurable impact. Other similar companies are hiring software engineers to help drive industry transformation, and being a part of that work can feel fulfilling, he said.
“You are impacting something that is fundamental to global economy — and it’s not just about technology,” Puri said.
Puri’s comments come as IBM CEO Arvind Krishna recently said in a CNBC interview that the company planned to increase hiring among recent college graduates over the next year.
However, new graduates are generally entering a challenging market. An August Handshake report found that job postings on the platform decreased by over 16% year-over-year. Meanwhile, competition soared, with the average number of applications per job up by 26% year-over-year.
Software engineering in general has undergone a shake-up in recent years. A saturated talent pool paired with rapid AI adoption has created an environment of uncertainty in hiring.
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While the tech industry is investing heavily in AI development, companies in the sector have also conducted consistent layoffs over the past few years. Giants like Salesforce, Meta, Microsoft and Amazon all made cuts in 2025.
Earlier this month, IBM announced it would cut thousands of workers in the fourth quarter, impacting a “single-digit percentage of its global workforce,” a spokesperson told Business Insider. Krishna said in the CNBC interview that the company is shifting priorities to hire more people around AI and quantum.
Puri said that now is a good time for entry-level candidates to expand their view when it comes to finding meaningful work.
“The world is your oyster,” Puri said. “There are lots of companies in the world. All of them are looking to transform themselves with AI.”
Are you struggling to find a software engineering job? We want to hear from you. Reach out to the reporter via email at aaltchek@insider.com or through the secure-messaging app Signal at aalt.19.
