Is coding still worth it? 90,000 learners answered
Data scientist down 50%. AI engineering up 4x. The code held.
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Data scientist down 50%. AI engineering up 4x. The code held. The Output by DataCamp ( https://www.datacamp.com?utm_source=customerio&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=261006_1-skills-shift--na--engagement_2-mix_6-tier-2_8-emal-ci_11-weekly-news&dc_euid=22323653 ) A weekly dispatch for AI + Data Practitioners · #016 Calendar Flash Sale | 50% Off on Yearly Plan! Save Now ( https://www.datacamp.com/promo/limited-time-sale-october-26?utm_source=customerio&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=261006_1-skills-shift--na--engagement_2-mix_6-tier-2_8-emal-ci_11-weekly-news&dc_euid=22323653 ) ******************************************************************* Data scientist down 50%. AI engineering up 4x. Coding didn't budge. ******************************************************************* Since late 2023, we've asked every DataCamp learner the same question: What role are you aiming for? Over 90,000 have answered. Data scientist down 50%. AI engineering up 4x. Coding didn't budge. ( https://www.datacamp.com/tools/ai-careers-gap?utm_source=customerio&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=261006_1-skills-shift--na--engagement_2-mix_6-tier-2_8-emal-ci_11-weekly-news&dc_euid=22323653 ) Learners are moving away from data science and toward AI engineering. Since 2024, the share aiming to be a data scientist has halved, while AI engineering has quadrupled. What hasn't changed is the code. People chasing AI jobs are the most code-heavy of the four groups: 71% of the courses they start involve code, against 68% for aspiring data scientists, 61% for data engineers, and 51% for data analysts. Job titles are moving fast. The skills behind them aren't. Fewer people aiming for data science doesn't mean the analysis work has disappeared. Agentic AI has put data-driven decision-making within reach of people who aren't data scientists, so the work has been spread out, not cut. It still happens, it's just no longer one team's job. And coding skills are holding steady for a simple reason: to build with AI tools, you need to understand what they produce. You can't fix code you can't read. Universities are seeing the same shift. New computer-science majors in the US fell 13% in a year. In the UK, computing acceptances dropped 9%, the first fall in seven years, while AI course acceptances rose 39%. Similarly, IT intake in the Netherlands has declined by more than 20% since 2022, and Australia saw 21% fewer students choosing ICT degrees in 2026. Enrollment is still rising, so this isn't students leaving university. They're moving toward AI, not away from technical work. Want to know where your own skills sit? Our Career Builder maps the 25 most in-demand AI and data roles against two million job postings. Upload your resume to see which roles already fit, which skills you're missing, and what closes the gap. Free, no signup. Takes less than two minutes. Check Your Skills ( https://www.datacamp.com/tools/ai-careers-gap?utm_source=customerio&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=261006_1-skills-shift--na--engagement_2-mix_6-tier-2_8-emal-ci_11-weekly-news&dc_euid=22323653 ) This week in AI and data You use ChatGPT. Now build with it. ( https://events.datacamp.com/build-with-openai?utm_source=customerio&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=261006_1-skills-shift--na--engagement_2-mix_6-tier-2_8-emal-ci_11-weekly-news&dc_euid=22323653 ) Oct 12–16 | Live Code ALONGS You use ChatGPT. Now build with it. Built live with Codex and ChatGPT Projects. A complete data story, a research report that runs itself every week, and a financial reporting agent. Leave each session with a repeatable workflow. RSVP For Free ( https://events.datacamp.com/build-with-openai?utm_source=customerio&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=261006_1-skills-shift--na--engagement_2-mix_6-tier-2_8-emal-ci_11-weekly-news&dc_euid=22323653 ) Gemini 4 Argon: Google's new frontier model ( https://www.datacamp.com/blog/gemini-4-argon?utm_source=customerio&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=261006_1-skills-shift--na--engagement_2-mix_6-tier-2_8-emal-ci_11-weekly-news&dc_euid=22323653 ) Google Release Gemini 4 Argon: Google's new frontier model It leads on enterprise knowledge work and real-world software engineering. And it can write an entire codebase or report in a single response. Read Now ( https://www.datacamp.com/blog/gemini-4-argon?utm_source=customerio&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=261006_1-skills-shift--na--engagement_2-mix_6-tier-2_8-emal-ci_11-weekly-news&dc_euid=22323653 ) OpenAI dots: Agents that work after you close ChatGPT ( https://www.datacamp.com/blog/openai-dots?utm_source=customerio&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=261006_1-skills-shift--na--engagement_2-mix_6-tier-2_8-emal-ci_11-weekly-news&dc_euid=22323653 ) OpenAI Release OpenAI dots: Agents that work after you close ChatGPT A dot keeps working between your conversations with it, using its own cloud computer, browser, and 4,000+ connected apps. How much access would you give it? Read Now ( https://www.datacamp.com/blog/openai-dots?utm_source=customerio&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=261006_1-skills-shift--na--engagement_2-mix_6-tier-2_8-emal-ci_11-weekly-news&dc_euid=22323653 ) AI tutor courses that adapt to you Building Claude Cowork Plugins ( https://www.datacamp.com/courses/building-claude-cowork-plugins?utm_source=customerio&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=261006_1-skills-shift--na--engagement_2-mix_6-tier-2_8-emal-ci_11-weekly-news&dc_euid=22323653 ) Building Claude Cowork Plugins ( https://www.datacamp.com/courses/building-claude-cowork-plugins?utm_source=customerio&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=261006_1-skills-shift--na--engagement_2-mix_6-tier-2_8-emal-ci_11-weekly-news&dc_euid=22323653 ) AI Tutor Building Claude Cowork Plugins Basic · 1 hour 30 min Install, adapt, and build your own Claude Cowork plugins to automate recurring tasks. No code needed. Explore Course ( https://www.datacamp.com/courses/building-claude-cowork-plugins?utm_source=customerio&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=261006_1-skills-shift--na--engagement_2-mix_6-tier-2_8-emal-ci_11-weekly-news&dc_euid=22323653 ) Analyzing Data with Claude ( https://www.datacamp.com/courses/analyzing-data-with-claude?utm_source=customerio&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=261006_1-skills-shift--na--engagement_2-mix_6-tier-2_8-emal-ci_11-weekly-news&dc_euid=22323653 ) Analyzing Data with Claude ( https://www.datacamp.com/courses/analyzing-data-with-claude?utm_source=customerio&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=261006_1-skills-shift--na--engagement_2-mix_6-tier-2_8-emal-ci_11-weekly-news&dc_euid=22323653 ) AI Tutor Analyzing Data with Claude Basic · 3 hours How to get trustworthy answers from your spreadsheets and databases (all in plain English). Explore Course ( https://www.datacamp.com/courses/analyzing-data-with-claude?utm_source=customerio&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=261006_1-skills-shift--na--engagement_2-mix_6-tier-2_8-emal-ci_11-weekly-news&dc_euid=22323653 ) Introduction to Power BI ( https://www.datacamp.com/courses/introduction-to-power-bi?utm_source=customerio&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=261006_1-skills-shift--na--engagement_2-mix_6-tier-2_8-emal-ci_11-weekly-news&dc_euid=22323653 ) Introduction to Power BI ( https://www.datacamp.com/courses/introduction-to-power-bi?utm_source=customerio&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=261006_1-skills-shift--na--engagement_2-mix_6-tier-2_8-emal-ci_11-weekly-news&dc_euid=22323653 ) AI Tutor Introduction to Power BI Basic · 4 hours Our flagship Power BI course, now with an AI tutor that adapts to you. Start from scratch, and you'll be building your first report within the hour. Explore Course ( https://www.datacamp.com/courses/introduction-to-power-bi?utm_source=customerio&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=261006_1-skills-shift--na--engagement_2-mix_6-tier-2_8-emal-ci_11-weekly-news&dc_euid=22323653 ) The jobs aren't disappearing. The tasks inside them are. ( https://www.datacamp.com/resources/whitepapers/state-of-ai-careers-2026?utm_source=customerio&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=261006_1-skills-shift--na--engagement_2-mix_6-tier-2_8-emal-ci_11-weekly-news&dc_euid=22323653 ) AI Career Report The jobs aren't disappearing. The tasks inside them are. Hiring is back: data and AI postings up 80.2%, AI engineer roles up 255%. What changed is what those jobs contain. Two million postings, 85 regions, 25 roles with salaries and growth rates. Read Report ( https://www.datacamp.com/resources/whitepapers/state-of-ai-careers-2026?utm_source=customerio&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=261006_1-skills-shift--na--engagement_2-mix_6-tier-2_8-emal-ci_11-weekly-news&dc_euid=22323653 ) Resources to level up Code Along ( https://www.datacamp.com/code-along/create-claude-skills-for-data-tasks?utm_source=customerio&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=261006_1-skills-shift--na--engagement_2-mix_6-tier-2_8-emal-ci_11-weekly-news&dc_euid=22323653 ) On Demand Create Claude Skills for data tasks Stop redoing the same data prep. Build two Claude Skills live, one for exploratory analysis and one for feature engineering, test them on a real dataset, then reuse them on your own work. Watch Now ( https://www.datacamp.com/code-along/create-claude-skills-for-data-tasks?utm_source=customerio&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=261006_1-skills-shift--na--engagement_2-mix_6-tier-2_8-emal-ci_11-weekly-news&dc_euid=22323653 ) Did you enjoy this edition of The Output? 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- 6 October 2026 · 14:00 UTC
