The once booming field of technology engineering is also facing challenges as major tech companies such as Microsoft, Google, Amazon, Tesla, Apple and Meta cut jobs, in part to integrate AI.
Technology influencer Dee Dee Das has warned those in the technology engineering industry about an impending “winter.” Through a series of posts on X (formerly Twitter), Deedy highlighted the stark differences between the current situation and the state of the industry he was in 20 years ago.
Deedy's warning comes against a backdrop of changing trends in the tech job market.
Deedi started by poking fun at the popular phrase “study CS and work in edtech.” Deedi further explained the current dire situation, pointing out the unwillingness of companies to hire despite large-scale layoffs.
Despite significant staff reductions, companies are reluctant to make new recruitment efforts. In particular, start-up companies tend to avoid hiring new graduates and instead hire experienced personnel.
“Start-up companies are often reluctant to hire new graduates because the cost of training them and getting them used to the job is very high (such as AI, which new graduates are more familiar with). “Universities have a very high percentage of CS majors and are unable to find them today,'' he wrote.
Reflecting on the evolution of the role of technology in society, Mr. Didi noted how people are now more dependent on technology than in 2000, when it played a relatively small role in people's lives. But this surge has not led to more job opportunities, he said, as companies prioritize efficiency over scale.
“Companies tend to be smaller, more efficient companies rather than large, IBM-like companies,” one of his posts on X reads.
Additionally, the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) poses an immediate threat to traditional job roles. Deedi emphasizes that AI algorithms are gradually replacing tasks traditionally performed by humans.
“Although we’re not there yet, AI is also slowly and steadily eating away at the work that humans were doing. LLMs will only write more code over time. BigTechs are consistently seeing 20% year-on-year growth They have seen growth in the economy and stimulated many jobs, but they realize that revenue is not growing. “No more free coming,'' he wrote.
Deedy acknowledges the cyclical nature of technology trends, but is skeptical of a rapid resurgence in the tech job market.
Although he stopped short of drawing a doomsday scenario, he expects the sector to experience a long period of stagnation before experiencing another boom cycle.
“This is not meant to be a devastating post, but I don't see a future where software really returns to its prime. I can see people walking away from software for a bit and then coming back to it in the next boom cycle.” I don't have a good answer and many people disagree,'' he wrote.
Deedi's post drew a variety of reactions.
One user wrote, “I definitely agree that the days of 'Learn to code and you're guaranteed a 6-figure job' are over. The cycle is just about over before the next boom.”
“CS kids, keep learning. Economics tends to get all such predictions wrong. The key is to be flexible and do the hard things that others can't or won't do. AI will not replace true software engineering for the next 100 years or more, reducing the need for scripters, copypasta coding, and routine business configuration tasks. But it doesn't allow you to write new code, which is familiar to anyone who uses LLM to help with code,” another user wrote.
In April 2024, a wave of mass layoffs affected some of the world's largest companies, including Tesla, Google, and Apple, leaving approximately 20,000 or more people out of work. The layoffs continue a trend that began in January 2024, with a total of 70,000 technology jobs lost in the first four months of this year. Tesla led the charts with about 14,000 job cuts. According to reports, the 800 job cuts in the US are due to artificial intelligence (AI) replacing humans. Apple also joined the list, issuing pink slips to about 600 employees in its self-driving cars and special projects group.
