The Truth About the Software Engineering Job Market in 2025

This video is sponsored by Brilliant.

The software engineering job market has changed drastically—what was once a booming industry filled with opportunities now feels oversaturated, with even skilled developers struggling to find jobs. In this video, I share my personal experience of being laid off, the rise of AI in coding, and whether software engineering is still a viable career in 2024. With companies cutting budgets, competition at an all-time high, and AI tools like ChatGPT and GitHub Copilot reshaping the industry, is this the end of the road for developers? Or is there still hope for those willing to adapt? Watch as I break down the reality of the tech job market, the impact of AI, and why I still believe in the future of coding. 🚀

I'm a 27 y/o software engineer living in Montreal. Here's what happening in my daily life.

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#SoftwareEngineering #TechLayoffs #AIinTech #Programming #SoftwareDeveloper

[hukse.]

graduated 9 months ago as a software engineer and still not a single internship or job secured :/

[roman_v_code]

I think the biggest mistake many non-tech people do is to think that writing a code IS the job. And then we see how people panic after getting another unexpected AWS bill. Or cannot get AI to make requested changes and they stuck. I am really curious to see how all AI-driven project will feel in 2-3 years when the pile of bad code decision will kick in fully

[frazzlejay]

Software Engineers flooded because of the salaries and stability. Time and time again I'm hearing of people just not enjoying the roles, the stress, learnings etc and ending up not enjoying the career and then either trying to find something else or ultimately moving out of the space completely. It wasn't the cool trendy job in the past and was regarded as the goblin basement desk job. Lots of factors ended up making this role like gold and many people ended up going this route for quick money. I don't blame them, who wouldn't pursue a 6 month bootcamp and land up in an easy 5-6 figure job pre-covid?

Unfortunately along with AI in the space I think we are seeing a self correction. You are right, in a few years, maybe everything will be ay okay.

Just anyone advocating the SE role please don't sugar coat it, not everyone is suited for everything. Push for people to find their passion and pursue it. We don't live long on this earth and rather find something you are proud of and not go for something that you may regret. Tomorrow might be your last, try and make today fulfilling.

[samuellaplante]

This guy gaslighting us he is a dev… he is in fact an amazing youtube content creator!! 🎉

[tektalkday]

Loving your content, also i use to live in Montreal and your video style reminds me of fond times. Cheers !

[craigasketch]

Right now AI isn't taking people's jobs but one day soon it might. I think a lot of people are just learning the effects of working remote. Why pay your neighbor full price when you can get it for a fraction of the cost from someone in India/Brazil/Eastern Europe?

[TheHelloWorldz]

The layoffs that happens to most tech companies are due to overhiring during the pandemic and the shift in economic conditions. So the "exponential" growth from the begining appears to be temporary.
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‎For the AI part, entry-level software developers who does mainly CRUD apps seems to be affected by LLMS because of the repetitiveness of their tasks and the low complexity. Plus, seniors use these LLMS to do the repetitive work, so if a software developer's skills are mostly repetitive and can't build complex systems, he will be affected.
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‎"AI will replace us in the next year's or months" — to be honest, I don't think any LLM right now is capable of making whole robuste systems, or even handling simple visual debugging tasks like CSS. AI will get better, that’s for sure, but replacing good software engineers in a short span? I'm totally confident that it will not.
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‎What I'm totally confident about is that an extensive usage of LLMS will shrink software engineers' critical thinking, and we'll enxup with even poorer quality softwares in the future.
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‎My perspective is that for an entry-level software engineer, he should build a good foundation of the basics and fundamentals, then build things by himself without relying on LLMS — to reinforce his critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Then include LLMS gradually, while being aware that the more it's used, the more the mind's problem-solving shrinks — which means developing an awareness of how much AI is not that dangerous, in order to stay skilled in writing code and solving problems.
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[milutinke]

Man you have some seriously good editing skills. Keep it up!

[mouadrimwind]

The main culprit as well is the fluctuating interest rates. Post pandemic they bacame very high to combat inflation, meaning investors are less likely to pour money into projects since it became expensive to borrow.

This created less job opportunities and more layoffs. If you add to that the overwhelming competition that comes from a large influx of people getting into tech from all angles, uni, bootcamps and also immigration!

Thousands of senior devs coming from all regions of the world ready to compete with local junior devs is also brutal...

[Temp-jx]

I got luckily job but as soon as project finished. They removed me. Now from many months i am unemployed 😭😞😭😭😭

[АкботаБакыт-фм]

I love your videos💛 interesting and calm✨

[Visitor______________________v]

I'm lucky to be almost a senior engineer, so i get hired. Though the job search is much tougher for me this year than 3 years ago, a lot of ghosting and rejections from companies

[fnvtyjkusg]

So glad i live in Norway where the government actually provides a social security net for those laid off

[valda]

What time did you record the downtown shots when there were no people? 6 AM? 😃 Every time I go there, it's pretty crowded. 😃
But of course, good luck, man!

[sheingng]

You earned my subscribe! Incredible story telling and natural scene transitions.

[mitc]

I really think it's the change in R&D expensing. Section 174. 5 year amortization on software developers instead of full expensing. Companies accepted the change without any protest and just laid people off. Now we are no longer an innovation economy. It's sad, and I'm sad that I'm on the wrong side of the trend.

[tanyago]

I’m a self-taught dev who spent nearly 2 years to learn my tech stack. I also know backend and can write basic APIs, it took me 14 months to land my first and only job for now. And even though it took so long, I was still extremely lucky to get it. I survived first wave of layoff, however the whole project has been shut down and we all were let go. I assume considering everything that’s going on, I give it another 6 months. I truly believe you can “find a job one day”, but personally I’m so tired of sitting and waiting, applying to tens and hundreds of jobs, having 1-2 interviews per year. My life goes by and I do not gain any real life experience which is required now in order to get a job.

[HenryVillanueva-lfdx]

The change is just starting. Currently, AI can only be in charge of building and reviewing small code portions. In 10 years (or less) the AI will be able to review large projects, and understand them in its entirety. In 10 years, programmers could be like paper encyclopedias today

[gastherr]

I'm not so sure that already existing systems written in Java, C# or PHP will go down any soon. I predict it will be a huge spot for "old developers" knowing the craftsmanship to maintain those systems like nowadays bank systems written in old COBOL. Totally agree that AI will somehow remodel out development process. To point out some somewhere "safe" spots for developers is let say Solution Architecture or make the existing code clean (refine/refactor to patterns) - i guess even though AI know what does "clean code" mean it does not necessarily know how to implement it. It's to fluent and unpredictable.

[Sam-NBeli]

What tech stack should I learn to increase my job opportunities in Quebec?