Q&A: When will the Tech Jobs come back?

I got over 100k view of a video in a few weeks on the topic "when will the tech jobs come back," and over 30k on a related video on pivoting to robotics. In this video we look at some of the key points from the over 800 comments on these videos.

00:57 - Overall mood of comments
02:01 - Dehype with local LLMs
02:32 - LM Studio
04:17 - People already affected by layoffs
06:55 - Jobs and recruiting - AI front line
08:31 - Should I stay in my CS program?
11:32 - Done with tech as a field
12:30 - Am I an AI?
13:45 - Unemployment rate data
15:11 - Rapid/exponential AI takeoff
15:52 - Reconciling hype and reality
17:00 - Coming back to economic data

Links:
GTC March 2024 Keynote with NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang
HBR March 2013 on 3D Printing
Forbes 2022 on the Metaverse

[nerdobject]

There is a lot of change out there. My company is trying to outsource at least 50% of the positions and my team was effected. I got to keep a position on another team (for now). I’m In the middle of trying to bail. I’m over product development, dev “culture” and company acquisitions just to hollow it out for a sale down the road. I’m honestly disgusted by it all. I’m going back to services where my job can’t be out sourced, LLMed and I’ll make 60k more.

[joew]

It's very frustrating. I have a Bachelors, 5 years in help desk with light server and network administration, 3+ years in web and software development, and I went to a boot camp.
I can't even get interviews for local help desk jobs, or software jobs that I match 100% the requirements. I don't even live in a metro where competition should be high.
If I get a response for a remote job, it's 50% not actually remote and is hybrid.
I got more interviews in 2021 with less experience.

I'm now going through a layoff.
It's hard to match all the different tech stacks and other requirements just for a chance at an interview.
Like many others, I'm strongly considering something else like a trade.

[hristoistoyanov]

Around 2015 when the first useful AI software for scanning medical images emerged, the prediction was that the radiologist profession would be soon obsolete. That spooked a lot of medical students who decided not pursue degree in radiology

Reality today: severe shortage of radiologist due to low enrollment rates in years prior!

Software is also weird in a sense that it breeds the need for new software. For example, ad software breeds the need for anti-spamming and ad blocking software. Cloud computing was supposed to eliminate the need of sysadmins... Instead it created devops and arguably more work! AI/LLM will breed new jobs that we do not know of yet.

[anathardayaldar]

Now that you mention it, you do seem so mature and wise and calm and insightful and not begging for emotes... maybe you ARE ai.

[th_CAV_Trooper]

The best advice from this video is to focus on stuff other than CS. Even if you're aiming for a CS degree, you need to learn about economics, business, etc. Pick at least one thing other than CS and get a minor. Everything tech related is easy. Everything human related is complex, so you better find a way to split your school time to lean something other than tech. Plus, all the best software devs I met in the last 30 years never got CS or CE degrees. They were physics, mathematics, accounting, business, electrical engineering, etc. I ran a SE consulting firm for 19 years and, trust me, technology was never the hard part.

[Dragon-ywxw]

You deserve more subs. Great content and attitude. Also you have empathy and wisdom.

[WisdomofHal]

Great video! My personal response to the industry 2 years ago (while getting a little older) was to leverage my software engineering experience into client facing roles. Roles like Solutions Architect, Enterprise Architect, Solutions Engineering, Business Analyst, etc. I found that, I get to stay close to tech, grow in other ways across business vertical, wear different hats, improve and train in more soft skills. As I transitioned, more opportunities in tech became available, sometimes the money is a little better and sometimes it’s the same. I’ll say, it’s a little nice getting away from the code and looking at the bigger picture and, although there’s more responsibility, I feel I’ve gained new insights, skills and experience away from the bits. Otherwise, I think there were other great suggestions mentioned in this video, especially learning to network early and at every opportunity!

Cheers!

[JT-mrdb]

Similar to the question “when will interest rates drop back to 1%”?” They won’t.

We went through a very weird period of incredibly cheap money. The bar to enter the tech space was incredibly low and the opportunities were everywhere.

The job market will definitely get better, but it’s going to be a different ball game.

[jm.]

Thanks for the video. Do you think AI will negatively impact dev ops jobs as well? This is a field that interests me but I have no tech job experience. I am halfway thru a MSCS degree and I’m comfortable with software basics.

[Eagl]

My humble prediction is, AI might be here to stay and Nvidia might be the leader in innovation for it, but it could also play out how it did for Cisco in the early 2000s. Are they lead in networking; yes. Are there competitors; yes. Was it overvalued/overhyped at the time; also yes.

[julioo]

4:32 "that's where you have to be realistic"

[bigbigdog]

Thank you for your video. Other than interest rates affecting tech hiring, do you have any thoughts on Tax Code Section 174?

[keddycameron]

Do you have any advice for new grads with CS degrees and certs etc but are being iced out by market conditions re that first job. Adjustment may be very necessary. You seem very knowledgeable. Id love to hear your perspective

[EvanChesterman]

I lean towards the thought that AI will always be a tool rather than a replacement and the positive impact it will have on society will be greater than its negatives. I think some people didn't think the internet would be as successful as it was and some feared it, but overall it probably landed somewhere in between the skepticism and fear.

[JoSmith]

Could you create video with your vision of starting interprenership (web, mobile app, saas and etc)?

[sharg]

I was recently laid off my tech support position. To it being outsourced to South Africa. During that time I was still trying to gain more skills but the lay off got me out b4 I could of landed a different position.
Do you think there is any luck in other sectors other than the "tech industry"? What do you think of gov tech? Health care?

[Sanskaria]

Never. Because companies wait until products are built and profitable then layoff everyone and outsource all the dev positions to keep the lights on. Corporate greed killed the field.

[TheJacrespo]

Never .The tech industry will end up having 80% fewer workers compared to 2020.

[girlien]

What do the folks in their 60s who work in tech do more specifically? Just curious for a reference point. I have a few decades left before that I'd be in that situation.

[irakli]

I am 30 years old. Changed career during pandemic and started learning Python like a mad man for the last a 1.5 years. In the past 6 months I came across only 1 junior position. I had first interview 2 days ago and today HR emailed me that hiring process is stopped for this position. I am really near to giving up and going back to the village I came from 12 years ago 🤣