The Tech Job Market… Is Terrifying
Unlike the internet boom in the 1990s, or the mobile-app boom in the 2010s, the current tech boom is not generating a great number of new jobs.
The Shifting Landscape of Work.
Entry level jobs that were once stable, particularly those involving repetitive tasks (Data Entry, Tele Support, Data Analysts, Finance Specialists, Paralegals, Supply-Chain Specialists, etc), are being wiped out. The roles that millions of people started their careers on, are being automated, or outsourced. In the United States, jobs are vanishing domestically, shifting offshore at an alarming rate. The work remains, but the people who once did it are being left behind.
Even highly skilled roles (UI/UX Designers, Tech Recruiters, Data Engineers, DevOp Managers, Engineering Managers, Marketing Specialists, Operations Managers, Human Resource Specialists, etc) aren’t safe. AI has turned highly specialized knowledge into something nearly anyone can replicate — provided they know how to use the right tools. What once required years of college, or training, and experience, can now be executed by someone with minimal background, simply by leveraging AI-guided execution. This isn’t just an evolution; it’s a total-labor displacement.
A Collapsing Tech Job Market
We are witnessing firsthand how difficult it has become to find work, and it’s terrifying. The tech industry, once the heartbeat of middle-class prosperity and economic mobility, has become a wasteland of stagnation. The very people who helped build the foundations of modern AI — brilliant engineers, product and thought leaders — are struggling to find jobs. It's a silent 2008.
At Google, I know of countless peers — some of the most talented people I’ve ever worked with — who are currently employed, and cannot secure new roles. These are people are the “experts”, the best of the best. If the best and brightest are struggling, what hope is there for the rest? The assumption that skilled professionals will always “land somewhere” no longer holds true. There is nowhere to land.
Meanwhile, major corporations are profiting immensely while deliberately keeping headcounts flat. Microsoft reported enormous revenue growth last year, but made a conscious choice not to expand hiring. Google is taking an even more aggressive stance, not only reducing hiring onshore, but actively dismantling lateral and horizontal mobility. After over-hiring during the pandemic, when informed it would be unwise, they are now shaving off labor and causing terrible damage. It’s as if these companies no longer see the labor market as an investment or requirement.
This is fine if a handful of companies in a sector behave this way, but what happens when the whole market behaves this way, or, the entire economy, across all white-choler verticals begin to behave this way within a very short period of time?
The Job Market is Saturated and Broken
Making matters worse, AI-powered application tools are flooding job postings with automated submissions. Some roles on LinkedIn now receive upwards of 3,000 to 4,000 applications in a week, burying even the most qualified candidates under an avalanche of resumes. And those resumes aren’t even being seen. AI-driven applicant tracking systems filter them out, often incorrectly, before a human ever lays eyes on them.
The result? An illusion of opportunity. There are jobs posted, but the process is so deeply flawed that actually securing one is nearly impossible.
The Rise of the AI Startup Arms Race
At the same time, the AI sector is seeing a boom — but not in the way many expected. The real growth is happening within small, highly specialized startups, often with teams of just 10 to 55 people. These companies are raising massive amounts of capital — Series B and C rounds are closing at a rapid pace — but they aren’t offering broad employment opportunities. They are lean by design, prioritizing agility over large workforces. The very sector driving AI innovation is doing so without the need for mass hiring, leaving thousands of displaced workers with nowhere to go.
What Comes Next?
The safety nets we once relied on — stable industries, medium and large corporation, internal mobility, and the expectation of finding a role if you were qualified — have disappeared. I fear for the future. I fear for Americans who are watching their opportunities slip away. The economy cannot flourish without human labor, because economies require people with spending power.
