Tech Hiring Is Not Dead - You Just Actually Have To Try

tech hiring isn’t dead.
you just actually have to try.

• hiring in tech is not dead…by ANY MEANS
• start looking at the startup ecosystem for your next job
• big tech isn’t the golden standard
• AI is here. whether you like it or not.

essentially what we know is
changing

let’s talk about tech hiring

some proof
• 7M tech job postings (16%+ YoY still under from 2023) (red global)
• IT unemployment at 2.8% (down from 3.5% in april) (cio dive)
• AI job postings up 7x since 2024 (ravio.com)
• my friends are landing jobs lol (me)

• hiring new college graduates is down 50% from 2019 (signal
fi
re)
• the ‘great hesitation’
• more emphasis on LATAM/o
ff
shore hiring
• 96k individuals already laid o
ff
this year highest since 2023 (crunch base)
• still dealing with over hiring in 2022 and will continue to do so
some issues…

let’s talk about AI real quick…

• AI related job titles surged 7x from last year (ravio.com)
• projected genAI spend $644 billion across the globe up from 76% year over
year (crunch base)
• compensation packages looking like NBA contracts

let’s talk about big tech real
quick…

• microsoft plans $80 billion in AI spend while laying o
ff
9k roles recently (reuters)
• amazon plans $100 billion in data centers and AI development while laying o
ff
over 22k (wall street journal)
• meta with a multi-billion dollar investment to scaleAI while laying o
ff
thousands (the washington post)

• US startup funding H1 of 2025 $162B up 75.6 YoY (crunchable)
• M&A activity H1 of 2025 >$100B up 155% (crunchbase)
• AI share of deal value in the U.S. is around 64% (reuters)
• senior AI hires now command $300k+ comp packages (business insider)

so what should you do about it

fi
rst off - you’re not behind

however this does remind me of
a recent trend

is it time to pivot?
• angie jones: java —> AI (techgirl1908)
• gant laborde: react native —> AI (gantlaborde)
• kent c dodds: javascript —> AI (kentcdodds)

fi
rst steps
• local startup tech hubs
• online communities with ben lang/next play or andrew yeung/meet
fi
be or
erica wenger/park rangers capital
•
fi
nd a few job boards: explorejobsai, aijobs.ai, wellfound (prev angel list)
• go to networking events
•
fi
nd a mentor

second steps
• use x - create lists of founders and ai engineers and engage with them daily
• start learning in public - you have to be known as ‘the person’ in your circles
• create something or help someone else create something (everyone is starting
from zero)
• look at job descriptions!!

to reiterate one more time in case you forgot…
• big tech is not setting the tone of the market anymore
• hiring in tech is not dead speci
fi
cally in AI
• if you haven’t considered looking for a startup…now maybe the time
• start learning and gaining experience in AI

Tech Hiring Is Not Dead - You Just Actually Have To Try

Tech Hiring Is Not Dead - You Just Actually Have To Try

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Tech Hiring Is Not Dead - You Just Actually Have To Try