In the wake of sprawling layoffs throughout 2023, many are questioning job security in the tech world. But there may not be cause for alarm, experts say.
More than 224,503 workers in U.S.-based tech companies have been laid off so far in 2023, according to Layoffs.fyi, an official layoff tracking site. The dismissals span multiple sectors and industries and have left many tech employees — both current and prospective — concerned about the future of their trade.
“Tech jobs are still desirable and there is still tremendous opportunity,” says Michael Gibbs, the CEO of Go Cloud Careers, a global organization that provides training for elite cloud computing careers. “While it may appear that there were many job losses in tech, it’s not the case. The layoffs are a minimal number compared to the number of technology professionals.”
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The mass layoffs were less indicative of the future of tech and moreso a result of the rise of artificial intelligence, according to Gibbs. Careers rooted in programming and design made it out of the layoff period relatively unscathed, while most of the positions that saw reduced headcounts were software engineers and startup positions, according to business insights platform Crunchbase.
“There is still exceptional opportunity in IT architecture careers, specifically cloud architecture, enterprise architecture and AI architecture,” Gibbs says. “So much so that while the layoffs occurred, our clients were still getting hired for elite technology positions.”
To get a better gauge on the state of tech, EBN recently chatted with Gibbs who shared which tech jobs may still be vulnerable in the aftermath — and what employees can do to keep their jobs safe.
Are there tech jobs that are still vulnerable today despite the continued growth for the industry?
The most vulnerable tech jobs are back-end engineering jobs. These back-end jobs can easily be outsourced to low-cost environments. Worse still for back-end jobs is that AI can and is replacing many. Artificial intelligence can code almost as well as an average programmer and doesn’t need time off, get sick or ask for a raise.
How should tech workers be navigating the labor market?
Prospective tech workers should migrate towards customer-facing and revenue-generating positions. Positions like cloud architects, enterprise architects and artificial intelligence architects cannot be replaced by AI or outsourced. They require a lot of relationship development, stakeholder management, sales and negotiation skills. The human side of these roles makes them immune to being replaced by technology. As a bonus, these roles pay significantly more than engineering roles.
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Technology professionals should also be developing leadership, sales, emotional intelligence, business acumen, and consulting skills. The technology professional of the future is someone who helps organizations with digital transformation — which means improving their client’s business performance.
For those already in the workforce looking to stay in their positions, how can they make themselves “irreplaceable?”
The best technology professionals always have a job. However, it takes much work to find exceptional technology professionals. Finding a jack-of-all-trades IT professional is simple, but finding a tech professional with deep technical expertise is nearly impossible. What’s even more challenging is finding a technology professional with excellent technical knowledge, leadership, communication, and business acumen. When you find that combination of skills, a high-paying job always awaits in any economy.
