Death of Tech Jobs

Back in time, reading and writing were considered rare talents.

In a village, only a few could do it and they were called scribes.

They were like the coders of the past — translating human language and stories into signs and symbols.

history takes a sharp turn.

Johannes Gutenberg invents a revolutionary device that shatters the scribes’ monopoly.

Suddenly, reading and writing become more accessible, printed books flood the market, and literacy rates soar

21st century, where something terribly similar is about to happen again.

But this time it will be for the people in tech.

Last year, many people lost their tech jobs, and it's still happening. In January alone, more than 44,000 tech jobs were lost. Tech layoffs continue to increase, impacting many workers in the industry.

Getting hired has become difficult than ever.

This transition didn’t happen overnight though. It was years in the making.

late 1960s, when the computer industry was just getting established, people who could work with computers were extremely rare — like an elite group of scribes.

At that time, very few individuals could “talk” to computers by reading and writing code.

companies got credential-stamped new hires. Universities received fees for this labor pipeline. “You got Java in your syllabus.”

For years, the path to a six-figure coding job was clearly defined — get that 4-year university degree first. Companies only recruited from this pool.

Software was built mostly behind the closed walls of these companies.

But times changed.

The Internet was reaching untapped parts of the world.

Connection among people increased.

Things came to a point where anyone could get into tech.

In 2019 — During the pandemic, many companies came to their senses. They realized that they could actually operate remotely.

Remote work opened the door to the pool of world talent.

Now, companies have access to the best of the best talents from the world.

But in the year 2023, something else happened that changed the whole trajectory altogether.

AI entered the scene of software development.

Now, all you have to do is write a prompt and it will make the app for you.

Even those who had no background in coding…

No-code tools that are available today foreshadow what’s coming: human language itself becoming the new coding protocol.

Instead of writing code, you’ll just describe what you want in natural language. Generating those prompts and parsing the AI’s responses will be the new form of “programming.”

It’s fantastic that the technologies we use are becoming smarter.

But remember the story of the scribes I told you in the beginning? Do you remember what increased literacy and technological advancements led to?

In 2024 — We have hit a local maximum in technology, where the job industry’s infrastructure is so well-established that you can easily hire a coder off the streets or simply use ChatGPT to get the job done.

As the working conditions get worse and worse, each person will take on the role of ten other people who are laid off.

Tech has become an oversaturated field where employers have realized that they don’t need to pay you $300–$500k and free cafeteria food for 4 hours of work a day.

We’re not going to go back to that golden era where fresh software engineers or bootcamp graduates landing $200K jobs straight out of the gate was a norm.

If you still have doubts, then you better watch this: - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Lcy2N3YcIs&t=5s

You won’t learn about AI or ChatGPT in college. Instead, you’ll learn things like building operating systems from scratch, building compilers, etc… all of which are mostly irrelevant in today’s world.

Society made everyone believe that Coding is the gateway to success, but in reality, it leads to a terrible 9-to-5 job with mediocre pay and a hell lot of burnouts.

The highest-paid engineers don’t play favorites with languages, nope.

They can quickly pick up any tool.

They do what works!

Keep it simple.

Their goal is to be effective, not just aesthetic.