Industry experts issue grave warning against AI after well-paying jobs begin to dissipate

The tech industry used to be the fast track to high salaries, plenty of office perks, and job security, but as the job market continues to struggle under inflation, workers are struggling to find employment. 

Chris Volz, 47, of Oakland, California, has decades of software engineering experience since joining the industry in the late 1990s and has always found jobs through his network or when a recruiter reached out to him. 

But when he was laid off in August 2023, he found his ‘contacts [had] dried up’ and nearly everyone around him was in the same boat. 

‘This time felt very, very different,’ he told the Wall Street Journal. 

Plenty of tech workers and new graduates are struggling to find work, but some industries – like tech and media – are to fighting carry on. 

In fact, the only tech jobs that are still prospering are those involving AI, especially those working on the large language models that power programs like ChatGPT. Those jobs can still find salaries that could make millions, according to WSJ. 

Chris Volz has decades of software engineering and has always found jobs through his network or when a recruiter reached out to him. But when he was laid off in August 2023, he found his ‘contacts [had] dried up.’ ‘This time felt very, very different,’ he said 

But the average tech worker – even those with decades of experience – are taking pay cuts after months of pushing out hundreds of applications, some are leaving the industry entirely and some have gotten creative, like Glenn Kugelman. 

The New Yorker got tired of applying endlessly to jobs and has taken a different approach: Hanging up flyers outside of Google, Facebook, and other tech companies around Manhattan.

Going from street corner to street corner, Kugelman posted a simple message that read ‘RECENTLY LAID OFF. LOOKING FOR A NEW JOB’ along with a QR code that leads to his LinkedIn, he told WSJ. 

‘I thought that would make me stand out,’ Kugelman, who recently found a six-month gig, told the outlet. ‘The job market now is definitely harder than it was a few years ago.’ 

And it is. Software development jobs are down more than 30 percent since the pandemic, according to Indeed.com. 

And to make matters worse, 137,500 workers have been laid off from nearly 500 tech companies in 2024, according to Layoffs.fyi. The number is still below 2023 numbers, which saw more than 260,000 employees lose their job across 1,200 companies. 

‘I’ve been doing this for a while. I kind of know the boom-bust cycle,’ Volz said. 

Volz said he got roughly ‘three callbacks’ from the 120 positions he applied for. Although he eventually landed a job at Verifiable in March of this year, according to his LinkedIn, he still took a five percent pay cut, he told WSJ. 

Some 137,500 workers have been laid off from nearly 500 tech companies in 2024. Pictured: Google’s headquarters

Glenn Kugelman got creative in his job search by printing out flyers with a QR code to his LinkedIn that he hung outside of NYC tech companies in hopes of landing a new position. He has since landed a six-month gig he is opening will lead to full-time work 

Michael Moore, 40, of Atlanta, Georgia, is still struggling to find a job after getting laid off in January. He has since enrolled in a degree program. Six years ago, he said his lack of a degree wouldn’t have caused him any issues

Myron Lucan, 31, of Dallas, Texas, is trying to get into tech after spending six years in the Air Force, but he’s waiting for ‘someone to see me’ after his applications aren’t landing him any interviews 

It took him seven months to find a job, which is right on par with the estimated six to 12 months its taking laid-off workers to get new employment. 

Michael Moore, 40, of Atlanta, Georgia, is still struggling to find a job after getting laid off in January from Tyrannosaurus Tech, his LinkedIn shows. 

He enrolled in an online college program after he spent seven months searching for a job with no luck. On average, he would get two to three interviews per every 100 jobs he applied for, he told WSJ. 

‘It’s not a good ratio.’  

Six years ago, he said his lack of a degree wouldn’t have caused him any issues, but now the increase in industry competition has forced him to make the endeavor in hopes it will show future employers that he is working toward a degree, which he is expected to complete in 2028. 

He also thinks, if his school offers AI classes, he’ll take them. 

Unlike Volz and Moore, who do have experience in the tech industry, those trying to break in are facing an even harder time. 

Myron Lucan, 31, of Dallas, Texas, is trying to get into tech after spending six years in the Air Force, where he worked in aerospace before leaving in 2018. 

He recently went to coding school and graduated in May, but even with his veteran status and newfound expertise, he’s struggling to land a tech job because all the entry-level positions he comes across want a few years of experience. 

Lucan is certain if he could just land himself an interview that he could explain to his potential boss how the computer skills his gained while working on Air Force planes are transferrable to building databases for companies. But after two months of applying for jobs, he can’t land an interview, he told WSJ. 

‘It just really sucks waiting for someone to see me,’ he told the outlet. ‘I am hopeful of getting a job, I know that I can.’ 

It’s not any better for recruiters in the industry, like James Arnold, who had to leave the industry to even find a job after getting laid off from Meta in November 2022. 

Software development jobs are down more than 30 percent since the pandemic, leaving thousands of tech workers desperate for new work

Now, job seekers are expected to be versatile and have multiple skills in their arsenal in order to compete

Arnold spent 18 years recruiting for tech and has been laid off twice in less than two years, he told WSJ. 

After nearly a year of searching, he finally found a job. When a new opportunity at an electric vehicle company came up, he took it, but he kept his other job for several months over fears he’d be laid off again. 

After finally dropping the job, he was laid off at the EV company a month later, leaving him unemployed again. 

‘I had two jobs and now I’ve got no jobs and I probably could have at least had one job,’ he told WSJ. 

Another obstacle he’s facing is that many tech jobs aren’t paying what they used to be and since the rise in remote work, many companies are outsourcing roles.   

The only tech job offering good money, are AI engineers, according to Kaitlyn Knoop, the CEO of Pequity, who said those roles are offering two to four times more than a regular engineer. 

‘That’s an extreme investment of an unknown technology,’ she told WSJ. ‘They cannot afford to invest in other talent because of that.’ 

Match that with the stagnation of wage growth and new opportunities and the inflated requirements for entry-level positions, and job seekers are fed up. Kaitlyn Knoop (pictured), who’s company looks at compensation planning, said the ‘levels are getting reset’

Only a few years ago, companies – both in and outside of tech – didn’t have to worry about AI, but now the unregulated intelligence is being implemented throughout several industries. 

‘Five years ago, we did not have a board saying to a CEO: “Where’s our AI strategy?”‘ Martha Heller, who worked in executive search for decades, told WSJ. 

In addition, companies are making new recruits jump through hoops to even get a chance at a job, including hours-long writing tests and unpaid work. 

Match that with the stagnation of wage growth and new opportunities and the inflated requirements for entry-level positions, and job seekers are fed up. 

Knoop, whose company looks at compensation planning, said the ‘levels are getting reset’ and that ‘people are more appropriately matching their experience and scope.’ 

However, her company found that wages have only increased 0.95 percent since last last year, while jobs have steeply declined. 

Now, job seekers are expected to be versatile and have multiple skills in their arsenal in order to compete. 

‘This is not 2012 anymore,’ Jason Greenberg, a Cornell professor, told WSJ.