How working for Big Tech lost ‘dream job’ status

Despite
blockbuster
earnings
from
giants
such
as


Alphabet
and


Microsoft,
layoffs
continue
to
ripple
through
the
tech
industry.

Layoffs.fyi,
a
platform
monitoring
job
cuts
in
the
tech
sector,
recorded
more
than
263,000
job
losses
in
2023
alone.
As
of
April,
there
have
been
more
than
75,000
job
losses
in
the
industry
so
far
in
2024.

“So
instead
of
rewarding
the
growth
that
we
saw
[tech
companies]
all
pursue
years
ago,
they’re
now
rewarding
profit,”
said
Jeff
Shulman,
professor
at
the
University
of
Washington’s
Foster
School
of
Business. “And
so
the
layoffs
have
continued.
People
have
become
used
to
them.
Regrettably
and
sadly,
it
seems
that
the
layoffs
are
going
to
be
the
new
normal.”

Even
though
mass
tech
layoffs
continue,
the
labor
market
still
seems
strong.
The
U.S.
economy

added
303,000
jobs
in
March,
well
above
the
Dow
Jones
estimate
for
a
rise
of
200,000,
with
the
unemployment
rate
edged
lower
to
3.8%.

According
to
Handshake,
a
popular
free
job
posting
site
for
college
students
and
graduates,
the
tech
layoffs
have
prompted
new
workers
to
seek
other
opportunities.
The
share
of
job
applications
from
tech
majors
submitted
to
internet
and
software
companies
dropped
by
more
than
30%
between
November
2021
and
September
2023.

“Part
of
the
reason
why
this
is
happening
is
because
stability
is
such
a
major
factor
in
students’
decisions
around
what
types
of
jobs
they
apply
to
and
what
types
of
jobs
they
accept,”
said
Christine
Cruzverga,
chief
education
strategy
officer
at
Handshake. “They’re
looking
at
the
headlines
in
the
news
and
they’re
paying
attention
to
all
of
the
layoffs
that
are
happening
in
Big
Tech,
and
that
makes
them
feel
unstable.”

Mass
layoffs
have

eroded
the
shine
of
the
tech
industry,
which
is
why
workers
are
questioning
whether
getting
a
job
in
the
tech
industry
should
still
be
regarded
as
a “dream
job.”

“For
the
people
who
are
chasing
…
a
tech
dream
job,
I
think
keep
your
options
open
and
be
realistic,”
said
Eric
Tolotti,
senior
partner
engineer
at
Snowflake,
who
got
laid
off
from
Microsoft
in
2023. “Don’t
just
focus
on
one
company
and
feel
like
you
have
to
get
into
that
one
company
because
it’s
the
dream.”

Watch
the
video
to
learn
about
tech
workers’
sentiments,
considerations
for
aspiring
Big
Tech
employees,
and
more.