This is a strange time for many technology professionals and their employment. It seems many organizations have open positions and are struggling to fill those slots with qualified candidates (one look at this). At the same time, many other organizations have followed the large technology firms (FAANG, MSFT) and laid off large numbers of their staff in the last year.

At the same time, with the hype and rapid growth of GenAI systems, we have companies that are looking to machines to fill some of their labor needs. Salesforce noted that they did not expect to hire more software engineers in 2025 as their plan was to use AI tech to help them write enough code. They've seen productivity gains with AI tech, so they aren't adding more developers. They still need human developers, just not more of them.

While thinking about the labor market, I ran across this report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics in the US, which tries to project jobs across many different industries in the future. They typically are careful and conservative, and while they show growth in the need for database administrators and database architects (and software developers) they also admit they can't quite tell what impact GenAI tech will have on the labor market. They do think there will be an impact, but for now they have the need for data professionals growing faster than average.

Why is it hard to get an IT job? I know plenty of people looking for work that have struggled to find a position that suits them. I think there are a few things at work here. First, many companies have been burned in the past with unqualified candidates. We know hiring is hard, and we will make mistakes with some hires. With the focus on cloud, new technologies, DevOps, and more, companies want to hire skilled people who can hit the ground running.  I also think the supply of workers is high and companies are more choosy about who they hire.

Lots of companies are also investing in their own workforces, upskilling and re-skilling them in new technology. It's often easier to train someone whose work ethic, soft skills, and other factors are known than hire someone new who might or might not be a good cultural fit. I know that I often see budgets for conferences and classes are low, but there are plenty of companies still sending people to classes, conferences, or providing opportunities to learn.

If you want a new job, or you're struggling to find one, I can't stress enough the importance of working on your own skills and showing prospective employers that you are investing in yourself. Take stock of your skills and work on projects, experiments, build things, blog about them, and show companies that you have the skills they need.

Don't forget your soft skills as well if you're investing in yourself. Learn to communicate well, both written and verbal, as that can often set you apart from other candidates. As someone that has interviewed others, those skills sometimes are more impactful than your technical ones.

Invest in yourself now, and you'll be ready for the challenges you face in the future.