Technical.ly will tell you how to get a tech job this April

Tech employment doesn’t seem quite as foolproof as it did just a few months ago.

Seen in post-pandemic years as an especially resilient career option, the tech industry has been rattled more recently by announcement after announcement of layoffs, for both Big Tech and smaller venture-backed companies. Employers often blame a difficult economy and tougher expectations from investors to prove profitability.

The most recent Tech Jobs Report from the technology trade association CompTIA showed industry employment declined slightly in February. That includes a decrease of about 11,000 jobs of all types within tech companies, as well as a reduction of around 38,000 tech jobs across all types of companies. (There’s that “jobs in tech” vs. “tech jobs” contrast.)

Context matters, though: Those figures represent just 0.2% of tech sector employment and 0.6% of tech employment across all sectors, respectively.

“As expected, the lag in labor market data means prior layoffs announcements are now appearing in [Bureau of Labor Statistics] reporting,” said Tim Herbert, CompTIA’s chief research officer, in a statement about the latest report. “Context is critical. The recent pullback represents a relatively small fraction of the massive tech workforce. The long-term outlook remains unchanged with demand for tech talent powering employment gains across the economy.”

So, no, it’s not a huge drop. But contrast that news with this headline Technical.ly ran in August 2020: “‘We are in one of the hottest tech job markets since the dot-com era’: After 2020 dips, tech job postings are up almost 30%” year over year.

Where technologists want to work is changing, too, both in terms of company type and location. As Technical.ly reported in March, tech hiring hub Dice has found that laid-off technologists don’t have to wait long for a new job if they’re willing to look at financial institutions — a phenomenon so prevalent that it yielded a new phrase: “Security is the new sexy.”

“There is a different mindset,” Dice CEO Art Zeile told us. “Even five years ago, it was a badge of honor to work for Google or for Microsoft or Amazon, any of the really Big Tech companies, because it was clearly acknowledged that they had very high hiring standards. But that sentiment has completely faded away” — as has the idea that the West Coast is best.

What does all this mean for someone looking for a tech job now? What technical skills are essential to know, and what are the best ways to develop them? What nontraditional paths led to successful tech careers?

April 2023 is Technical.ly’s How to Get a Tech Job Month. Expect reporting on technical skills trends, workforce development programs, economic factors impacting hiring and related subjects. We’ll also seek to address the challenges facing soon-to-be STEM grads and other tech industry newcomers as they look for their first positions in the field. As usual, we’ll publish explainers and guest commentary from experts and those with lived experience.

Tell us: What notable trends are you seeing in tech hiring? Pitch a story or guest post by getting in touch with the newsroom:

Get in touch

And if you are actively looking? Technical.ly’s own NET/WORK jobs fair returns to an in-person format on Tuesday, May 9, during Philly Tech Week 2023 presented by Comcast:

Register here