Tech layoffs? A bigger picture is involved

By: Eli Amdur
Vantage Point
USA Today Network

..... It's a paradox, a puzzle, an enigma, an inconsistency. And given the times, it's dramatic.
..... Job creation over the past 25 months has been so off the charts - the greatest in history - that not only do we not know what to make of it, historians 50 years from now will have a hard time putting it in context. Yet large-scale layoffs are occurring in the tech field, while hiring in most other sectors resembles an all-you-can-eat buffet at a casino.
..... Overall, more than 12 million jobs have been created since January 2021 - 517,000 last month [01/2023] alone (Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics). On the tech side, however, 1,045 tech companies laid off 160,997 employees in 2o22, and that only intensified, with 377 companies reporting 107,930 layoffs in just the first 47 days of 2023 (Source: layoffs.fyi ).
..... What's up? Adm what to do?
..... Cherena Walker, executive director of the career center at Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, [NJ] explained, "During COVID-19, tech had a hiring boom with significant demand, and Crypto was a part of it, she said in a Zoom interview with me last week. [02/22/2023] "It appears there was over-hiring and now there's an adjusting to the new demand."
..... This wouldn't be the only time the tech sector went a little nuts, as those of us who experienced the dot-com bust of 2000 remember. In fact, it adds credence to Walker's sensible assessment, and would make this current phenomenon a trailing indicator, although, warns Walker, "it could be a leading indicator of things to come in other areas."
..... Agreed. And, she was careful to point out, tech tends to be more volatile - and more visible - than most other sectors. "It's a lot more public." Curter, by its very nature, tech dabbles in more new fields, new products, and new versions pf products in than sectors like marketing, finance or operations.
..... So what's the plan? Let's look at this through the eyes of two people: the new graduate, who wasn't even born when dot-com went bust, and 50-s0meting, who lost her jobs when COVID hit but decided that ,while hunkering down for who-knows-how-long, to launch and complete her graduat4e degree in computer science.
..... At Stevens, Walker said, "we start early - in the summer of a student;s first year - reaching out to our incoming students before they even get to campus as freshmen." Employers visits campus regularly, faculty get involved, and whereas new freshman don't yet have professional networks, Stevens exposes them to alumni form the very start. The message is clear: it's not just your degree and curriculum; it's also your connections. And the strategic key is being early to the party - starting early in your career, early in the hiring cycle, early in your job search.
..... Which brings us to our 50-somethings. Wat the freshman doesn't have, she should - in spades: a robust and active network of professionals, not just in tech, but in all fields. After all, tech jobs don't exist only in tech companies; they're everywhere. She should be networking like her heir's on fire - with individual and by reaching back to her alma mater's alumni office, going to events, and generally getting involved.
..... "So, the picture becomes a little clearer. Tech's house is not falling down. What we're seeing is a self-correction. And although, those layoff numbers are starting, the biggest picture is that, in January, [2023] employment in professional and business services rose by 82,000, led by gains in professional, scientific, and technical services (+41,000), and job growth in professional and business services averaged 63,000 per month in 2022 (Source: BLS). Surely, they weren't all tech jobs, but tech jobs there were.
..... For both of our protagonists in this tech opportunities in companies whose only business is not being in tech; health care, business services, retail, constriction, pharmaceuticals, energy. you get the point, I hope.
..... The other part of the strategy, as Walker has made abundantly clear, is to start early. Their's an old saying: "You never have to recover from a good start." So if y9ou're trying to figure how mass job creation overall squares with starting tech layoffs, forget it. It's not a square at all. It is, you remember your geometry, all irregular figure. But at this point, that doesn't matter, either.
..... Build and hone you skills, expand and improve your network, and start early.

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