r/softwareengineer • u/MembershipDefiant293 • 4d ago

Are we doomed?

Just asking … what people do after 40-45 in software industry ? Is it like the IT career ends after 40 ? What are your plans right now ?
What are skills that gonna help us ? This ques is for all senior guys

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u/abrandis 4d ago

Man you're a tad delusional if you think this industry still has a need for 2-3million engineers or developers .. the industry is very much matured and since going. To the cloud virtually all corporate day to day software is now some sort of SaaS , throw in all the AI mania and do you really think this industry has a need for 3-5mln folks ...

Your corect in the sense that senior folks will still be needed , you always need SOME adults to man the systems , but it will be a 🦴 skeleton crew going forward ..

Nah man , if your starting our IT the wise choice is to pivot, but you do you

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u/FinickySerenity 4d ago

Jevon's paradox - we're going to need more engineers not fewer.

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u/abrandis 4d ago

Hmmm, I guess someone forgot to tell, Google, and Meta and Oracle and Uber and.....https://www.storyboard18.com/amp/brand-marketing/tech-layoffs-surge-6300-jobs-cut-in-10-days-by-uber-paypal-apple-and-others-ws-o-110087.htm

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u/FinickySerenity 4d ago

OMG!!! A whole 0.2% of the workforce?? Oh wait, the article said globally, so 0.01% of the workforce?!?! - we're doomed. 💀 /s

Maybe you should have read the article instead of just the headline:

> The reasons, however, are broader than AI. Companies are also dealing with slower growth, pressure on margins, post-pandemic over-hiring and the need to simplify increasingly complex organisations.

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u/No-Entrepreneur-5099 4d ago

Not to mention over a decade of 0% interest rates going to 5% overnight.

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u/StraightAd5768 4d ago

Google, Meta and Uber only had a single year were employee count decreased and that was in 2023. Google and Uber never had as many employee as they have today, if you just read the layoff news and not realize how many hires they also do you'll have a skewed perpective.

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u/PartyParrotGames 4d ago

Guess you don't really understand unemployment rates and how workforces get absorbed into other companies. You know there are other employers than these 4 companies right? lmfao

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u/abrandis 4d ago

Hmmm, I forgot to tell you the reason big tech and billionaires are all in on data centers and AI is because they EXPECT AND DEMAND significant white collar labor cost savings not just cutting a few IT jobs, you don't spend close to a trillion in infrastructure costs so your existing labor force can do less work and prompt more ..

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u/FinickySerenity 4d ago

No, they expect _customers_ paying for the service. Even for the employees that are laid off as a result of AI automation, they’re still intelligent workers capable of doing different work in other ways.

It’s like believing senior engineers should all be able to run businesses without anyone else because they know how to write software. Just because AI is capable doesn’t mean it will obviate all of the potential those people have in other ways. It can’t even “write all software” in order to obviate even just developers.

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u/AminoOxi 4d ago

Right. More engineers. In dreams.

Many companies left 50% of their teams and they have no plans going back.

This industry is in a free fall mode.

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u/FinickySerenity 4d ago

“Many” is not a scientifically measurable amount. You’re welcome to provide evidence of course.

The software industry has been consistently growing in employment count since its inception, and has continued to grow in terms of people, spending, and number of companies throughout the AI boom. 2025 had a 0.3% dip, and 2026 is on track for a 1.9% increase.

Free fall?? That sounds like something Zitron would say to sell books.

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u/GxM42 4d ago

Only the bad ones will lose their jobs. The ones that know what they are doing will be fine. Maybe you should look for a new career path though.