Ask HN: Has hiring gotten any better as we reach end of 2023
3 comments
I think we're facing a perfect storm of the end of an era (easy VC money), the commodization of a job (web dev), and the fear of the unknown (is AI going to make us all obsolete). I don't think those jobs are coming back. The world didn't really need them to begin with, companies were just hoping to profiteer off the covid boom and remote workers. That's over now...
The extreme enshittifcation of big tech from Alphabet to X is a sign of how desperate companies are getting. The advertising bubble finally burst and I don't think it's coming back.
All the money is probably going to chase AI instead, but there's only room there for a few huge companies and chipmakers instead of a bunch of tiny startups, unless someone actually designs a novel method that doesn't take insane capital.
For myself, I've decided to use this opportunity to try to go back to school and get out of coding altogether. Just kinda burnt out after twenty years.
The extreme enshittifcation of big tech from Alphabet to X is a sign of how desperate companies are getting. The advertising bubble finally burst and I don't think it's coming back.
All the money is probably going to chase AI instead, but there's only room there for a few huge companies and chipmakers instead of a bunch of tiny startups, unless someone actually designs a novel method that doesn't take insane capital.
For myself, I've decided to use this opportunity to try to go back to school and get out of coding altogether. Just kinda burnt out after twenty years.
What type of career are you re-schooling for? I'm having all these feelings you described.
Environmental engineering, in my case, but only because I love the outdoors and I enjoy working in renewables (edit: also, see * below).
I went to school for environmental science, and I love the people in that field (they tend to be more outgoing and emotionally available than your average tech worker), but I was a really terrible student and couldn't find work in the field. I ended up doing web work for renewables companies & conservation groups instead, which was vaguely satisfying in its own way, but not very impactful. And also very commoditized. My main selling point was being a "good enough" dev who could do OK work for below-market wages, with a focus on small biz and nonprofits.
I'm hoping to train as a civil or mechanical engineer instead, and work on some of the non-code infrastructure that powers our world. It's not as glamorous, but at least it has some (tiny), measurable real-world impact.
My hope is that it'll pay a living wage while providing a satisfying work life. I don't have a super-clear idea yet of what it's like... gonna start with some community college math and engineering courses and try to figure it out from there, while also coding part-time to pay the rent. I'm nearly 40 and I guess I figured it's as a good a time as any for a midlife crisis :)
I never wanted the glitz and glamour of tech work -- I started web stuff back in the 90s, as a kid, when it was still HTML and no CSS or JS -- and I really don't like what the industry has become (antisocial and parasitic, largely).
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* Oh, also, I was in no small part inspired by YouTube engineering channels like:
Practical Engineering https://www.youtube.com/@PracticalEngineeringChannel
Real Engineering https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCR1IuLEqb6UEA_zQ81kwXfg
Veritasium https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHnyfMqiRRG1u-2MsSQLbXA
SmarterEveryDay https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6107grRI4m0o2-emgoDnAA
It's just so cool that they can take similar principles as software development -- the step-by-step algorithmic nature of design and testing, plus real-world variables -- and turn them into real-world, useful things instead of ads and spyware.
I went to school for environmental science, and I love the people in that field (they tend to be more outgoing and emotionally available than your average tech worker), but I was a really terrible student and couldn't find work in the field. I ended up doing web work for renewables companies & conservation groups instead, which was vaguely satisfying in its own way, but not very impactful. And also very commoditized. My main selling point was being a "good enough" dev who could do OK work for below-market wages, with a focus on small biz and nonprofits.
I'm hoping to train as a civil or mechanical engineer instead, and work on some of the non-code infrastructure that powers our world. It's not as glamorous, but at least it has some (tiny), measurable real-world impact.
My hope is that it'll pay a living wage while providing a satisfying work life. I don't have a super-clear idea yet of what it's like... gonna start with some community college math and engineering courses and try to figure it out from there, while also coding part-time to pay the rent. I'm nearly 40 and I guess I figured it's as a good a time as any for a midlife crisis :)
I never wanted the glitz and glamour of tech work -- I started web stuff back in the 90s, as a kid, when it was still HTML and no CSS or JS -- and I really don't like what the industry has become (antisocial and parasitic, largely).
-------------
* Oh, also, I was in no small part inspired by YouTube engineering channels like:
Practical Engineering https://www.youtube.com/@PracticalEngineeringChannel
Real Engineering https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCR1IuLEqb6UEA_zQ81kwXfg
Veritasium https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHnyfMqiRRG1u-2MsSQLbXA
SmarterEveryDay https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6107grRI4m0o2-emgoDnAA
It's just so cool that they can take similar principles as software development -- the step-by-step algorithmic nature of design and testing, plus real-world variables -- and turn them into real-world, useful things instead of ads and spyware.
Will be hard to say until mid Q1 2024.
anecdotally, a bit yes. I'm finally getting some recruiter emails to well paying, well funded companies and some big tech as well.
Things were very sparse the first 8 months of 2023.
Things were very sparse the first 8 months of 2023.
What’s your take on hiring trend so far like has the market gotten any better and do you think it will get better in 2024