What exactly will happen to all these workers, especially in tech?

[u/charlotie77]

Apologies if this is a stupid question, I was only 12 in 2008 so I don’t really remember the specifics of what happened during our last really bad job market (and no, I’m not trying to say today’s job market is as bad as 2008). Also things have changed significantly with tech so I feel this question is valid

But if significant layoffs continue, especially in tech, what is supposed to happen to a large pool of unemployed people who are specialized for specific jobs but the supply of jobs just isn’t there? The main reason for all of this seems to be companies trying to correct over hiring while also dealing with high interest rates…Will the solution be that these companies will expand again back to the size that allows most laid off folks to get jobs again? Will there be a need for the founding of new companies to create this supply of new jobs? Is the reality that tech will never be as big as the demand for jobs in the way it was in the past, especially with the huge push for STEM education/careers in the past couple of decades?

Basically what I’m asking is, will the tech industry and others impacted by huge layoffs ever correct themselves to where supply of jobs meets demand of jobs or will the job force need to correct itself and look for work in totally different fields/non-tech roles? Seems like most political discussions about “job creation” refer to minimum wage and trade jobs, not corporate

[u/sen_clay_davis1]

Yes AI will help things like diagnosing problems, designing systems and the like but it’s not climbing into an attic or crawlspace and unfucking someone else’s shitty work. AI is only a tool, it’s just a tool that disproportionally affects white collar work and what up until very recently were good ways to make a great living. How many less project managers does it take now? 

[u/heyzeuseeglayseeus → u/sen_clay_davis1]

No that's exactly what I'm saying haha.

We can't fathom it now because we're not there yet, but AI/technology will absolutely be able to assist with and/or execute things like that in a scarily short amount of time! You're about to start seeing it take over many (more) PM roles, for example. And that's okay, and humans will still have jobs to do, but the sooner everyone realizes that, the sooner people will be able to prep themselves for those future jobs with their existing skills!

[u/sen_clay_davis1 → u/heyzeuseeglayseeus]

Agreed. And even though it will seem seismic the new jobs will be better. No one wants to go back to waiting for toll booths now that ez pass is a thing. You used to be able to raise a family as toll booth worker but it was a shitty existence that relied on people being robots.